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Slow Cooker Minestrone with Kale & Kielbasa

Soup season is back and the slow cooker is the perfect vessel for cooking (and serving) your favorite soups this fall. Whether I’m making a big batch to eat throughout the week (slow cookers are a great meal planning tool) or want to warm up on a chilly day, minestrone soup is a mainstay in my kitchen.

While it’s hard to ignore the wide variety of canned soups at the grocery store, soups are easy, and not to mention budget-friendly, to make at home.  

Classic Italian minestrone is a substantial meal in a bowl. It’s chock full of beans, pasta, vegetables – and guess what? You can make it in your slow cooker.

We added kale and kielbasa into the mix to to make it even heartier. Feel free to leave out the kielbasa and substitute the chicken broth for veggie if you want a vegetarian soup. 

Keep this easy slow cooker recipe on hand throughout the season. This colorful soup cooks in about 2 hours on HIGH or 4 hours on LOW. It’s the perfect sweater weather minestrone and a gigantic upgrade to canned versions.

Beginning in September, the Pioneer Woman 6-Quart Slow Cooker will be available in Ree’s signature Flea Market design exclusively at Wal-Mart.  Fans of the collection will also find three additional patterns including Vintage Floral, Country Garden and Rose Shadow, part of a limited-time offering this holiday season..  

Slow Cooker Minestrone with Kale & Kielbasa

Author: Hamilton Beach Test Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 1 package (14 ounces) kielbasa, cut in 1-inch slices
  • 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut in ½-inch slices
  • 2 medium zucchini, cut in ½-inch slices
  • 2 ribs celery, cut in ½-inch pieces
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 bulb fennel white part only, thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes
  • 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) chicken broth
  • 1 can ( 15 ounces) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
  • 2 cups chopped kale
  • 1 cup ditalini pasta
  • Chopped parsley
  • Grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. In a slow cooker crock, combine all ingredients except kale, pasta, parsley and Parmesan cheese.
  2. Cover slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 2 hours or LOW for 3 to 4 hours. At the end of slow cooking, if using LOW, turn slow cooker to HIGH. Add kale and pasta. Cook for 30 minutes.
  3. Sprinkle with parsley and Parmesan cheese before serving.

Notes

Serves 8-10

Shop the Pioneer Woman 6 Quart Portable Slow Cooker in four different colorful, floral patterns at Wal-Mart.

Other slow cooker recipes:

https://blog.hamiltonbeach.com/slow-cooker-white-turkey-chili/

https://blog.hamiltonbeach.com/soup-season-slow-cooker-broccoli-cheese-soup/

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Comments

  1. Kale and Kielbasa in a minestrone soup – love it! I would peel that kielbasa though, you never know what that casing is made of.

  2. Hello, I was trying to review the ratings above, but it rated the recipe twice instead! How do I remove the two ratings and read the starred reviews? Thank you!

  3. Laura, it is one of our favorite fall soup recipes. The kielbasa adds tons of flavor. Let us know how you like it!

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