This slow cooker minestrone soup is serious soup goals. Simple to make, satisfying to eat, and better than anything you’d get from a can, this is a great option for meal prep or a cozy, easy (and vegan-friendly) dinner!
As of last week, whenever I would think of minestrone, I’d think of the kind you get from Olive Garden, along with the salad and those seriously addictive breadsticks. It was always my favorite soup there, and I’d order it every time with the soup and salad meal. I’d tell you I’d order that meal for the soup alone, but we all know the soup was just there as a dipping receptacle for garlic breadsticks (so addicted, srsly).
Why I Love Homemade Slow Cooker Minestrone
Don’t get me wrong — I like the OG’s minestrone. It’s got everything a classic minestrone should — tomatoes, basil, pasta, beans, chopped vegetables. But it also has a lot of what it shouldn’t, at least in my opinion — a heavy hand on the broth and the salt. I know this now because, as of last week, I now have a new minestrone soup to set the standard. And that is this version — this hearty 13-bean slow cooker minestrone, perfect for the holiday season when cookies count as breakfast and colds and sniffles run amok (at least that’s been the case in this household).
In the last week, I’ve received boxes of cookies in the mail for The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap, and I also attended a treat exchange over the weekend. I’ve got another cookie exchange to go to next week, and then over Christmas, my mom and I are going to do our annual Christmas cookie baking extravaganza. I’m never one to complain about having too much dessert, but seriously? My fridge, freezer and countertops are covered in cookies. And cookie crumbs. On account of all the eating of the cookies.
Soooooo needless to say, this hearty, healthy soup is quite welcome in my house. And in my belly. It’s made with Bob’s Red Mill’s 13 Bean Soup Mix, which is a blend of — you guessed it — 13 beans, including navy, lima, garbanzo and kidney beans, split peas and lentils. The soup mix alone would make for a fantastic soup, but adding in fresh chopped veggies, canned diced tomatoes, orecchiette pasta and Italian herbs makes it just that much more hearty and satisfying. I could eat this for days and days and days and never get sick of the medley of flavors.
Why You Should Use Your Slow Cooker to Make Soups
Of course, the slow cooker continues to be my friend because without it, I’d be stirring this soup on the stove top til kingdom come. And that’s not something I have time to do lately, and especially didn’t have time for on the day I made this soup, because my poor little girl woke up sick as a dog. I won’t go into details, suffice it to say she had a long bath that morning and I could have used a glass of wine by 9 a.m. Ahem.
So, thankfully, blessedly, I was able to throw everything into the slow cooker, give it a stir, cover it and let it lie so I could take care of everything else that day. By that afternoon, we were all well rested, feeling better and the house smelled like hearty minestrone heaven. And dinner was already ready. Amen.
So if you, too, are feeling a bit like the Cookie Monster with the sniffles these days, may I suggest a batch of this slow cooker soup? It’s just the kind of holiday cheer you need.
Hearty 13-Bean Slow Cooker Minestrone
Ingredients
- 8 cups vegetable broth, or chicken broth
- 29 ounces diced tomatoes, 2, 14.5 oz cans, undrained
- 2 cups Bob's Red Mill 13 Bean Soup Mix
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 carrots, sliced
- ½ yellow onion, chopped
- 1 cup button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons salt, divided
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups orecchiette pasta
- 6 cups baby spinach leaves
Instructions
- In 6-quart slow cooker, combine broth, tomatoes, soup mix, celery, carrots, onion, mushrooms, basil, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, oregano and pepper. Cover and cook on LOW heat 8 to 9 hours or HIGH heat 5 to 6 hours.
- Stir in remaining 1 teaspoon salt, pasta and spinach. Turn slow cooker to HIGH heat and cook another 20 to 30 minutes, covered, until pasta is tender.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!P.S. Once you’ve tried this minestrone soup, give my Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana a try!
Disclosure: This post is in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill. I received compensation for recipe development purposes only. All opinions are my own. This post contains an affiliate link.
i make the Cajun 15 Bean Soup from hurst and it calls for tomatoes and i always used mushed stewed tomatoes i add can and 2 cans of carrots about a hour before they are done ,, i fast sock my beans put them in water and boil for a little like 10 minutes then drain and use them ..either for this or just to make beans and ham they get clean water since i drain them ..never a tough bean have i had ..i like this but i now own a instant pot and am trying to figure the time table for it with this recipe ill keep thinking of it it seems it would just be the same for it as it would be any beans so ill go with that ,,looks so gook thanks for sharing
Betty — Sure can!
If you don’t have a crock pot can you cook it on the stove in pot?
Katie — I did not presoak the beans before cooking them, but I know some people prefer to do so to make sure the beans are fully tender at the end of cooking. It’s up to you!
Are you soaking the beans overnight before adding them to the slow cooker?
MP — I used fresh button mushrooms! But crimini are very similar and would work just as well.
What kind of mushrooms are you using? Button mushrooms in a can or are crimini mushrooms also called button?
Nicole — Thanks for your comment! I can’t say why it didn’t seem to be an issue for me, but the bean mix cooked just fine in the soup when I made it. I’ll try making it a few more times soon to see if I have any issues and will mention them here if I do!
The beans might have seemed tough because of the amount of salt in the chicken broth and/or the canned tomatoes. Low sodium is best!
Renee — Thank you for your comment! When I made this I didn’t have that same experience with the tough beans, but it might be worth another round of making it to see if there is a consistent issue. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
I am skeptical bc I’ve heard that dry beans and acid (tomato) don’t mix well. Though at the same time, putting canned beans in a slow cooker for 8 hours seems really silly. Going to hold off until more ppl actually make this recipe or if you can comment to why the tomato and bean interaction didn’t happen