28 Satisfying Soups You Can Make In The Slow Cooker
If you're craving something warm and satisfying for dinner tonight, try one of these slow-cooker soups.
Grab the crackers and toasted bread, and ready your spoon. When you crave comfort and convenience, look no further than soup you can make in your trusty slow cooker. While we love soup, we can do without the hassle and time it takes to prepare a homemade pot. And let's be honest, the canned, sodium-filled stuff simply won't do on some nights. That's why we're breaking out the slow cooker for a hands-free approach to a complete dinner made from scratch.
It doesn't get any easier—or any more delicious—than throwing a few fresh ingredients in the slow cooker and letting it do all the work while you enjoy your day. All you have to do is set it and forget it in the morning and come home (with an empty stomach) to these warm and satisfying stews and soups that are just waiting to be devoured by your family.
Related: 55 Soup And Sandwich Recipes For A Quick And Easy Meal
Slow-Cooker French Onion Soup
After using your slow cooker to make this classic soup, you may never make it on your stovetop again. Caramelize the onions right in the pot all day, then add the broth and cook until warm. While the soup is finishing, you’ll have time to put together crispy cheese toasts to crown each bowl.
White Chicken Chili
Take a break from tradition with a bowl full of white chili, complete with tender chicken, white navy beans, and spicy seasonings. Everything goes in the slow cooker to cook all day. Just add toppings like cheese, cilantro, and avocado to serve.
Ham-and-Bean Soup
Jen Causey; Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf; Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle
Since ham bones freeze well, store them in the freezer to have ready whenever you want this flavorful soup. Using unsalted chicken stock will temper ham’s natural saltiness. To make sure everything cooks evenly, we recommend trying to slice the celery, carrots, and onion in similar sizes.
Slow-Cooker Black Bean Soup
Proving that black beans can be more than just a side dish, this slow-cooker soup is a great base for toppings like sour cream, avocado slices, fresh cilantro leaves, and chopped fresh tomatoes. You don’t even have to soak the beans for this recipe. Just add dry beans with the broth, and they’ll be done by dinner.
Slow-Cooker Carne Guisada
Don’t skip the step of browning the beef in the skillet. It produces flavors that a slow cooker can’t duplicate. Cooking low and slow ensures every piece of beef is tender and packed with flavor. Serve with warm tortillas on the side.
Slow-Cooker Cheddar Soup
Use any soft cheese you have for this recipe. We recommend serving Cheddar soup in pretzel bowls topped with crumbled bacon and sliced scallions for maximum enjoyment. For the pretzel bowls, slice the buns, scoop out the middle, and toast them to prevent them from getting soggy and collapsing but also to add a nice toasty crunch to the dish.
Lemon Chicken Soup
Just what the doctor ordered—our take on the childhood classic has a grownup spin that we know you'll love. We swap egg noodles for orzo, and in addition to onion, celery, and carrots, we add a burst of green with English peas and fresh parsley. But the zip of lemon, from both the zest and the juice, takes this comforting soup up a notch.
Slow-Cooker Lentil Soup
Although it lacks meat, this bean and veggie soup is still packed with plenty of protein. Other than chopping the vegetables, the ingredients come together quickly in the slow cooker. Quick processing in the blender thickens it without adding flour.
Slow-Cooker Turkey and Dumplings Soup
Chicken steps aside in this take on the classic Southern recipe. Plus, even the dumplings are cooked in the slow cooker. This meal makes great use of Thanksgiving leftovers.
Chicken-and-Rice Soup with Mushrooms
A package of long-grain and wild rice mix and prepackaged chopped veggies help this chicken soup come together quickly. A rotisserie chicken makes it even easier. Add in the convenience of slow cooking, and you’ll keep this comforting, healing soup on your regular winter dinner rotation.
Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Corn Slow-Cooker Chowder
This chowder recipe is perfect for game days or weeknights when the family is all together. Top with a dash of hot sauce and chopped chives.
Navy Bean and Ham Soup
If you like the savory combination of ham and beans but don't have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen, let this savory slow-cooker recipe come to the rescue. At the end of cooking, remove the ham bone and gristle and return the meat to the soup. Serve with crusty bread to soak up all the broth.
