Slow Cooker 15 Bean Minestrone Soup {Vegetarian}
3 CommentsDec 13, 2024
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Slow Cooker 15 Bean Minestrone Soup is a wonderful recipe with flavorful broth, loaded with fresh veggies, cooked pasta and a hearty mix of dried beans. Homemade minestrone soup is a simple toss it in, cover, and cook meal perfect for your crockpot.
This post is sponsored by Hurst’s Beans, though all opinions are mine.
Table of Contents
What is minestrone soup
Minestrone soup is a classic soup with roots from Italy and is typically vegetarian.
All the best minestrone soup recipes feature boldly seasoned broth from Italian herbs like thyme, rosemary, oregano, and even sweet basil. The broth is then fortified into an even tastier, healthy recipe by adding beans and pasta.
Traditionally, minestrone soup is made with red kidney beans or cannellini beans (great northern beans) but our crockpot minestrone soup uses Hurst’s HamBeans 15 Bean mix for even more flavor and protein power.
What you need:
- Hurst’s HamBeen 15 Bean Soup mix: You can find this at most grocery stores. The included ham flavoring packet is vegetarian! You can find where to buy this bean mix or order online at the Hurst’s Hambeens website.
- Produce: onion, carrots, celery, green beans, and garlic. You’ll only need a small yellow onion.
- Pantry: a large can or two small cans of diced tomatoes, small pasta, and vegetable broth. Water and bouillon can be used instead of broth if necessary.
- Seasonings: Of course the ever present salt and pepper along with thyme, oregano, and Italian seasoning blend.
Variations
- Add vegetables for more nutrition. Add mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, kale, spinach, peas, quartered Brussels sprouts, bell peppers, and asparagus are all delicious options.
- We used shell pasta but any small pasta will work like elbow macaroni, ditalini pasta, orecchiette, orzo, or rotelle.
- Toss in a Parmesan cheese rind with all the ingredients, then discard the Parmesan rind after cooking.
- For bolder tomato flavor, add an 8-ounce can of tomato sauce with all the ingredients or 2 tablespoons of tomato paste at the end of cooking.
- Gnocchi, tortellini, or small ravioli can be used if you’re after a heartier soup.
- Swap the pasta for rice or potatoes.
- Use fresh herbs instead of dried or different herbs like rosemary, basil, and parsley.
Step-by-Step Directions
- Place the beans in a colander, sort out any debris and discard. Rinse the beans and add them to the slow cooker. No presoaking is necessary. Do not use the ham flavor packet at this time.
- Add the onions, celery, carrots, green beans, garlic, seasonings (not the ham flavor packet), and broth to the slow cooker. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 6 hours. Do not open the lid during the cooking time.
- When the cooking time is up, remove the bay leaves and stir in the ham flavor packet, tomatoes with their juices, and the cooked pasta.
Tips for making 15 Bean Minestrone
- Undercook pasta by at least a minute if you’re going to mix all of it into the soup and not serve immediately or going to travel with the dish.
- If you anticipate leftovers, instead of adding the pasta to the crockpot, add between 1/4 to 1/3 cup of pasta into individual bowls, then ladle in the soup. The pasta and beans will continue to absorb the liquid.
- For any leftovers, remove as much of the broth as possible and store it separately to prevent it all being absorbed.
- To thicken the broth, add 2-4 tablespoons of tomato paste, or until it has reached the desired consistency.
Serving Suggestions
- Garnish each bowl with freshly chopped parsley and Parmesan cheese.
- Garlic bread or focaccia is a wonderfully delicious way to sop up every last drop of the broth in your bowl. Serve immediately to prevent the pasta from absorbing more of the broth.
Recipe FAQs
Can I add meat to minestrone soup?
Of course, you can add cooked seasoned ground beef, cooked Italian sausage, or cooked diced chicken.
Can I use frozen green beans?
Yes, add them in at the beginning of cooking. If you use canned green beans, add them drained when you stir in the pasta; allow to warm through.
Will the soup still be vegetarian if I use the ham seasoning packet?
Yes, the included ham flavor packet from Hurst’s 15 Bean Soup Mix is vegetarian.
More Slow Cooker 15 Bean Soup Recipes
- Slow Cooker Smoked Turkey Cajun 15 Bean Soup
- Slow Cooker Vegetarian 15 Bean Soup
- Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken 15 Bean Soup
- Slow Cooker 15 Bean Chili
- Slow Cooker 15 Bean Soup with Ham and Collard Greens
Slow Cooker 15 Bean Minestrone Soup
Slow Cooker 15 Bean Minestrone Soup is a hearty, vegetarian meal loaded with beans, vegetables, pasta, and savory herbs, making it a comforting and nutritious option for any day of the week.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 20 oz. Hurst's Hambeens 15 Bean Soup mix, sorted and rinsed
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 3 celery ribs, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 12 oz. green beans, trimmed and halved
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tsp. dried oregano
- 2 tsp. dried thyme
- 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 ½ tsp. salt, to taste
- 1 tsp. black pepper, to taste
- 64 oz. vegetable broth
WAIT TO ADD:
- 28 oz. can diced tomatoes with juices
- 1 1/2 cups medium shell pasta, (cooked according to package directions)
Instructions
- Place the beans in a colander, sort out any debris and discard. Rinse the beans and add them to the slow cooker. No presoaking is necessary. Do not use the ham flavor packet at this time.
- Add the onions, celery, carrots, green beans, garlic, seasonings (not the ham flavor packet), and broth to the slow cooker.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 6 hours.
- When the cooking time is up, remove the bay leaves and stir in the ham flavor packet, tomatoes with their juices, and the cooked pasta.
- Serve and enjoy.
How to Video
Sarah’s Notes
Variations:
- Add more vegetables for more nutrition. Add mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, kale, spinach, peas, quartered Brussels sprouts, bell peppers, and asparagus are all delicious options.
- We used shell pasta but any small pasta will work like elbow macaroni, ditalini pasta, orecchiette, orzo, or rotelle.
- Toss in a Parmesan cheese rind with all the ingredients, then discard the Parmesan rind after cooking.
- For bolder tomato flavor, add an 8-ounce can of tomato sauce with all the ingredients or 2 tablespoons of tomato paste at the end of cooking.
- Gnocchi, tortellini, or small ravioli can be used if you’re after a heartier soup.
- Swap the pasta for rice or potatoes.
- Undercook pasta by at least a minute if you’re going to mix all of it into the soup and not serve immediately or going to travel with the dish.
- If you anticipate leftovers, instead of adding the pasta to the crockpot, add between 1/4 to 1/3 cup of pasta into individual bowls, then ladle in the soup. The pasta and beans will continue to absorb the liquid.
- For any leftovers, remove as much of the broth as possible and store it separately to prevent it all being absorbed.
- To thicken the broth, add 2-4 tablespoons of tomato paste, or until it has reached the desired consistency.
Nutrition
Calories: 345kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 1637mg | Potassium: 1289mg | Fiber: 18g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 4751IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 163mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Made this recipe? Leave a comment below!
This post is sponsored by Hurst’s Beans, though all opinions are mine.
Is there anything you could suggest to add seasoning wise instead of the ham packet? I’m not a fan of ham for several reasons, so perhaps adding some spices, etc. might pick it up? Looks like a fantastic recipe, and I often buy these bean packages.
Can you do chicken boullion? That can add so much flavor. If not, I personally would add onion powder, garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste.
Chicken bouillon sounds perfect, I can definitely do that and always have it on-hand. Will be making this one soon, thanks for a great recipe and the suggestion!