Easy Slowcooker Minestrone
"I was having company for dinner one bitterly cold day (-40 something with the windchill). I wanted a warming soup to start our meal and this is what I came up with. I used the slowcooker, but you could easily do it in a pot on the stove. I had cooked up a package of small white beans, so had homemade beans to use in the soup. Canned ones would work just as well. The vegetable amounts do not have to be exact. Add other veg as desired, some sliced baby zuchinni added near the end would be good. If you use rice or barley instead of pasta add at the last 45 minutes of cooking time. This is nice served with my Best Ever Focaccia, Recipe #446668. Garnish the soup with a ltitle chopped flat leaf Italian parsley if you have some on hand. This makes enough for 4 people as a main course, or about 8 as a starter.
."
photo by Tinkerbell
- Ready In:
- 4hrs 10mins
- Ingredients:
- 11
- Yields:
-
4 main course
- Serves:
- 4-8
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 celery ribs, sliced
- 1 cup quartered mixed mushrooms
- 1⁄3 - 1⁄2 cup bell pepper, orange & yellow, diced
- 1 1⁄2 cups v 8 juice
- 1 1⁄2 cups chicken broth (or veg broth for a vegan version)
- 2⁄3 cup sliced carrot
- 1 cup cooked navy beans (any small white bean, rinse if using tinned)
- 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
- 1⁄4 cup small shell pasta (orzo, rice or even barley)
- salt & pepper
directions
- Heat olive oil in large frying pan, saute mushrooms, celery & peppers about 3 - 5 minutes.
- Add sauted vegetables & V8 juice to 1 1/2 quart slow cooker.
- Deglaze your pan with the chicken broth to get the browned bits & add to the slow cooker.
- Stir in carrots, beans and half of the Italian seasoning.
- Cover & cook on high for 3 - 4 hours.
- Add pasta, salt and pepper to taste, & the rest of the Italian seasoning during last 30 minutes of cooking time.
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Reviews
-
Made this today for our lunch and I cooked it on the stovetop. I followed the instructions and used pasta and for DHs bowl I did add some rotissere chicken for some meat. Oh yes, I did cut it down for the two of us. Thank you for a wonderful soup! Made for New Kids on the Block tag game I since I tagged it "Tinkerbell" has made and reviewed it. -
This was a big hit with me & my kids! DH will try it today for lunch. It's been real chilly here, certainly not as cold as it was for you when you created this recipe, but enough that a hot, healthy soup cooking in the crock pot made the house feel even warmer and more inviting. I soaked my dried navy beans overnight and then just added them to the crock pot without pre-cooking. I had orange, yellow and green peppers, so I used some of each and I left out the mushrooms. I used the rice option to make this gluten free, but I put it in too early for my newest crock pot that cooks everything in half the time (always on low). We were eating a very early dinner (3pm) because we wouldn't be home til after 10pm, so I thought the rice would be fine. I ended up adding a second helping of rice about 2pm. The first rice simply made the soup a little thicker, the flavor wasn't altered. Thank you for sharing your delicious and comforting creation with us, Demelza! Made & enjoyed for the Topic Of The Month forum's Soup-Fest 2011 Tag Game. :)
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Demelza
Canada
Chef #8832636. My memebership on this site goes back to the days of recipezaar, so I have seen a lot of changes on the site over the years. I still miss the forums, they had a wealth of information in them, and it was great to be able to connect with other chefs through them. I don't think zmail exists anymore either, so I don't think we have any way of contacting other chefs now. I haven't been on the site much in the last few years, mainly because of the changes. I do still pop in to look for specific recipes.
I enjoy cooking, and am passionate about baking.
