42 healthy crockpot soup recipes that are easy to prep and will warm you right up! Includes soups, stews, chili, vegetarian options and more.
When it comes to easy, veggie-packed meals, soup is where it’s at! And what makes soup even easier to prepare? Your slow cooker!
Crockpot Soup Recipes
When it comes to meal prep, soups are a real hero: they are often freezer-friendly before and after cooking!
Soups are often a nutritional powerhouse, packed with veggies and protein. Using your own homemade bone broth will up the nutrition factor even more!
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Tips for getting the most flavor out of your slow cooker:
Sometimes cooking low and slow can strip some of the flavor from a soup. Here are some tips to get the BEST flavor & texture from your crockpot soup recipe!
- use the right herbs– a general rule is to add hardy herbs like rosemary and thyme at the start of cooking. Reserve soft herbs like cilantro and parsley to add just before serving
- add acid at the end– most soups can benefit from a boost of acid (lemon juice, lime juice, balsamic vinegar etc) at the end of cooking. It really brings out extra flavor!
- taste for salt– always taste test before serving and stir in more salt if needed
- use the right cut of chicken– chicken breast cannot handle over 5 hours (on low!) in the slow cooker. If you need to cook for longer than that, consider boneless skinless chicken thighs. Bonus: brown the thighs first and they will hold together even better!
- coconut milk– in my experience, light coconut milk curdles in the crockpot, whereas full-fat coconut milk can withstand cooking up to 8 hours on low.
Slow cooker soups
Is there anything better than the smell of soup simmering away in your slow cooker all day? I think not! These healthy slow cooker soup recipes are going to warm you up to the tips of your toes but also fill you with nutritious ingredients.
Meal prep it- Crockpot soups are very meal prep friendly!
- freezer crockpot meals– some soups can be assembled ahead and frozen as freezer crockpot meals.
- look for soups with no sauteeing
- avoid cruciferous veggies like broccoli and cauliflower which must be blanched before freezing
- avoid potatoes or use baby potatoes and leave them whole
- cook first, then freeze– the majority of soups are freezer friendly! The only soups I’ve found to not freeze/thaw well are ones with delicate pasta shapes (like orzo).
- we like freezing our soups in mason jars (1 pint jars for single serving; 1 quart jars for multiple servings)
- these reusable plastic freezer jars are also great for freezing soup
1. Anti-Inflammatory Broccoli, Ginger and Turmeric Soup (Slow Cooker) by Sweet Peas and Saffron // 2. Slow-Cooker Moroccan Lentil Soup from This Gal Cooks
3. Thai Slow Cooker Chicken and Wild Rice Soup by Sweet Peas and Saffron // 4. Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Soup from A Spicy Perspective
5. Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Soup from Foodie Crush // 6. Beef and Barley Soup from The Food Charlatan
7. Slow Cooker Butternut Squash and Quinoa Chili Soup from Kristine’s Kitchen // 8. African Inspired Vegetarian Crock Pot Soup from Kalyn’s Kitchen
9. Slow Cooker Potato, Corn and Jalapeno Soup by Sweet Peas and Saffron // 10. Slow Cooker Taco Soup from iFOODreal
11. Slow Cooker Lemon Sesame Chicken Noodle Soup by Sweet Peas and Saffron // 12. Sweet Potato, Chicken & Quinoa Soup from Chelsea’s Messy Apron
13. Crockpot Spicy Chicken Soup from Crockpot Gourmet // 14. Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Soup from Foxes Love Lemons
15. Slow Cooker Chickpea Tortilla Soup from Sweet Peas & Saffron // 16. Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup from Gimme Some Oven
17. Slow Cooker Moroccan Sweet Potato Lentil Soup from Little Spice Jar // 18. Slow Cooker Carrot Ginger Soup from The Busy Baker
19. Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheese Soup from Well Plated // 20. Slow Cooker White Bean Vegetable Soup from One Lovely Life
Crockpot Stews
Another great option for the slow cooker are stews; hearty, thick, and soul warming! Here are some tasty and filling crockpot stew recipes.
Meal prep it– stews are another great meal prep option and can be prepped ahead in two different ways:
- freezer crockpot meals– some stews can be assembled ahead and frozen as freezer crockpot meals.
- look for stews with no sauteeing step (or just skip it)
- avoid cruciferous veggies like broccoli and cauliflower which must be blanched before freezing
- avoid potatoes or use baby potatoes and leave them whole
- do not freeze quinoa; add to the crockpot just before cooking
- cook first, then freeze– the majority of stews are freezer friendly!