Slow-Cooker Brisket Chili
Enjoy the ball game, go shopping, or work in the yard. Return to the kitchen a few hours later to find a warm pot of flavorful brisket chili waiting for you and your family. Loaded with black beans and veggies, your family will come back for more.
Soulful Chicken Soup
No dish is quite as soothing as a hearty bowl of chicken noodle soup, and the slow cooker couldn't have made the road to comfort any easier. This version adds celery root and a splash of lemon. It’ll be your new favorite.
Easy Chili
Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Torie Cox
Chili is a wintertime staple, and this slow-cooker version is excellent served on its own with cornbread or on top of hot dogs. Fire-roasted tomatoes add smokiness. This hearty chili is full of both ground chuck and chunks of chuck-eye steak.
Chicken and Cornbread Dumplings
Carrots, parsnips, and celery cook with chicken breasts and thighs in a creamy, flavorful soup mixture. The soft and fluffy cornmeal dumplings bake upright in the slow cooker on top of the aromatic chicken stew.
Kentucky Slow-Cooker Burgoo
Burgoos include a mix of pork, poultry, mutton, and beef, along with a variety of fresh vegetables. This recipe uses pork shoulder and pork sausage. It makes enough to feed a crowd or enjoy the leftovers throughout the week.
Slow-Cooker Corn Chowder
Soup is suitable to serve year-round, even during summer. This soup calls for 14 ears of fresh yellow corn, so you can make the most of the in-season crop. Blend half of the soup for a creamy, indulgent meal.
Peppered Beef Soup
A steaming hot bowl of hearty soup served out of a toasted bread bowl warms our hearts in such a distinct and fulfilling way. This comforting soup requires some prep work, but the soul-warming result is worth every minute. If you have leftovers—the recipe yields 12 cups—store them in an airtight container for up to three months.
Creamy Potato-and-Ham Hock Slow-Cooker Soup
This potato soup is creamy and rich from ham hocks and spending time in the slow cooker. Add a dash of hot sauce for a kick. Serve with a side salad and bread for a full meal.
Loaded Potato Soup
You need just a handful of ingredients and a few minutes of hands-on time to pull this potato soup together. It has everything you love about your favorite side dish combined into a thick, creamy soup. Set up a topping bar so everyone can finish as they wish.
Pork Chili Verde
This is how chili should be: spicy, savory, and delicious. Grab a spoon and savor every bite. Pork rib pieces are the savory meat that makes this chili so irresistible.
Slow-Cooker Posole
This version of classic posole combines all the flavors of the slow-cooked pork stew right in your slow cooker. Pork becomes very tender simmering in broth enhanced with dried ancho chiles. Top with sliced radishes, lime, and cilantro.
Slow-Cooker Taco Soup
Emily Laurae / Southern Living
Add a twist to taco night with this easy Slow-Cooker Taco Soup recipe that combines ground beef, taco seasoning, vegetables, and beans. Browning the beef with onions and taco spices before adding it to the slow cooker helps bring out all those delicious meaty and savory flavors. And just like tacos, garnishing this soup with toppings of your choice is half the fun.
Slow-Cooker Chicken and Dumplings
Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
From the chicken to the dumplings, the slow cooker does all the work in this recipe. After the chicken cooks in the slow cooker, make the dough for the dumplings. Add them to the soup to cook while you shred the cooled chicken. Bring it all back together and serve.
Slow-Cooker Venison Stew
Use up that venison in your freezer for this special rustic stew perfect to enjoy on a winter evening. Meaty mushrooms, rustic root vegetables, and Brussels sprouts create heartiness while the broth is packed with savoriness and a little sweetness. Blackberry jam is the secret ingredient that tempers some of the more powerful flavors while thickening the stew.
Slow-Cooker Vegetable Soup with Bacon
Think of this recipe as a guide to get your soup started. You can then customize it with your favorite beans and the greens of your choice. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper flakes for some heat.
Classic Slow-Cooker Beef Stew
Alison Miksch; Food Stylist: Karen Rankin; Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle
Slow cooking makes the beef chuck roast tender and moist. Hearty potatoes, carrots, and turnips add earthy flavor and sweetness. Just before serving, stir in a little butter for a touch of creaminess.
Related: 55 Soup And Sandwich Recipes For A Quick And Easy Meal
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