Two Way Crockpot Minestrone
As the weather gets colder there are 2 things that a busy mom (or let’s be honest a busy person) would appreciate…soup and crockpot meals. This is the inspiration for tonight’s dinner. I needed to take my kids to swim practice and I wanted something warm to be waiting for them when they got back. I also wanted this dish to have the option to be light or hearty. What in the world do you mean, Jenny? How can this soup be light and hearty? Ah, the light or hearty is in the add-in that we finish the soup with. After 2 hrs of swimming my kids are famished and they want something hearty. However, mommy who has been sitting there with her laptop really prefers a lighter dinner. The two-way crockpot minestrone will be served with pasta for the kids and zoodles for mom. Hmmm….or if you are feeling adventurous, serve it half and half!
Two Way Crockpot Minestrone Recipe
Ingredients:
- 4 cups of cherry or diced tomato
- 2 cups of water
- 2 cups of canned butter bean or white bean
- 1 cup of diced onions
- 1 cup of diced carrots
- 1 cup of diced celery
- 2 tsp of olive oil
- 1 TBS of fresh minced garlic
- 1 TBS of nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp of dried parsley
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp of pink sea salt
- OPTIONAL:1 TBS chopped basil (for garnish)
- ADDITIONAL pink sea salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Place all the tomato into a blender and blend it till you have a smooth liquid.
- Add the blended tomato, water, beans, garlic, nutritional yeast, parsley, bay leaves, and pink sea salt into the crockpot.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, onions, carrots and celery. Saute the 4 ingredients till the onions are clear.
- When you are done sautéing the items in the skillet, add them into the crockpot.
- Give all the ingredients in the crockpot a stir and set the pot to “HIGH”.
- Cook for 6-7hrs.
- Make sure you adjust for salt and pepper at the end!
- Serve hot over zoodles or gluten free pasta.
NOTE: There are many different types of gluten free pastas…some are better than others. If you don’t know what half the ingredients on the bag means, then its best to put it back on the shelf.
This recipe makes 4 hearty servings.
Clean Eating Gluten Free Foodie 