Healthy Crock Pot Vegetable Soup

This easy, healthy Crock Pot Vegetable Soup is hearty and delicious. It's a low-fat, gluten-free crockpot soup recipe packed with tender veggies and plenty of rich, comforting flavor. 

Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup is comfort in a bowl. The tender veggies make a wonderfully delicious vegetarian and gluten-free option for lunch or dinner.

Better than anything you can get in a can! It's high in fiber, low in fat, and downright delicious! Perfect for keeping your budget and diet on track.

This savory soup recipe is easy to throw together, and speaking of flavor, it tastes even better the next day after the herbs and vegetables have blended—so it's great for meal prep.

We love healthy slow cooker recipes this time of year! You can make tons of your favorite comfort foods into healthy options.

Equipment you’ll need

6-quart Crockpot
Large Skillet
Knife
Cooking Spoon

Ingredients

Here are the essential ingredients to make this slow cooker vegetable soup. Below you can find some other vegetables that work with the nutritious recipe.

• olive oil - extra virgin olive oil
• yellow onion - diced
• carrots - peeled and sliced
• celery - sliced
• fresh parsley
• garlic - minced
• canned diced tomatoes - undrained
• potatoes - peeled and diced
• green beans - fresh or frozen
• zucchini - chopped (optional)
• canned tomato paste
• bay leaves - dried
• paprika
• salt and pepper
• thyme - dried
• basil - dried
• oregano - dried
• vegetable broth - low sodium if possible
• corn kernels - fresh or frozen

How to make - step-by-step instructions

This recipe is very simple, so no matter your cooking skill, you'll make a tasty soup. Once you chop all your vegetables, this soup comes together quickly.

First, preheat your olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

1. HEAT PAN. Heat your olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

2. COOK VEGGIES. Now, add chopped onions, carrots, and celery; cook for 4-5 minutes until soft.

ADD GARLIC and PARSLEY. Next, stir in garlic and parsley and cook for an additional 30 seconds.

3. ADD TO CROCKPOT. Remove the pan from the heat and place cooked veggies in the crock of your 6-quart, or larger, slow cooker.

4. ADD REMAINING VEGGIES. Add diced tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, zucchini, tomato paste, bay leaves, paprika, salt, thyme, basil, oregano, pepper, and vegetable broth to the crockpot.

Gently stir until ingredients are combined.

5. COOK. Place the cover on and cook on LOW for 6 hours, or cook on HIGH for 3 hours.

6. ADD CORN. If using, add the corn for the last 30 minutes of cooking.

7. DISCARD BAY LEAVES. When finished cooking, discard the bay leaf and add additional salt and pepper to your liking.

Place the soup into bowls and squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the top.

Recipe tips & tricks

• Make sure to dice your potatoes small to cook at the same rate as the softer vegetables in the soup. 
• Cut other vegetables into large pieces so they don’t turn to mush while cooking. 
• Adjust the spice to your liking. See below for some flavor options.
• You can use fresh or frozen veggies in this crockpot veggie soup recipe. 
• For added protein, you can add a pound of cooked lean ground beef before cooking.

Tip: When you know you're having a busy day, cut all your veggies the night before. You can even sauté your onions, carrots, and celery the night before. 

How to add flavor to vegetable soup

For some, the basic recipe for vegetable soup is just right. For others, it can be a little bland. If you'd like to punch up the flavor of your soup, here are our suggestions:

• ADD ADDITIONAL HERBS. Italian seasoning (basil, thyme, oregano) is an excellent match for this soup, so is celery salt and adding another bay leaf while cooking. Paprika is also delicious.
• GIVE IT A KICK. Try giving your vegetable soup a punch of flavor by adding red pepper flakes or some chopped jalapeño. 
• BRING ON THE CHEESE. Adding a bit of grated parmesan cheese on top adds a little saltiness and enhances the flavor. Or cook the veggie soup with a Parmesan cheese rind. 
• ADD SOME ACIDITY. You can do this by squeezing lemon juice into your finished soup. 

How long does it keep?

You can keep Crock Pot Vegetable Soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about five days. Reheat and enjoy again and again. 

We make it on a Sunday and have soup all week long!

To freeze:

Vegetable Soup that you make in a slow cooker definitely freezes well. 

Place your cooked soup in a freezer-safe container, or freezer-safe bag, label and date, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

Tip: Quart or gallon-sized zippered freezer bags work well. Lay them flat to freeze, and then stack them in the freezer.

Follow our tips for preventing freezer burn.

To thaw, take the soup out of the freezer the day before you'd like to serve it.

Then, reheat either on the stovetop in a saucepan over medium heat for approximately 15 minutes or in the microwave for 1-2 minutes (longer if you have more than a serving of soup). 

More crockpot soup recipes

Healthy Crock Pot Taco Soup is one delicious and nutritious soup that you will repeatedly make. Add your favorite toppings for added flavor!
Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili - you can change things up with a white chili with comfort food written all over it!
Healthy Crockpot Turkey Chili - a lighter version of classic zesty chili that you can make with beans or without.
Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup - an easy and wholesome soup that's great any day, but especially when you're feeling under the weather.
Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Soup - flavor-packed and hearty, this soup pleases the whole family.

Vegetable add-in options

Besides adding canned beans like cannellini beans or Great Northern beans, here are a few other veggies you can add:

• Sweet potatoes or regular potatoes, cut into ½-inch cubes.
• Butternut squash, cut into ½-inch cubes.
• Green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch long segments.
• Bell pepper, chopped.
• Cauliflower, cut into tiny bite-sized pieces.
• Zucchini or yellow squash, chopped.
• Peas, fresh or frozen.
• Mushrooms, sliced longways.
• Spinach or kale.
• Okra, chopped into bite-sized pieces.
• Green or purple cabbage, chopped into bite-size pieces. 

Crockpot vegetable soup with noodles

To make this soup with Noodles, add 8 ounces of dry pasta noodles about 20-minutes before the soup finishes cooking.

The best noodles are:

Egg Noodles
Bow Tie pasta 
Small Shelled pasta

What to serve with your soup

Here's what to serve with your vegetable soup hot from the slow cooker. 

For added nutrition and texture, try adding cooked quinoa to the recipe. 

Depending on our dietary restrictions, a nice hearty crusty bread is always delicious. 

Brown Rice (or white rice) is another option to add a bit of fiber, texture, and heartiness to your vegetarian crockpot soup.

Let us know how you like it!

If you try this Vegetable Crockpot Soup or any other recipe on Suburban Simplicity, don't forget to rate the recipe and let us know how it went in the comments below. We love hearing from you! Better yet, use the hashtag #suburbansimplicity if you make the recipe.

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