Turn the crockpot on this morning, enjoy this hearty minestrone tonight.
Now that fall is here, I have soup on the mind NON-STOP. It’s one of my family’s go to comfort foods. As you know, my favorite way to make soup is in the crockpot.
What can I say, I’m a set-it and forget-it kinda gal 🙂
What makes this The Best Crockpot Minestrone Soup? The flavor is spot-on and check out the obscene amount of veggies packed into this bad boy. I mean look at this bowl of goodness. Yum!
The Best Crockpot Minestrone Soup
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
- 2 cups carrots, chopped
- 2 cups potatoes, chopped
- 1.5 cups celery, chopped
- 1 white onion, diced
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cups vegetable stock ( I prefer low sodium broth)
- 2 cups water
- 3 cups V8 ( or tomato juice)
- 1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (15 oz) cannellii beans, drained and rinsed
- 1½ cups zucchini, diced
- 1 cups tubular (ditalini) pasta
- 1 can (15 oz) green beans, drained
Directions:
- Place your diced tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, celery, white onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, bay leaves into your crockpot.
- Add in vegetable stock, water, and V8. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or 3-4 hours on HIGH.
- After cooking time is up, add in red kidney beans, cannelli beans, zucchini, green beans and pasta , and cook on high heat for an additional 10-15 minutes until pasta is tender.
Serve with your favorite crackers, salad or warm bread!
Need even MORE crockpot soups? Make sure to check out my 25 Comforting Crockpot Soups and Stews
HERE ARE MORE SOUP RECIPES WE LOVE!
- Loaded Crockpot Hash Brown Potato Soup
- The Best Crockpot Beef Stew
- The Best Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
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Crockpot Minestrone Soup
Ingredients
- 1 can 14.5 oz diced tomatoes
- 2 cups carrots chopped
- 2 cups potatoes chopped
- 1.5 cups celery chopped
- 1 white onion diced
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 cups vegetable stock I prefer low sodium broth
- 2 cups water
- 3 cups V8 or tomato juice
- 1 can 15 oz red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can 15 oz cannellii beans, drained and rinsed
- 1½ cups zucchini diced
- 1 cups tubular ditalini pasta
- 1 can 15 oz green beans, drained
Instructions
- Place your diced tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, celery, white onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, bay leaves into your crockpot.
- Add in vegetable stock, water, and V8. Cover and cook on low heat 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.
- After cooking time is up, add in red kidney beans, cannellii beans, zucchini, green beans and pasta , and cook on high heat for an additional 10-15 minutes until pasta is tender.
Video
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Nutrition Information:
Nutrition Disclaimer
Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
JenniferG says
This recipe looks great. Although I know minestrone soup doesn’t have any meat and prefer it that way my guys (hubby and son) will not go for it or insist I make a meat to complete the meal on the side. Do you think adding a meat to this recipe would work and what would you suggest? I was leaning towards maybe adding beef stew meat, my concern is taking a good minestrone and just ending up with beef vegetable soup instead. Thanks again for another great recipe.
Bob says
Ground Italian sausage sounds about right
Corey says
I think some Italian sausage or stew meat would work great.
Bonnie B says
I tried your recipe and it was delicious,. Thanks for sharing!
leanacuthbert says
I love minestrone with meat too. I added mild Italian sausage. Turned out great.
Carla says
Love this recipe! I cube a small pork tenderloin and toss it in. Easy & delish!
Tiffany says
My hubs is picky about noodles and their level of “mushiness”. If I were to cook the noodles separately to ensure his “al dente” standards were met, would I remove the 2 cups water from the crock?
Corey says
I wouldn’t cut out all of the water, maybe just remove 1 cup.
Bob says
Probably a lb of sausage
Katharine in Brussels says
Aha! This is going into the slow cooker tomorrow morning for Sunday dinner! Knew you’d have a great crock pot idea. DD loves tomato-based soups too. Corey, do you know what I did the other day? I used my mini crock to soak some dried beans overnight, then cooked them while I was at work. In the evening they were ready for dinner, in the perfect portion size. So I’m going to set up the mini crock tonight for tomorrow’s minestrone too 🙂 Thanks for this vegetarian recipe!
