Slow Cooker Minestrone Recipe
- Prep time: 20 Minutes
- Cook time: 8 Hours & 30 Minutes
- Total time: 8 Hours & 50 Minutes
- Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
- 5 bacon rashers, diced
- 1 onion, cut into chunks
- 2 tsp garlic, crushed
- 2 carrots, cut into chunks
- 2 potatoes, cut into chunks
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 400 g (14.1 oz) diced tomatoes
- 4 cups beef stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp rosemary
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 zucchini, cut into chunks
- 1 cup macaroni, small pasta tubes, or pasta shells
Instructions
- In a pan over high heat, add the diced bacon. Cook the bacon until crispy.
- Once the bacon is crispy, remove from the heat and drain the excess oil.
- In the slow cooker, add the crispy bacon, onion, garlic, carrots, potatoes, tomato paste, tomatoes, beef stock, bay leaves, rosemary, and the oregano.
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- In the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the zucchini and pasta.
- Remove the bay leaves.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve & Enjoy
Recipe Tips
- It is important not to add the zucchini or pasta until the last thirty minutes as these cook relatively fast. Adding them too early will result in overcooked pasta or mushy zucchini.
- Frying the bacon before adding it to the slow cooker is optional. However, frying does help add flavor and texture to the overall minestrone.
- Assuming you are in a rush, you can turn the slow cooker up to high and cook it for just four hours instead of eight hours.
- If you are on a vegan diet, then remove the bacon from the recipe and use vegetable stock instead of beef.
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