- we like freezing our stews in mason jars (1 pint jars for single serving; 1 quart jars for multiple servings)
- these reusable plastic freezer jars are also great for freezing stews
1. Slow Cooker Black Bean, Quinoa and Sweet Potato Stew by Sweet Peas and Saffron // 2. Slow Cooker Harvest Beef Stew from Whole & Heavenly Oven
3. Slow Cooker Creole Chicken and Sausage from Pinch of Yum // 4. Slow Cooker Spanish Chicken Stew by Sweet Peas and Saffron
5. Vegan African Peanut Stew by Sweet Peas and Saffron // 6. Crock Pot Pork Posole Stew from Foodie Crush
7. Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Stew from Sweet Peas & Saffron // 8. Slow Cooker Ethiopian Chicken & Lentil Stew by Sweet Peas and Saffron
9. Slow Cooker Chicken & Sweet Potato Korma from Sweet Peas & Saffron // 10. Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken Stew from Sweet Peas & Saffron
11. Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Kale Quinoa Stew from Real Food Whole Life // 12. Slow Cooker Beef Stew from Diethood
Crockpot chili recipes
Does chili qualify as a soup or a stew? I’m leaning towards stew, but either way, chili is a staple in our crockpot routine! Easy to prep, easy to cook, and always delicious! There are a ton of different varieties of chili out there, which means there’s always a fun new flavor to try out.
Meal prep it– chili is another great meal prep option and can be prepped ahead in two different ways:
- freezer crockpot meals– some chilis can be assembled ahead and frozen as freezer crockpot meals.
- look for chilis with no sauteeing step, or just brown the meat and cool before adding to the freezer bag. I’m not a huge fan of the texture of ground meat in chili when it hasn’t been browned first.
- do not freeze quinoa; add to the crockpot just before cooking
- cook first, then freeze– pretty much all chili recipes are freezer friendly!
- we like freezing our chili in mason jars (1 pint jars for single serving; 1 quart jars for multiple servings)
- these reusable plastic freezer jars are also great for freezing chili
1. Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chickpea Chili by Sweet Peas and Saffron // 2. Slow Cooker White Bean Chili Chicken Verde from Maebells
4. Slow Cooker Smoky Turkey Chili (Freezer Slow Cooker) by Sweet Peas and Saffron // 5. Healthy Slow Cooker Chili from Savory Nothings
6. Crockpot Turkey Chili from Live Well, Bake Often // 7. Slow Cooker Roasted Red Pepper Chili by Sweet Peas and Saffron
8. Slow Cooker Pumpkin Quinoa Chili from Simply Quinoa // 9. Slow Cooker Vegetarian Lentil Chili from Budget Bytes
10. Vegan Crockpot Chili from Sweet Peas & Saffron // 11. Healthy Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili from Sweet Peas & Saffron
That’s it, friends! I hope this post gave you some delicious slow cooker soup recipe ideas. Let me know if you try any of them!
XO
This post is an update on a 2015 post…we’ve added 23 brand new slow cooker soup recipe ideas and tips for prepping these meals!
Denise
LOL! I am getting better at ‘rocking the crock pot’. How was the lentil soup?
Karen @ The Food Charlatan
Denise, thanks for including me on this round up! I love soup, esp when it’s made in the crock 🙂 I’ve got to try that Sweet potato korma you made! It looks awesome!
Denise
I really want to try your stew, Karen! I need to get my slow cooker out ASAP, it’s so cold here this week-end :/
Denise
Thanks, Lynsey!
Andrea @ Cooking with Mamma C
I just saw this now after posting a slow cooker recipe today, so I’m with you! I love this roundup and the nice variety of delicious meals we can make happen, even when we’re gone all day.
Denise
Thanks, Andrea! I have been re-motivated to get my crockpot out and working again 😉
Denise
Ha ha, thanks, Mary Frances! I am totally craving comfort food at this time of year…but healthy comfort food!
Michelle { A Latte Food}
Rock the crockpot–love it! I can’t wait to try out these amazing looking recipes! 🙂
Denise
Ha ha, thanks, Michelle! I got motivated enough to get going on the slow cooker recipes again 🙂
Danielle
I need to be using my crock pot more this year too, it makes dinner so easy! This is such a great collection of recipes, thanks for including mine too!
Denise
Thanks for the great recipe, Danielle 😉 I am so pumped to get my crockpot going again. We have SO much winter left here in Canada…
Kelly - Life Made Sweeter
These all look amazing, Denise! The slow cooker is my life saver and soups and stews are my favorite so I can’t wait to try a few of these!
Denise
Thanks, Kelly! I am still learning how to use my crockpot…some things seem more forgiving than others, and soups and stews seem like a big YES to me 🙂
Sarah@Whole and Heavenly Oven
I can’t wait to “rock my crockpot” with all of these recipes! Seriously stunning round-up, Denise! I am starving all of a sudden. 😉 Thanks for including my beef stew, girl! Pinning.
Denise
Thanks so much, Sarah, and thanks for the delicious looking beef stew! I haven’t made a beef stew in my crockpot yet…WHY!?