Slow Cooker Pasta and Bean Soup

This Pasta and Bean Soup recipe is hearty, delicious, and convenient. Spend 10 minutes building your flavors on the stove, then let the slow cooker do the rest of the work.

There are very few “dump and pour” slow cooker recipes that I can get excited about. Somehow no matter what you dumped and poured, they all end up tasting the same.

In this Pasta and Bean Soup recipe, though, you can spend 10 minutes creating and layering flavors on the stovetop before transferring everything to your crockpot.

You’ll wind up with a DELICIOUS soup that didn’t take too much extra effort. Just enough to make the soup actually worth eating!

Recipe ingredients

At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.

Ingredient notes

• Pinto beans: To soak the beans overnight, place in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Soak at least 8 hours. Drain well and discard soaking liquid. To quick-soak the beans, place in a 2-quart saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes; remove from heat. Cover and let stand 1 hour. Drain well and discard soaking liquid.
• Split peas: Or substitute split red lentils (masoor dal).

Step-by-step instructions

1. Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add bacon, onion, celery, carrot, and garlic. Cook until vegetables have softened, about 5 to 7 minutes.

2. Stir in broth, beans, peas, and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a boil; pour into slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH 3 to 4 hours or LOW 7 to 8 hours.

3. Add pasta to slower cooker. Cover and cook about 10 minutes longer, until pasta is tender.

4. Remove bay leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Recipe tips and variations

• Yield: This recipe makes about 10 cups of soup (or slightly more than that), enough for 5 generous servings, 2 cups each.
• Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
• Freezer: The cooked, cooled soup can be packed in freezer-safe containers (I like glass Mason jars for this). Label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
• Favorite sides for soup: Serve this Pasta and Bean Soup with any crusty bread (store-bought, or make your own no-Knead bread). It’s also delicious with Garlic Bread on the side. Round out your meal with a fresh green salad like classic Caesar Salad, Italian Chopped Salad, or a color Antipasto Salad.
• More Italian soups: You may also enjoy Italian Wedding Soup, Minestrone, Lasagna Soup, or my personal favorite, Sausage and Bean Stew.

Recipe FAQs

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Slow Cooker Pasta and Bean Soup

By Meggan Hill

This Pasta and Bean Soup recipe is hearty, delicious, and convenient. Spend 10 minutes building your flavors on the stove, then let the slow cooker do the rest of the work.

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 4 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Total Time 4 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Servings 5 servings (2 cups each)

Course Soup

Cuisine American, Italian

Calories 349

5 from 6 votes

ReviewPrint

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 2 slices bacon chopped
• ▢ 1 medium onion peeled and chopped
• ▢ 1 rib celery chopped
• ▢ 1 carrot peeled and chopped
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 8 cups chicken broth
• ▢ 1 cup dried pinto beans soaked overnight (see note 1)
• ▢ ½ cup dried split peas rinsed and sorted (see note 2)
• ▢ 1 bay leaf
• ▢ 1 cup cavatappi pasta or other small pasta such as rotini or rigatoni
• ▢ Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions 

• Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add bacon, onion, celery, carrot, and garlic. Cook until vegetables have softened, about 5 to 7 minutes.
• Stir in broth, beans, peas, and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a boil; pour into slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH 3 to 4 hours or LOW 7 to 8 hours.
• Add pasta to slower cooker. Cover and cook about 10 minutes longer, until pasta is tender. Remove bay leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Notes

1. Pinto beans: To soak the beans overnight, place in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Soak at least 8 hours. Drain well and discard soaking liquid. To quick-soak the beans, place in a 2-quart saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes; remove from heat. Cover and let stand 1 hour. Drain well and discard soaking liquid.
2. Split peas: Or substitute split red lentils (masoor dal).
3. Yield: This recipe makes about 10 cups of soup (or slightly more than that), enough for 5 generous servings, 2 cups each.
4. Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
5. Freezer: The cooked, cooled soup can be packed in freezer-safe containers (I like glass Mason jars for this). Label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

Nutrition

Serving: 2cupsCalories: 349kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 19gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.004gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 1473mgPotassium: 938mgFiber: 12gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 2114IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 87mgIron: 3mg

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