Ingredients
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
- 1 cup diced celery (3 stalks)
- 1 cup diced carrots (2 carrots)
- 1 cup diced yellow onion (1 small)
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tsp dried)
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried crushed rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 1/3 cups diced zucchini (1 small)
- 1 1/3 cups shell pasta
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (15 oz) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 oz) can white navy beans or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (14.5 oz) can Italian green beans, drained
- 2 cups slightly packed chopped fresh spinach
- Finely shredded Romano cheese, for serving (Parmesan works too)
Add vegetable stock, water, tomatoes, celery, carrots, onion, parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves and sugar to a slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook on low heat 6 - 8 hours or high 3 - 4 hours.
- Add in zucchini, pasta, garlic, kidney beans and white beans and cook on high heat and additional 30 - 40 minutes until pasta is tender. Stir in spinach and Italian green beans and cook several minutes until heated through. Serve warm topped with Romano cheese
- cookingclassy.com/2013/11/olive-garden-copycat-minestrone-soup-slow-cooker/