Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup

It has been cold here on the island this week. I mean cold for Victoria, not like Saskatchewan cold. Even still I felt like I needed a warm up.

This slow cooker minestrone soup was the perfect thing. Plus it is full of vegetables which I really needed after all the chocolate and stuff I consumed in December!

Let me tell you the photo's I took don't do this soup justice. It was so dark when I took the pictures they are kind of awful, but the soup was amazing! I can't wait until we start getting a little more daylight!

 

What you need,

Click Here To Print

1 small onion, finely diced

2 medium carrots, diced

3 celery stalks, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1½ cups fresh green beans, cut into ½ inch pieces

1 796ml can diced tomatoes

6 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth)

1 540ml can 6 bean medley

2 bay leaves

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. dried basil

½ tsp. dried rosemary

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 small zucchini, diced

1 cup fresh baby spinach

½ cup dried macaroni noodles

Salt and Pepper to taste

Fresh Parmesan Cheese for topping

Combine the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, green beans, diced tomatoes, broth, beans, bay leaves, oregano, basil, rosemary and red pepper flakes in your slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.  About 45 minutes before the soup is finished add the zucchini, spinach and macaroni noodles.

Taste the soup and season it with salt and pepper before serving.

Grate a little Parmesan cheese on top and serve with a nice piece of bread on the side.

What a great soup! So simple, so delicious!

This is just what I needed after a month of over indulgence!

Oh and by the way, it made great left over lunches the next day, and I froze some for a quick dinner another day. Gotta love that!

 

Enjoy!

Jen

Recipe adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod