This healthy minestrone Crockpot soup recipe is packed with vegetables with a pasta option too. A low fat slow cooker soup packed with flavor. This is yet another option beyond our popular slow cooker chicken noodle soup that kids love with oyster crackers on top.
Looking to eat healthier this year? Us too. Give our easy and healthy Crockpot soup recipe a whirl this week. Add noodles or not, either way it’s a favorite one pot meal everyone loves. Just one of many Crockpot recipes we’ve shared on The Typical Mom blog.
We made Crockpot vegetable beef soup years ago and shared that. Of course that had ground beef in it with some different fresh and canned ingredients. Typically I like to use what is in season at the time. This may be different depending on where you live so I suggest you swap out what isn’t available and substitute something else.
Soup with potatoes will always make it heartier, and can always be found year round. If you choose to add, cut into 6ths. Onions and carrots are a given too. The two that are questionable would be leeks and parsnips. If you can’t find them or like ehhhh about the idea then just omit or use something like halved green beans instead.
Ingredient Notes
Diced carrots is a great place to start with on our vegetables in soup journey because you can find them year round, they are cheap and add a lot of flavor. You can even make things faster by buying frozen carrots already peeled and diced.
Red onion is something I only use here and there because they are sweeter than yellow or white. A must for us in this dish but optional nontheless.
I like to slice up a few stalks of Celery because once again, they are a cheap way to add flavor and texture to this meal.
Parsnips kinda’ look like carrots with the same firm texture to them. That means they are great in soups because they can stand to be cooked for long periods of time without completely breaking down. They aren’t sweet, but rather have more of a butternut squash taste to them.
Leeks look more like a huge green onion. They are in the same family so the flavor is quite similar to those and a cheap way to add a lot of flavor and a bit of texture too. You’ll find them all together in your produce section. If you aren’t sure which one it is just look at the labels, it might be only in the organic section of your store.
Diced tomatoes, you could add a drained and rinsed can of kidney beans too if you wanted to.
Broth of your choice is the liquid of choice vs plain water. I go with vegetable broth but if you wanted to add a meaty flavor then go with beef or chicken.
Garlic and bay leaf can be added for flavor and if you want to add Pasta of your choice go for it.
with Noodles
When it comes to adding noodles in a Crockpot there is a method to the madness. You cannot add those at the beginning with everything else or they’ll become mush. If you want a more low carb keto friendly dish you could leave those out but especially with my kids they are a must.
Don’t use egg noodles, they are pretty delicate and feel like small or medium shells work the best for this one. All of the ingredients are listed below;
Crockpot Minestrone Soup Recipe
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1.5 c celery, cut into small cubes
- 1.5 c carrots, cut into dials
- 1 parsnip, cut into small cubes
- 1 leek, chopped
- 1 red onion, diced
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 6 c vegetable broth
- 28 oz diced tomatoes
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 c pasta, small shells
- 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Prepare all (except uncooked pasta) ingredients and add into your Crock pot. Fill with broth and seasonings of choice. A pinch of salt and pepper is the minimum.
- Cover and cook for 3 hours on low heat. Then lift lid, pour in uncooked small pasta shells and stir those into the liquid.
- Cover again and cook for another 1 hour. When done remove the bay leaf and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tips
Let’s talk about going out of your comfort zone a bit. You’ve gotta’ start thinking outside of the box when it comes to eating vegetables once you become an adult y’all. I mean of course you should taste it beforehand. If it is totally not okay with your tastebuds then don’t add it. Keep in mind it will taste a bit different when cooked too though.
My goal when cooking with veggies is to choose a variety so that you don’t really need a lot of seasonings beyond a pinch of salt and pepper. Using just one would give you a single note that would be overpowering and not that great. Best way is to blend a few at a time that compliment each other.
Is soup better in a slow cooker?
I think so. Cooking low and slow so everything gets nice and tender works just great. The only other that can compete would be one of our Ninja Foodi soups. If you are in a hurry I would use this method instead. Things like our butternut squash carrot soup can be made in about an hour and kept warm in this.
If you wanted to make a similar dish to this in the same pot it would cut the cooking down down by a ton too, and turn out just as great. You can follow our Instant Pot minestrone recipe for that. I’m not a stand by the stovetop checking for hours kinda’ gal, just not my thing.
on Low
Whether or not you choose to add small shells into the mix, the timing remains the same for this. Do not try to speed things up and cook on high heat, it’s called SLOW cooker for a reason. Print recipe at the bottom of this post but here is a quick step by step first:
You could use gluten free pasta instead too but keep in mind that cooks faster in soups and stews. A bowl full of this with some fluffy Bisquick biscuits or a slice of 3 ingredient beer bread means comfort food at it’s finest.
FAQ
Yes!! NO need to boil in a separate pot. If you are making our slow cooker minestrone soup here and want to add medium shells you can do that during the last hour or so before serving. Just submerge and cover for 30-60 minutes depending on their size and how al dente you want them to become. Once ready, serve!
That depends on the ingredients. Cream based soups will likely separate within an hour or so after done and switching it to warm. If there are noodles inside they will continue to soften so the texture is ideal served right away. To be safe though I wouldn’t leave it on warm for much longer than 1 hour before switching to off and allowing it to cool off and storing for later in the fridge.
Looking for other slow cooker soup recipes? We have a ton but let me narrow it down to just a few others that are on the healthier side for you (and one you can treat yourself to once and a while).
Other Healthy Crockpot Soups You’ll Love
Make beef or turkey chili with our 5 ingredient Crockpot chili recipe here. Follow our pumpkin soup with canned pumpkin recipe and set to low for 4 – 6 hours for dinner. Some night give in and make Crockpot potato soup with frozen hashbrowns.
If you want to use your other appliances, we have made an Instant Pot black bean soup that’s kinda’ to die for too. I try to add all methods for every recipe I make since everyone and every household is different. On the stove you’d just boil on medium until everything is tender, that is an easy change. Pressure cookers are a bit more difficult.
You can find all of our Instant Pot soup recipes here though if you want to meal plan way ahead of time and choose different ones.
What is the best way to save leftovers?
When you’re done eating this slow cooker recipe, turn your machine off and remove the lid. Let it cool down completely which will take a good hour or more so kinda’ think ahead and just turn it off when you’re serving it up. When it is at room temperature then transfer it to some sealed containers.
I like to just put enough for one serving in each container so it’s easier to reheat later. Refrigerate, or this is how to freeze leftover soup. Then transfer it to a microwave safe bowl and heat for 45 seconds, then stir, 45 seconds again and then feel the center to see if it’s warm enough. If not keep heating like this.
At the end I like to add some shredded parmesan cheese to melt in the last heating. That will add even more flavor to the dish and kids love it. If you had leftover homemade garlic bread you made do not refrigerate that. Instead wrap in some foil and leave on the countertop so it doesn’t dry out. That will only stay great for one day really so use it up.