Corey says
That is a great idea Katharine! Yes, we all love tomato based soups over here too. I hope your love this soup as much as we do!
Alicia says
Made this tonight by exactly following the recipe and it was delicious. Easy. Healthy. My whole family loved it. Thanks for the delicious recipe.
Corey says
That is wonderful Alicia! I am so happy the family loved it 🙂
erika says
But the big question is, as i always have with crockpot recipes…. what size is you crockpot?! I am not sureif mine is big enough….
Corey says
Erika, I used a 6qt crock pot 🙂
erika says
Thanks! I have a 6qt but it didnt look like it was going to all fit so i halved it 😉 ill make the rest overnight and freeze it for lunches! Thanks for recipie… smells good cooking!
erin b says
I am making this now, and I have only a 4.5 quart crockpot. It doesn’t fit
Corey says
You could do half the recipe in a 4.5 qt Erin 🙂
Corey says
You could do half the recipe in a 4.5 qt Erin 🙂
Marilyn says
I am using a 8-9 quart crock pot and it is almost 3/4 full, I have not added the beans, pasta or zucchini yet, I don’t see how a 6 quart crock would work. Been on LOW for a couple of hours and smells yummy.
Corey says
I hope you love it Marilyn! Yep, I always use my 6qt crockpot for this recipe 🙂
Marilyn says
Update: This was delicious. I added a pound of Italian sausage. It was done in 7 1/2 hours, then after adding the beans and zucchini and pasta, another hour on low worked fine. Best minestrone I ever had. Fit nicely in my 8 quart crock pot.
Debb says
I am doing the same thing the zucchini is in there but not the pasta,and beans! Its almost full too. I have it on high, and waiting til zucchini cooked. I boiled the pasta separate… Does smell good. My family is going to say “here we go again, more soup!” LOL ( I have been making a lot of soup lately since I am dieting!)
christine says
do i cook pasta before adding or does pasta cook in soup???
Corey says
Nope. Add noodles uncooked.
Laura Stultz says
Oh my goodness! I found this just putting crockpot minestrone soup in my search engine! It was so yummy! My whole family liked it. Even my veggie haters! Thank you. I also made the chedder pull apart biscuits to go with it. Perfect December meal.
Corey says
Cheesy pull aparts and minestrone soup! Sounds like a winning combo Laura! I am so happy your family loved the recipes 🙂 XO
Danielle V. says
I ‘tried’ making this yesterday. It came out, well, I don’t want to be negative, but it came out pretty bad. I started it at 10am on low. I followed your directions to a T. I had a feeling the last step the red kidney beans, cannelli beans, zucchini, green beans wouldn’t been done after 15 minutes. I added them at about 4pm. At 4:30, I added the pasta. That’s when the checked the potatoes. They weren’t even done. I had to turn everything up on HIGH until 8pm. All the beans weren’t done, the potatoes were still not done and the pasta was now mush. Today (Monday) I finally tasted it and it looked more like a stew than a soup because everything got soaked up. I’m sooo bummed. Unfortunately, I will be throwing this out (HUGE waste) and I will not make this again.
Corey says
Danielle, I am sorry you did not like the soup, but it sounds like you might have used dried beans instead of canned? The canned beans are already cooked, so all they need is a quick heating in the soup. You might have also cut the potatoes a little too thick if they were not done yet. Sounds like you had the pasta in there for 3.5 hours? That is way too long for pasta and yes, it would turn to mush at that point. I hope you give this soup another try sometime using the canned beans 🙂 It really is yummy!
Danielle V. says
Hi Corey. I did use canned beans. And the potatoes were cut pretty small. 🙁 The only reason why I had the crockpot on for a longer time than I had planned is because the beans and potatoes weren’t cooked. If I decide to make this again, I’ll make the pasta by itself so it doesn’t turn to mush and soak up all the liquid. Maybe that would help. Thank you for responding back to me.
