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Classic Minestrone Slow Cooker Soup

Course Main Course, Soup
Cuisine Italian
Keyword minestrone, slow cooker, vegetarian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours 18 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
  • ½ can tomato paste
  • 3 tbsp basil pesto
  • 1 parmesan rind
  • 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 cup white onion, diced
  • 4-5 small fingerling potatoes, diced
  • 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 sprig rosemary, chopped, or ½ teaspoon dried
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
  • Italian seasoning, to taste
  • 1 cup carrots, diced or shredded
  • 1 cup celery, diced
  • 1 cup squash, diced
  • 1 cup zucchini, diced
  • 1 ½ cups ditalini pasta
  • 3 cups firmly packed baby kale, shredded
  • 1 can (14.5 oz) great northern beans, drained and rinsed
  • Finely shredded Parmesan cheese, for serving
  • Extra virgin olive oil, for serving
  • Baguette or sea salt bagel chips, for serving

Preparation

  1. 1. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, basil pesto, parmesan rind, chicken or vegetable stock, potatoes, onions, garlic, oregano, rosemary, and bay leaves to a slow cooker. Season with Kosher salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to taste and cook on low heat a total of 6 hours or high 3 hours. After approximately 1 hour of cooking time (on low), add in the carrots and celery.

  2. 2. After the full cooking time, add in squash, zucchini, and pasta and cook on high heat for an additional 15 minutes until pasta is tender. Stir in the kale and great northern beans and cook for an additional 5 minutes until heated through. The soup should be quite thick, but if it’s too thick, add more stock.

  3. 3. Remove any parmesan rind remains. Taste and season with more salt and pepper. Serve warm topped with parmesan cheese, a drizzle of olive oil, and a baguette or sea salt bagel chips on the side.