This slow cooker pasta-less minestrone soup comes together in minutes and then allows for hands-off time to develop the flavors. It’s a freezer favorite for our family!
I’ve always liked minestrone, but I don’t really like any kind of pasta or noodles in my soups. So I created this pasta-less version that is just as delicious and freezes really well. I’ve really been loving using my slow cooker on high to develop flavors in soups without having to really pay any attention to it.
Key Ingredients for Slow Cooker Pasta-less Minestrone Soup
- Vegetable Broth/Stock: I like to use low-sodium if possible so I can control the salt myself
- Fire-roasted canned tomatoes: The fire-roasted add a nice depth to the broth
- Tomato pesto: This is the secret ingredient! It really adds to the flavor
- Canned Beans: Red kidney and white beans (either Great Northern or Cannellini work best)
- Zucchini: Diced zucchini works well in this soup
- Mirepoix Diced carrots, onion, celery are the foundation of this soup
Note: Make sure to check recipe card for full list of ingredients
Preparation Steps for Slow Cooker Pasta-less Minestrone Soup
- Dice zuchinni
- Add base ingredients to slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours
- Add beans and zucchini to slow cooker, cook on high for another 30 minutes (if you like your zucchini softer, add those at the 3.5 hour mark)
Gathering the ingredients takes the most effort for this recipe, but the end result is worth it! Plus since it makes enough for 6 servings you can freeze the leftovers for a future meal.
Substitutions/Additions
- You can substitute regular diced tomatoes for the fire-roasted
- You can substitute chicken broth for the vegetable broth if you’re not making a vegetarian version of this soup
Time Breakdown
Total Time |
4.75 hours |
Hands ON time |
15 minutes |
Hands OFF time |
4.5 hours |
BEST FOR:
Days when you have time to prep during the day and want a meal ready at dinner time. Since it’s vegetarian, it works great for Meatless Mondays!
My Ratings
Taste |
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Effort |
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SUMMARY:
This is one of my favorite soup recipes. It has such great flavor and the slow cooker makes it so easy. Even better, it freezes fabulously so it becomes a backpocket meal for future nights when we don’t feel like cooking!
Serve with
I love this with grilled cheese sandwiches!
Links to other recipes
Slow Cooker Pasta-less Minestrone Soup
Equipment
- 1 Slow cooker
Ingredients
Base Ingredients
- 2 14.5 ounce cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/4 cup jarred sun dried tomato pesto
- 8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (Two 32-ounce cartons)
- 1 14.5 oz container Mirepoix
- 1 parmesan rind
- 6 cubes frozen crushed garlic or 6 cloves, or 6 tsp jarred garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Better than Bouillon low-sodium vegetable base
- 1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning mix
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon Trader Joe's Mushroom Umami seasoning optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Final Add-Ins
- 2 small zucchini, diced
- 1 15 ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 15 ounce can great northern or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
Instructions
- Dice zuchhini
- Add all base ingredients to slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours
- Add zucchini and beans to slow cooker and cook on high for another 30 minutes
- Serve with grated parmesan cheese