Corey says
I am sorry again this didn’t work out for you. I am still confused about the beans though… canned beans are already cooked, so you aren’t really cooking them in the slow cooker…. just heating them up in the hot liquid quickly. Next time I would suggest maybe cutting the potatoes smaller. Some crockpots do run cooler than others, so that might have also been the case. Your crockpot might work better using the low setting for longer. I wish I could be more help Danielle, as you are the first I have heard of not having veggies cook through. Let me know if I can help in any other way. Thanks Danielle!
amy says
This sounds delicious, i will be making for sure!. I was just wondering what I could use to add a little heat to it? and did anyone find it a little watery or lack of flavour? what did you do to take the tomato flav up a notch??
thanks for sharing this recipe!
Kathy says
I’ve made minestrone many times. Don’t add the pasta until the minestrone is done. I add it 10 minutes or so before I’m gonna turn it off and the pasta continues to cook from the hot soup. Also, I don’t add more than 3/4 cup of pasta because it really expands. This recipe is very similar to mine, with exception to the potatoes. I am going to try adding potatoes to mine to make it more filling.
Jennifer says
I really wanted to love this soup! It’s smells and tastes good, however, after 4 hours on high I added the beans, green beans, zucchini and pasta and it took an hour for the pasta to get tender and the potatoes, carrots, celery and zucchini are crunchy. Frustrated because I can’t cook any longer or the pasta will be mush. 🙁
Sue says
Loved the recipe idea and the idea of getting all thise veggies in my kids but…….I had the same result. None of my fresh vegetables were cooked after 8 hours in the crockpot. Pasta ended up mushy after I had to extend the cooking time. Dinner was a disaster that night. Bowl of undercooked veggies and mushy pasta.
Corey says
WOW! Your crockpot must run REALLY cool. 8 hours in a crockpot should soften any veggie. Maybe try your crockpot on HIGH next time?
Lindsay says
Perhaps you were trying to do it in too small of a crockpot? I have 6.5 quart cuisinart slow cooker and it was pretty full. It took about 4 hours and 15 minutes for the veggies to be fully cooked and softened. I was a little worried at how slow (ironic in a slow cooker I know!) it was cooking but it was very full so I think it look longer for everything to fully cook. Just like drying clothes in the dryer – if its too full it will take longer.
Jennifer says
I’m with Danielle. I’m trying this today and the potatoes, carrots and celery are still hard after 4 hours on high. Trying to boil on the stove to soften the veggies. Maybe I’ll get to eat sometime tonight…
maria says
How can I make this on the stove instead of the crokpot
Sharon says
I made this soup today & it turned out SO good. My husband kept commenting how good it was & he liked all the veggies, beans & pasta in it. I followed the recipe exactly except for having to use crushed tomatoes instead of the diced as I somehow overlooked the diced tomatoes called for in the recipe, but since there’s tons of other stuff in the soup we didn’t miss the diced tomatoes at all. The pasta did end up soft but we didn’t mind that at all. I love this recipe. It’s a “keeper” for sure.
Corey says
I am so happy to hear you loved it Sharon 🙂
michele says
Do I brown the sausage on the stove first? Also, at what point do I add the sausage to the crockpot?
Corey says
I have never added sausage to this recipe before Michele, so maybe one of the other readers who have would help answer this.
Anne says
My veggies (potatoes, carrots, celery, onions) also turned out crunchy (after about 7 hours on low and 1 on high). The flavor is also missing something for me–I may need to tweak the seasonings a bit next time. I think next time I try it on high for 2-3 hours, then put to low and see how that affects the veggies. I’m a bit sad it’s not as yummy as it looks in the photos, but I think re-heatings will probably be tastier since the veggies will hopefully soften up a bit.
Sharri says
I found that if you put your potato’s in the crock pot first you do not have as much problem with them not cooking though. If you put them in last they do not get the heat they need. I have put my potato’s in last and they did not cook all the way but if I put them in first they are always done.
Denise says
One question….is is really 1 cup of dried pasta? It says 1 cups, with an s. Just making sure it doesn’t mean 2….your pic looks like it may have more noodles than mine. Thanks in advance!
