I love soup. I also love squash, tomatoes, and pesto. There is another list of foods I love, and it’s called the ingredients list of this Crock Pot Minestrone. So. much. good. stuff.
As I’ve mentioned in the past, and plainly stated on the Crock Pot Thursday page, we rarely do meatless dishes. This minestrone is officially a vegetarian dish, but that didn’t stop most of the Crock Pot Thursday crew from adding meat. We’re a bunch of rebels like that.
With or without meat, this soup is a winner.
Everyone else’s was better than ours, but that’s because when I was adding salt and pepper at the end, the lid of the gigantic Costco-sized pepper container popped off, and at least one whole cup of black pepper fell into the Crock Pot. I was able to spoon most of it off the top, but it was still pretty peppery.
C’mon pepper lid. You had one job!
Crock Pot Minestrone
Crock Pot Thursday: Minestrone
Ingredients
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- 6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 2 14.5 oz cans fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 16 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15 oz can garbanzo beans or chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 medium yellow summer squash or zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
- 1 medium red or yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 medium carrot, diced
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked spiral pasta
- 1 cup raw spinach leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup prepared pesto
Instructions
- In a medium skillet, heat olive oil, add celery and onion and cook for a few minutes, until tender. Transfer to slow cooker.
- Add in broth, tomatoes, beans, squash, bell pepper, carrot, corn, and garlic. Stir to combine.
- Cover, and cook on low, 6-8 hours, or until veggies are tender.
- Add uncooked pasta and spinach leaves to slow cooker, and cook about 20 minutes more, until pasta is done.
- Salt and pepper to taste, and ladle into bowls.
- Add a dollop of pesto to each bowl, and serve.
Notes
Sarah
Can't wait to make this again when there is a foot of snow out my window and a negative wind chill. It was just so filling and good. I couldn't find chard so I didn't put it in and I left out the pesto. I thought this soup had wonderful flavor and lots of fun textures. I drained of the broth and gave my kids noodles and vegetables, which they loved. Of course, I will never be able to pass off a meatless dish as an actual meal, so I added polish sausage and chicken broth instead of vegetable.
Stephanie
Yum! We added pesto during cooking and we're not sure how much of a difference it made but it was a delicious dish regardless. The vegetables are abundant and hearty. We used vegetable broth and instead of adding spiral pasta, we served it over sausage-filled ravioli with a roll on the side, which was a great combo.
Linda
This was a great summer soup. I made it exactly as the recipe says. I served it with bratwursts for my meat loving family. To me, it was a great supper, as is--the colors and flavors are so vibrant and delicious. I will make this again--I added the pesto to the serving bowls, and it was amazing!!
Me
Don't skip the pesto, and don't accidentally dump a cup of pepper in at the end, and it'll be great!
[Tweet “You need to eat your veggies, and this Crock Pot Minestrone has you covered!”]
Amy! I think I could actually make this! It looks so yummy, plus, light enough for summer! Another crock-pot Thursday win 🙂
This is a great summer soup! Come visit and I’ll make it for you. 😉
I love soup especially in the fall. Made this yesterday and thought it was good enough to make again. Good flavor and pretty filling for a soup.