This chicken minestrone soup is full of great Italian flavors. Beans, tomatoes, veggies and herbs and spices simmered away with tender chicken. The pasta is cooked on the stove top and added right before serving!
Line your slow cooker with a crock-pot liner if desired.
Add all the cut up raw vegetables to the bottom of a 6 quart or larger slow cooker.
Place the chicken on top of the vegetables.
Add the canned tomatoes and kidney beans.
Add your spices and then add the chicken broth, mix gently to combine.
Cover and cook on LOW for about 7 - 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 - 4 hours until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.
Remove the cooked chicken from the slow cooker and place on a plate. Shred the chicken meat with two forks and add the shredded chicken back into the soup in the slow cooker.
Durring the last 1/2 hour of cooking cook the pasta on the stove-top according the directions on the package until just al dente.
Strain cooked pasta and add to soup right before serving.
Top each bowl of soup with shredded Parmesan cheese and serve.
Notes
Feel free to adapt this recipe to use up whatever veggies and items in your pantry. Summer squash, corn, celery all taste great. Pinto beans, cannellini beans, navy beans all can be used instead of kidney beans. Different kinds of short pasta can be used. You can even use turkey instead of chicken!