• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Life Jolie logo
  • Thanksgiving Recipes
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
    • Work with me!
    • Video Production
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Thanksgiving Recipes
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
    • Work with me!
    • Video Production
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    The Life Jolie » Main/Entree » Chicken Minestrone (Slow Cooker + Instant Pot)

    Chicken Minestrone (Slow Cooker + Instant Pot)

    Published: May 17, 2019 by Jessy Freimann · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Chicken Minestrone is an easy and comforting soup to serve for an easy lunch or dinner. This classic minestrone soup is full of delicious vegetables and fall-apart-tender chicken, with a secret ingredient that gives the most fantastic flavor!

    Chicken Minestrone is an easy and comforting soup to serve for an easy lunch or dinner. This classic minestrone soup is full of delicious vegetables and fall-apart-tender chicken, with a secret ingredient that gives the most fantastic flavor!

    A ladle full of chicken vegetable soup

    This recipe is part of my Dump it 'til it's hot series of dump recipes. It's all about making delicious food with minimal prep, no pre-cooking, the ability to freeze for a good make-ahead meal. And trust me when I say, easy never tasted so good!

    This post contains Affiliate Links. Please see the disclaimer here.

    Other great soup recipes with chicken include:

    • Taco Soup
    • Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
    • Chicken and Parmesan Soup

    Chicken Minestrone

    Everyone loves a good minestrone recipe. Full of delicious vegetable, beans and even some pasta it's a well loved soup that often get's passed down through the generations. I now my family has a minestrone soup recipe that we've all eaten since we were kids.

    So I figured, why not add some chicken into the mix? Everyone loves chicken, amirite? The great thing about making minestrone soup crockpot and/or instant pot style, is that you just dump it all in and after the machine does it's work, your chicken basically shreds apart if you gently touch it.

    A side angle image of abowl of this minestrone recipe

    Tips for making this minestrone soup recipe with chicken

    • Hold off on adding the zucchini until later in the cooking time (the last 30 minutes for slow cooker or after pressure cooking on the saute setting for Instant Pot). That way they don't break down to nothing throughout the cooking process.
    • I know this sounds strange, but the secret ingredient I use to make the flavor extra awesome is a parmesan rind, which they usually sell for a couple bucks in the cheese section of the grocery store. I know that sounds really strange, because you typically don't actually eat the rind, but if you put it in with stews and sauces, it brings out all the other flavors in the soup. And then you just pull it out before serving (the way you do with bay leaves in other recipes). Trust me on this.
    • I always boil and keep the pasta on the side until I'm ready to actually eat it the soup. I've found that if you add it into the soup and cook it there, it sucks up too much of the broth and gets kind of overcooked and mushy.

    Why is it called minestrone soup?

    Minestrone means "Big Soup" in Italian, which is pretty fitting considering the fact that's it's full of all sorts of veggies, meat, beans and pasta. The word actually originated from Minestra which means to serve.

    What is the difference between minestrone and vegetable soup?

    Technically speaking, vegetable soup can be made from any veggies whereas Minestrone soup it traditionally made with thick Italian vegetables.

    An overhead image of this minestrone soup recipe

    What kind of pasta do you use in minestrone soup?

    For this I prefer Ditalini, but any small pasta that you prefer will work.

    How do I thicken minestrone?

    I generally don't thicken mine, but if you'd like you just add a few tablespoons of tomato paste.

    Is Minestrone soup healthy? 

    Although everyone has a different idea of what "healthy" means, I'd say it is. It's light and full of vegetables and beans.

    Can you freeze minestrone?

    Yes- Either freeze before cooking or after- it'll last for around 3 months.

    How long does minestrone last in the refrigerator?

    Around 4-5 days covered.

    What's the best way to reheat chicken minestrone?

    You can either reheat in individual portions in the microwave or altogether on the stove.

    A spoon with minestrone on it.

    What are the ingredients for chicken minestrone?

    • Onion
    • Carrot
    • Celery
    • Green beans
    • Garlic
    • Kidney beans
    • Canned diced tomatoes
    • Chicken broth
    • Parmesan rind
    • Italian seasoning
    • Kosher salt
    • Black pepper
    • Chicken breasts
    • Zucchini
    • Ditalini pasta

    How to make Chicken Minestrone

    1. Place all ingredients (except the zucchini and pasta) into the slow cooker or instant pot.
    2. Cook per the directions for that machine.
    3. Add zucchini toward the end of the recipe and boil pasta on the side.
    4. Serve and enjoy.