Lorie Bell says
I just made this tonight for a little dinner party, OUT OF THIS WORLD! So simple, so good, makes enough for me to send home extras with guest for lunch tomorrow. I have a hard time with tomato base things and questioned making it but it is so not tomato like others I have made or had. The guest loved it. I did add some Italian sausage as it was in the freezer and a good way to use it up, but I cut rounds, fried that the night before so the soup wouldn’t be greasy for us more mature people, served it with my variation of PW olive bread……BIG HIT!!!! Thank you so much and for the reviews it all helps………Will continue to make and share with others since it makes so much.
Corey says
Wonderful Lorie! I am so happy you loved it! Adding sausage sounds like a YUMMY idea!
Shelly says
I found your recipe on Pinterest. I am eating a bowl right now and it is delicious.
I am snowed in today so decided to cook on the stove instead of the crockpot.
The only things I did differently besides cooking on the stove- I started the onions, carrots, and celery in a little bit of olive oil. Instead of adding the water, I just used the rest of the V8 in the bottle.
I’ll definitely make again.
Jennifer says
I made this 2 weeks ago, it was a huge hit! Gone in 2 days, with only 3 of us eating it. My son was mad at me for eating the last bowl. It did take longer than 10-15 minutes for the last step, but it wasn’t an issue especially with how yummy the end result was. I’m pulling out my 2nd crockpot next time to make a double batch!
Corey says
Awesome Jennifer! Thanks for stopping by to share 🙂
Cindy says
I have this in the crockpot right now, but I had to omit the 2c of water as it is already full to the top. I will have to transfer this to the stove to add the beans, green beans, pasta and zucchini. Not sure how everyone fit all of this in one pot. It has been on for 7 hours so far and I tried carrots and they are still crunchy. I am hoping that this turns out ok.
Corey says
What size crockpot are you using Cindy?
Monica says
The whole family loves this soup. The only question I have is what causes the spice, the Italian seasoning or the bay leaf. I’m trying to figure it out so I can put less in it to not make it not so spicy. My daughter has problems with spicy things. Thanks for the great recipe
Corey says
Are you using V8? Sometimes people find that to have a little kick. Maybe next time use plain tomato juice 🙂
Monica says
No, I use plain tomato juice. That’s why I was thinking it was the Bay leaf or the Italian seasoning
Corey says
Hmmm. I guess it must be the Italian seasoning then. Try swamping that out with a mix of just dried parsley and basil 🙂
Monica says
Yes I figured out it was the Italian seasoning. I made it again and before I saw your response, I used thyme, parsley and bay leaves and it turned out perfectly without a overwhelming spiciness. Thanks for all your help
Deb says
I want to try this crockpot minestrone however, I am leary of Tomato Juice since it is high in salt and I have to watch my salt intake. Any suggestions?? Maybe they make tomato Juice low sodium?
Corey says
YES Deb! I am the same way. We try to watch our salt intake as well. Our grocery store sells a low sodium V8 and also a low sodium tomato juice. I hope you can also find some at your store 🙂
Deb says
Thanks Corey — I’ll look in store. Which do u use V8 or Tomato Juice? I do find some of the low sodium chicken broths are not that low sodium – but Kitchen Basics makes a no salt one.
Corey says
I personally prefer the V8. 🙂 But both will taste great!
Monica says
Deb, Just a suggestion. Costco sells the low sodium cans of v8 juice 🙂
Deb says
TY… No costco here but I’ll find something. I totally forgot about this recipe!! LOL its on my list though!
Ariel says
I was wondering if you cook on low for 6-8hrs or on high for 3-4hrs? Which way is best? And after cooking then adding the rest on high for 10-15 min, I was wondering if adding kale or spinach would be an ok idea. I also have a ninja slow cooker so I’m not sure how long to cook. Thanks.
Debb says
I made the soup it came out very good. As Monica mentioned seasoning — my husband said the same thing! LOL I figured it was the bay leaf he had it in his bowl perhaps ?? I used V8 juice low sodium. I did not use potato instead used cut up zucchini that i added toward the end, and had pasta boiled already… I would make this soup again. It is good and healthy too!!
