3 Satisfying Slow Cooker Soups to Fill Your Belly With Warmth

We totally get what weekdays are like and how hard it is to put a warm, nutritious, delicious meal on the table every evening. So what if we told you that you could get up 30 minutes earlier in the morning and have a meal that's hot and ready when dinner rolls around? Our soul-satisfying slow cooker soups are just the ticket — put everything in the crockpot in the morning and come home to dinner that's ready and waiting. 

Slow Cooker Beer and Cheese Soup

Cheesy soup topped with crumbly bacon and flavored with your favorite ale? Sign us up! We love this deeply satisfying soup. It makes 8-10 servings, so it can do double duty as tomorrow night's dinner, too. 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, peeled and chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 cups of unsalted chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle of your favorite beer
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1½ cups grated mild cheddar cheese, plus additional for garnish
• 1½ cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
• Chopped fresh chives for garnish (optional)
• Cooked bacon crumbles for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. In a non-stick skillet, heat the oil on medium-high until it shimmers. Add the celery, carrots, and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Add the vegetables to the slow cooker.
3. Add the broth, beer, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours (or on high for 4 hours).
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream and cornstarch. Add to the soup and whisk to combine. Add the cheese. Raise the temperature to high. Cook for 30 minutes more, stirring once or twice during the process. Stir before serving.
5. Serve topped with the chives, bacon crumbles, and additional shredded cheese.

Storing Leftovers

You can store leftovers, tightly sealed, in the fridge for up to three days, or they will freeze for up to six months.

Crockpot Butternut Squash Soup With Ginger and Coconut

This hearty, velvety soup is sweet and earthy, with a delicious bite from ginger and the creaminess of coconut. It's also gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, and paleo, so it fits on a number of special diets. Best of all, there's not a ton you need to do in the morning. Cut up some onions and squash (which you can do the night before or on the weekend) and dump everything in the crockpot. It makes 8-10 servings.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 4 cups cubed butternut squash
• Juice and zest of one orange
• 6 cups unsalted vegetable broth
• ½ teaspoon of sea salt
• ⅛ teaspoon of freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk

Instructions

1. In a slow cooker, combine the onion, garlic, ginger, squash, orange juice and zest, vegetable broth, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
2. In a blender or food processor, puree the soup. Return to the slow cooker.
3. Add the coconut milk. Turn the slow cooker on high and cook for 20 minutes more, stirring once or twice.

Storing Soup Leftovers

You can save the leftovers of this soup tightly sealed in the fridge for up to three days. It will freeze for up to six months. 

Slow Cooker Chickpea and Chorizo Soup

We love the spicy heat the chorizo brings to this smoky and satisfying soup. This uses hard chorizo, but if you can't find it, you can always use ground chorizo and brown it before putting it in the slow cooker. 

Ingredients

• ½ onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 6 cups unsalted chicken broth
• 1 pound hard chorizo, cut into pieces
• 1 (14-ounce) can chickpeas, drained
• 1 (14-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients.
2. Cover and cook on low for eight hours or on high for four hours.

Storing the Leftovers

Store leftovers in the fridge for up to five days in a tightly sealed container, or in the freezer for up to six months. You can also store in individual servings for meals on the go.

Tips for Slow-Cooking Any Soup

You can make almost any soup work in your slow cooker. We've got tips to make it happen. 

• Make vegetable soups in the slow cooker by adding all ingredients to the slow cooker and cooking, covered, on low for 8 hours.
• Add vegetables, broths, and liquids (except dairy), meat and poultry, and dried herbs, salt, and pepper to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
• You can choose to soften vegetables by pre-cooking in a skillet if you wish, but it isn't necessary.
• Brown crumbled meats and poultry (like hamburger, ground turkey, or bulk sausage) before adding them to the slow cooker at the start of cooking.
• There's no need to pre-cook non-crumbled meats and poultry as long as you cook them on low for 8 hours or high for 5 hours in the slow cooker.
• Add dairy, cheese, creams, and thickeners (like cornstarch) to the soup in the last 20 to 30 minutes of cooking.
• Add seafood to soup in the last 30 minutes of cooking.
• Taste and season before serving.

Soup for Busy Lives

Nothing beats a hearty, warming soup on a blustery winter evening. And when you can make those soups in a slow cooker, it gives you more time to spend enjoying cozy winter activities and less time standing over a hot stove.