    Chicken Minestrone Recipe Upgrades

    Although this is designed to be a dump-and-go recipe, here are a few “upgrades” you can make if you have a little extra time on your hands and don’t mind doing a small amount of extra work. You don’t have to do them to have a delicious meal, but they will make this recipe come out even more delicious:

    • Sear the chicken prior to cooking to build flavor.
    • Serve with some nice, crusty bread for dipping and plenty of extra Parmesan or Romano cheese on top!

    A bowl of minestrone soup with another bowl behind it

    What do I serve with Chicken Minestrone?

    A few great recipes to round out and complete this meal would be:

    • Three Cheese Garlic Bread
    • Roasted Beet Salad
    • Summer Bounty Strawberry Salad
    • Four Ingredient Chocolate Mousse

    Helpful tools:

    1. Slow cooker
    2. Instant pot
    3. Gallon freezer zipper bags
    4. Slow cooker liners
    5. Measuring spoons
    6. Measuring cups
    7. Chef's knife
    8. Cutting board
    Chicken Minestrone is an easy and comforting soup to serve for an easy lunch or dinner. This classic minestrone soup is full of delicious vegetables and fall-apart-tender chicken, with a secret ingredient that gives the most fantastic flavor!

    Chicken Minestrone (Slow Cooker + IP)

    Jessy Freimann
    Chicken Minestrone is an easy and comforting soup to serve for an easy lunch or dinner. This classic minestrone soup is full of delicious vegetables and fall-apart-tender chicken, with a secret ingredient that gives the most fantastic flavor!
    No ratings yet
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 6 hrs
    Total Time 6 hrs 10 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Italian
    Servings 8 servings

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 cup onion diced
    • 1 cup carrot diced
    • 1 cup celery diced
    • 2 cloves garlic minced or pressed
    • 1 cup green beans trimmed and roughly diced
    • 1 14 ounce can kidney beans drained
    • 1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes undrained
    • 1 32 ounce box chicken broth + 1 14 ounce can
    • 1 parmesan rind optional but I highly recommend you use it- it makes the flavor so much better!
    • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
    • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
    • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
    • 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
    • 1 cup zucchini diced
    • Cooked Ditalini pasta optional

    Instructions
     

    Slow cooker instructions:

    • Place onion, carrot, celery, garlic, green beans, kidney beans, diced tomatoes and their juices, chicken broth, parmesan rind, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper into pot.
    • Stir well to combine.
    • Add chicken breasts.
    • Cover and cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8 hours.
    • During the last 30 minutes of cooking, add zucchini.
    • Serve immediately with cooked pasta and additional Parmesan cheese.

    Instant Pot instructions:

    • Place onion, carrot, celery, garlic, green beans, kidney beans, diced tomatoes and their juices, chicken broth, parmesan rind, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper into pot.
    • Stir well to combine.
    • Add chicken breasts.
    • Cover and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes and then do a natural pressure release for 10 minutes.
    • Turn the Instant Pot to the saute setting and add the zucchini. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until the zucchini has softened a bit.
    • Serve immediately with cooked pasta and additional Parmesan cheese.

    Notes

    I always cook the pasta separately and add it when serving so that it doesn’t absorb all the broth and become overcooked. 
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    Now that you know how to make this Chicken Minestrone recipe, be sure to share it and tag @thelifejolie on Instagram and Facebook.  And be sure to pin it to save for later or bookmark it!

    Check out other Dump It ‘Til It’s Hot posts:

    • Dump recipes main page
    • My introduction post
    • Best tools for prepping dump recipes
    • Tips for making dump dinners

    Be sure to subscribe to gain access to all the bonuses and recipe previews!

    Easy Dinners subscribe button

    You can find a full index of my recipes here.

    Let’s keep the conversation going- join my Facebook group! 

    « Greek Pork Tenderloin Marinade
    One Pot Chicken Taco Penne Pasta »
    2556 shares
    • Share
    • Flipboard
    • Tweet

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Jessy in a kitchen holding a white casserole pan and smiling.
    Hi, I'm Jessy!

    Welcome to The Life Jolie! I share simple, delicious recipes and ingredient prep tips to make your weeknight cooking a breeze!

    More about me →

    Fall Recipes

    • Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup
    • Easiest Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Fall Apart Slow Cooker Pork Chops
    • Roasted Spatchcock Glazed Turkey with Bourbon
    • Baked Brie Phyllo Cups
    • Candied Pecans

    Popular Recipes

    • How to Melt Chocolate Chips in the Kitchen
    • Italian Stuffed Zucchini Boats
    • Very Best Shrimp Macaroni Salad Recipe
    • Cheese Sauce for Broccoli Recipe
    • Reader Request: Copycat Cheesecake Factory Thai Lettuce Wraps
    • Greek Yogurt Roasted Chicken Thighs Recipe

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • Privacy Policy + Disclaimer

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Video Production

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright 2014-2021 - Jolie Ventures, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy.