Written By Kristi Arnold
Ah, winter. It's bliss-sparkling ice-covered trees abound, making us long for warm places to curl up inside, and sip on warm liquids. It's time to grab your slow cooker and pour in the ingredients to craft a steamy slow cooked concoction that will warm up your dinner table tonight. Try one of our 20 steamy soup slow cooker recipes to warm your belly on a frosty day.
You can turn practically any soup recipe into a slow cooker masterpiece in just a few steps. Try our original crock recipes or convert your favorite soups to slow cooked wonders. Check your ingredients list for grains like rice or pasta and hold these back until the end. Slow cook your soup ingredients for 6 to 8 hours on LOW or 2 to 4 hours on HIGH. Add the rice or pasta in the last 15 minutes and switch your cooker to HIGH, if necessary.
1. Chili: I absolutely love this slow cooker vegan chili. Make your favorite chili slow cooker style with beans, meat or lentils, tomatoes and your favorite spices. Make it spicy to warm yourself even more on an extra chilly night. Or try our stove-top version of vegetable chili.
2. Corn Chowder: Vegan corn chowder is another delicious winter dish. Carrots, potatoes and creamy vegan milk make this dish a winter delight.
3. Indian Potato Kale Soup: Indian spices, lots of potatoes and nutrient-packed kale make this soup a warm-up full of healthy (and tasty) ingredients.
4. Minestrone: No soup list is complete without minestrone. It's a favorite throw-together version that can be a pantry clean-out dish if you add a few extras for variety.
5. Smoked Tofu and Stars: A unique vegan treat, smoked tofu and stars is an excellent chicken noodle soup substitute for vegans. Want real chicken instead? Try this Southern style chicken and dumplings soup.
6. Taco Soup: Make this vegetarian version or a meaty variety of taco soup to warm yourself from the inside out.
7. Alphabet or Stars Tomato Soup: Love tomato soup? You don't need a can! Try this easy slow cooker version of tomato soup with alphabet pasta or stars. Or try this simple vegan Paleo tomato soup.
8. Black Bean Soup: An incredible and versatile black bean soup, this vegetarian favorite is sure to please the whole family. And, it can clean out your crisper since it calls for any vegetables you have on hand mixed in.
9. Potato Soup: Nothing is more comforting than potato soup. And no version is more simple than this slow cooked classic.
10. Curried Beet and Kale: Cook this soup in the crock for 8 hours on low to enjoy a slow cooked version of our curried beet and kale soup. Or try this hearty borscht.
11. Dairy Free Clam Chowder: Pretend you're dining on the foggy Northeastern shore with this delicious dairy-free clam chowder cooked 8 hours on low in the slow cooker.
12. Bone Broth: Start any soup off right by making a big supply of nourishing bone broth as your soup base!
13. Curried Apple-Butternut Squash Soup: This winter wonder soup is filled with seasonal flavors. After roasting your squash, cook the butternut squash soup in the crock instead for a simple treat tonight for dinner.
14. White Bean, Kale and Chorizo: Spicy and nutritious, this white bean, kale and chorizo soup can be slow cooked for 8 hours to enhance the medley of flavors.
15. Thai Coconut Chicken Soup (Tom Kha Gai): Looking for an Asian delight? Try this Thai coconut chicken soup. It's great for a warm up and an excellent variation on chicken soup for your cold or flu.
16. Faux Pho: Make a simpler version of Pho by slow-cooking the broth and beef in your crock pot. Add your prepared rice noodles just before serving.
17. Seafood Cheddar Corn Chowder: It's like a seafood boil in a soup! And seafood cheddar corn chowder can be delicious slow-cooked, too. Add your seafood about halfway through to prevent overcooking.
18. Broccoli Cheddar: Broccoli cheddar soup, made with REAL cheese and not that slimy cheese food stuff. What can be more warming than liquid cheese?
19. Curry Roasted Cauliflower: Roasted cauliflower soup with curry? Yes, please. Roast your veggies, reserving some for topping. Then slow cook the rest before pureeing. Top it off with some of those beautiful roasted vegetables for a tasty and beautiful soup presentation.
20. Creamy Sweet Potato Soup: Sweet potato soup topped with bacon? I think I'm in love.
For more warm-you-up soups, check out my Pinterest Soups Board.
Keep in touch with Kristi on Facebook, Twitter @VeggieConverter and Pinterest
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Image: The Darling Bakers