Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

• Onions

  Raw

  2 ½ cup, chopped or 400g

• Carrots

  Raw

  1 cup chopped or 128g

• Celery

  Raw

  1 cup chopped or 101g

• Garlic

  Raw

  1 tbsp or 9g

• Chicken broth

  Soup, canned, less/reduced sodium

  4 cup or 960g

• Pasta sauce

  Spaghetti/marinara, ready-to-serve

  2 ⅔ cup or 685g

• Kidney beans

  All types, mature seeds, canned

  1 ½ cup or 384g

• Tomatoes

  Red, ripe, canned, packed in tomato juice

  1 ⅔ cup or 400g

• Bay leaf

  Dried

  1 leaf or 0.2g

• Poultry seasoning

  Spices

  1 ½ tsp or 2g

• Spinach

  Raw

  4 cup or 120g

• Zucchini

  Summer squash, includes skin, raw

  2 ½ cup, sliced or 283g

• Whole wheat pasta

  Dry

  12 oz or 340g

Directions

1. Place the onions, carrots, and celery in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave until slightly softened, about 3 minutes.
2. Transfer the vegetables to a slow cooker. Add the garlic, chicken broth, pasta sauce, kidney beans, drained tomatoes, bay leaf, and poultry seasoning; stir to combine.
3. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, until the vegetables are tender and flavors have melded.
4. About 20 minutes before serving, cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to package directions; drain.
5. One hour before the end of slow cooking, stir in the zucchini. Ten minutes before serving, add the spinach and the cooked pasta; heat just until the spinach wilts. Remove and discard the bay leaf, then season to taste with black pepper (and salt, if needed).