Laura says
This was a hit! I got this off Pinterest. I followed the directions exactly and it turned out great. My husband was full after one bowl from all the big veggies- even though he always wants meat in his food! It’s a little thin on the broth side, I think I will add a little more juice and take a little water out. We loved it. Thank you!
Jess says
I can’t wait to make this! Have you ever froze leftovers? Wondering if you left anything out to freeze then add when heating again. Thanks! Xo
Corey says
I have frozen leftovers Jess 🙂 I would leave out the noodles if you are going to freeze and just add them as you eat it 🙂
Sabrina says
Making this tonight and I can’t wait! I was just wondering if you peeled the potatoes or just chopped them as is?
Corey says
It just depends on your taste Sabrina. Some folks don’t like the skin, some do. Either way you choose won’t change the recipe 🙂
Karen says
tHIS LOOKS SO GOOD, i PINNED THE RECIPE A WHILE BACK. i KNEW i WOULD BE BUSY MOST OF TODAY SO i CHOPPED AND PUT ALL THE VEGGIES IN THE CROCKPOT. i JUST CAME IN THE HOUSE AND AFTER ONLY 2 HOURS IT SMELLS HEAVENLY. i JUST HOPE i CAN WAIT TILL ITS DONE TO HAVE A BOWL.
Sydney Gilmore says
So… I just started this recipe and realized after I had put all of the ingredients in that my crock was a 5 qt.. what do i need to do with the beans, zucchini, and pasta at the end?!?! would there be any way to skillet cook the zucchini, boil the pasta, and cook the beans on the stove then add to the mix in a larger bowl? I’m lost…
Joan B says
Oh, I missed step three, that explains a lot. LOL I had to pick out all my mushy noodles and I’ll re-work it tomorrow. The flavor is amazing, though. I would add a bit more salt and pepper, however. Great recipe!
Lindzdy says
This looks delicious? If I were to add chicken, how would I adjust the cook time/temperature?
Corey says
Well, I have this cooking on LOW for 6-8 hours and my Crockpot Chicken Taco Soup is very similar and it cooks for 7 hours on LOW. So I would just add the chicken in at the beginning and stick to the 7-8 hour range 🙂 I hope that helps!
kylee says
This looks amazing, and I’m planning on making it ASAP! =)
Coco says
Hi Corey! I’m giving this recipe a try today – hopefully when I get home, it will be just perfect! I’m adding a can of peas at the end because my SO and I can’t get enough of them. Looking forward to trying it!
Corey says
Yum! Sounds like a great plan 🙂 I love peas too!
NH says
I just made this tonight. I chopped everything nice and small and cooked on high for 3-4 hours. The potatoes and carrots are really firm. The cook time needs to be adjusted. 5-6 hours on high.
Otherwise, the flavor is really good.
Lisanne says
Made this tonight and it’s yummy but for some reason after 15 minutes our pasta was starting to turn gummy. I read that can happen in the crockpot but I was wondering if others had this problem, too. It smells wonderful and tastes amazing so next time I make this I’ll cook the pasta separately. We’ve tried other pastas and they were okay so maybe it’s the ditalini?
Katie says
This is currently in my crockpot now. I added beef stew meat to add to the heartiness, I’ll also add a cup of fresh spinach the last 45 min. Smells delicious and was super easy to prepare. I just “tested” some veggies and they are on their way to being perfect in a few hours, just in time for dinner. I’m not sure where all the confusion is coming from with veggies not being cooked. Mine are just about cooked through after a couple hours in my crockpot.
Corey says
Great idea adding some stew meat! YUM 🙂
M2surf says
Great recipe. Thank you.
Used low sodium broth w/o the added salt. Minor mistake on my part. I added a teaspoon in the final 10-15 mins as a quick save. Turned out great. This is the best crockpot minestrone I’ve ever made.
