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This Slow Cooker Hamburger Minestrone is loaded with fresh vegetables, ground beef, and pasta. A hearty soup that is a meal in itself. Slice up a loaf of crusty bread, pour a glass of wine, and dinner is served!
We are in the midst of what feels like a very long winter, but hang on friends, spring is coming! In the meantime, I thought a hearty, soul-satisfying soup was in order and this one definitely fits the bill. It’s based on my sweet stepmom Bonnie’s legendary minestrone recipe which I’ve adapted for the slow cooker. To up the comfort factor, I decided to add some ground beef, two kinds of beans, and little ditalini pasta. The result is a wholesome meal that will satisfy the entire family.
This is my second in a series of three great slow cooker recipes to get you through to the spring months. Be sure to check out the Slow Cooker Drip Beef if you missed it last month. It’s a good one!
We start with a pound of cooked, crumbled, and drained ground beef and some chopped veggies including, zucchini, onion, celery, carrot, and some minced garlic.
Add 4 cups of low-sodium beef broth. Always go with the low-sodium variety. You can always add additional salt if you feel it’s necessary but I’m betting you won’t.
In goes a big can of Italian style crushed tomatoes.
The seasonings consist of basil, oregano, thyme, and a bay leaf. Cover the slow cooker and cook the soup on LOW for 5 to 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.
Are you feeling how easy this is?
After the initial cooking time, add a can of rinsed and drained kidney beans and cannellini beans and 1 cup of dry, uncooked ditalini pasta. You could go with any small dry pasta you happen to have on hand but I love ditalini in soup.
When adding beans and pasta to slow cooker recipes, you always want to do it towards the end of the cooking time. You don’t want to know what happens to beans and pasta if they spend too much time in the slow cooker, trust me on this one.
And, last, about 1/2 cup of Parmesan. A little Parmesan makes everything better! Cover and cook on HIGH for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked al-dente.
This soup was consumed with gusto in our house and it is long gone. It will be on the menu again very soon.
Soups that contain pasta tend to thicken quite a bit when refrigerated so if you’ve got leftovers, just add a little water or additional beef broth to thin it a bit and it will reheat beautifully.
Slow Cooker Hamburger Minestrone
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 cup peeled and chopped carrot
- 1 cup chopped zucchini
- 2 ribs celery chopped
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 4 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 28 ounces crushed Italian style tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dry basil
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 15 ounces cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 15 ounces kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup ditalini pasta uncooked
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook, stirring to break up. Season with salt and pepper and cook until no longer pink. Drain off as much of the grease as possible and transfer the cooked beef to the slow cooker. Add the onion, carrot, zucchini, celery, garlic, beef broth, crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, thyme, and bay leaf to the slow cooker with the beef. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on LOW 5 to 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.
- After initial cooking time, add beans, ditalini pasta (uncooked), and Parmesan. Cover and cook on HIGH for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until pasta is al-dente.
Notes
Nutrition
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Stephanie W says
Made this yesterday and it was a great success; even with my 12 and 15 year old who are normally anti-veggies. They are in the phrase where if one likes the meal, the other hates it. It was nice to find something they both enjoyed🥳. Super easy to prep especially since my slower cooker has a sauté function and I always have diced onion on had. I added extra carrots and zucchini to make up for the lack of celery, which nobody in my family likes. I also added a can of diced tomatoes. It made a lot and,under normal circumstances, I will probably cut the recipe in half. However we are stuck at home all day so the leftovers will be used for lunches this week. I just got your cookbook and am looking forward to some more great recipes!
Sue Breidenstine says
This recipe is SO good. I made a couple of modifications based on what I had on hand. Instead of browned beef I used half of a leftover meatloaf, crumbled up. (I found this recipe after seeing minestrone soup as a suggested use for meatloaf.) Then I switched in Great Northern beans since my family prefers them. And, since I had it, I threw in a small parmesan rind and a splash of red wine for flavor. The ditalini needed a little extra time so it took 4 hours on high. All four of us loved it and this is going into the recipe folder. Thank you!
Phyllis says
Any reason I cannot make pasta separately and add at serving time? I am making this soup to be part of a meal train for someone going through cancer treatment. Thinking since pasta sucks up liquid, maybe sending the pasta alongside may be better?
Valerie says
Hi Phyllis. You could absolutely cook the pasta separately and add it later. You are right in assuming the pasta does absorb some of the liquid when the soup is refrigerated although adding a little extra water or broth when reheating will solve that problem. Best wishes to your friend.
Sally says
How about using an instant pot?
Valerie says
Hi Sally. Pressure cooking is a completely different method with very specific requirements so I never suggest trying to use a pressure cooker for a recipe written for a slow cooker. Instead, it’s best to look for a recipe specifically written for the method of cooking you’d like to use.
Ruth Grove says
This looks appetizing to me. I’ve had bariatric surgery and can only eat about 6 oz of soup, so I would have to freeze small containers of it. Do you have any advice? I’m having trouble getting protein down because meat seems distasteful to me, but this soup has a pretty good protein hit between the ground beef and beans.
Valerie says
Hi Ruth. I think this soup would freeze very well. If you can only eat a small amount at a time, I’d recommend dividing into portions before freezing. I really hope you love the soup and you are feeling better soon. 🙂
Melissa says
this is a go to favorite for our family 🙂 I omit the zucchini and add in potatoes instead 🙂 for a husband who is a meat and potatoes kind of guy, this is right up his alley 🙂 all the kids even the ones who are picky eaters always ask for seconds 🙂
Ann says
Can I use the regular can of tomatoes cause I don’t any of can Italian tomatoes?
Cath says
Who makes these neat crock pot liners?
Haven’t seen them where I live ??
Valerie says
They are Reynold’s Slow Cooker Liners and they are available in most grocery stores but you can also order them on Amazon. (affiliate link)
Linda says
Found this while looking for a recipe for soup to take to a neighbor who just lost her husband. This looks wonderful! In the past, I’ve made Pasta E Fagioli and froze it pasta & all. While it was ok, the ditalini ended up being little bits of pasta when thawed. It didn’t affect the flavor, but presentation was not so great. I think I will make this and leave out the pasta for any that is to be frozen. Then when I thaw it, I will add pasta as needed. Here in Ohio, we are expecting a “respectable” amount of snow this weekend and I know of no better way than to celebrate with hot soup and good bread! Thanks for the posting. I also want to look up the other soups you mentioned. I am loving making all kinds of soups this year.