Devon says
This was a good recipe. I had no issues with the potatoes being under cooked but my crockpot runs hot. I cooked it on high and the liquid was boiling around the edges. It cooked for about 4 hours. This makes a ton of soup! I did do fire roasted diced tomatoes for a little extra flavoring. Adding sausage would make this even better.
Jess Clark says
Could I substitute shells for ditalini? Andwould it be the same cooking time at the end ?
Corey says
Yes that should be fine Jess.
Todd Schneider says
If for some reason I cant find the pasta stated in the recipe can I use very small elbows. And does the pasta go into the crockpot uncooked towards the end?
Thanks
Corey says
Yes towards the end Todd. Any smaller pasta should work for you 🙂
Jess Clark says
This soup is the business. I made it exactly as directed, except I added a few tablespoons of dry parsley at the end since I had some leftover from last night’s chicken noodle. And i added in some small shells in addition to ditalini. I’ve been on a soup kick lately and have been enjoying several of your recipes 🙂
Rachel S says
Well it started out good… After about 7 hours on low I checked the veggies and they were cooked nicely so I added the pasta and beans. I put it on high for about 30 minutes and tasted it and it was good. Then I unexpectedly had to run somewhere so I put it on warm for an hour and a half and when I came home all the liquid had been absorbed by everything and the noodles were a little mushy. I would recommend taking it off any sort of heat as soon as the veggies and pasta are all cooked to your liking. Also, this makes a huge amount so I’d definitely cut it in half for small families, people who don’t like leftovers, or if you don’t have a large crockpot.
Jenny says
Hi Corey,
How much is 1 serving, would you say? Does this recipe make eight 1-cup servings or eight 2-cup servings?
Thanks!
Corey says
About 8, 2 cups servings.
Rebecca says
Could you cook this on the stove for less time?
Corey says
Yes. You will just want to simmer the soup covered until the veggies are tender (about 35 mins?), and then add pasta in 🙂
Marcy says
I just prepped this in my crockpot to cook tomorrow. I have a small one (I think it is 4.5 quarts) and the crockpot is almost full but it fits. I have decided to leave out the potatoes, zucchini and green beans. I think the lack of potatoes is what made it fit in my small crock. It will be less chunky without the extra veggies but that’s ok with me! Hopefully I have enough room for the beans and pasta. Might just do one can of beans.
Tammy says
I want to use fresh green beans. When should I add them? With the zucchini? Thanks in advance.
Corey says
I would add them in at the same time as indicated on the recipe Tammy. Fresh and frozen green beans usually take similar cooking times.
Zuni says
I’ve made this a couple of times in the last year and each time I’m still blown away by how good it is. I also have cut down from cups of water and broth to just what my crock pot can hold and it still comes out wonderfully. And for an extra kick, I sprinkle cheddar cheese on my soup. Yuummm. Thank you for this post!!!!
Kelli says
Like a few others commented, my crockpot was too small for this so I ended up making it on the stove. I followed the recipe to a T and cooked it for a little over an hour on the stove top. It turned out amazing! We all scarfed it down the night of and are still enjoying the leftovers throughout the week. Thanks for this great recipe!
Carolina Pascucci says
I will try for tomorrow, will put everything together tonight
Carroll says
Question .. I usually include peeled, cubed Japanese eggplant to minestrone. When would I add them .. at the beginning or when adding the zucchini ? Thanks for your advice.
Corey says
I would add it at the same time as the zucchini 🙂
Elle says
I made this yesterday and it was super bland. The only thing I neglected to add was the bay leaves. Perhaps that was the reason? I used the V-8 and the Italian seasoning to a T and that should have been enough to season it well. Ah well, can’t serve it today for the football game.
Corey says
Hi Elle,
Sorry you were not a fan. Yes, the bay leaves do add a lot of flavor to this recipe. I would recommend following the exact recipe to get the best results next time 🙂
Kacey says
Same here, came out okay but not the most flavorful minestrone I have ever had… only skipped the bay leaves as well. I think I’ll add a bit more salt before serving.
Corey says
The bay leaves do add a lot of flavor. I wouldn’t suggest leaving those out. Salt is a great thing to add in at the end to taste 🙂