Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup
Winter means time to break out the slow cooker. With the addition of instant pots, air frying ovens and sous-vide devices, slow cookers don’t always get the love they deserve. The very best thing about a slow cooker, for busy families, is that you can get it going in the morning and have a warm dinner when you get home (or end the working day at home)
This recipe is adapted from other recipes we’ve used. It’s good when we don’t want to take the time to soak dried beans overnight and have some great vegetables in the fridge that need to get used. It’s also great when we want a healthy, comforting meatless dinner.
Start by chopping the onions, dicing finely. Then chop the celery and carrots. They should be in small enough pieces to full cook. Then cut the green beans into 1 inch pieces.
After the chopping, it’s time to put it all into the slow cooker. It’s so easy to make.
Drain the cannellini beans and and them as well.
Next it’s time for the tomatoes. Add the chicken broth and then stir all together.
Add the thyme sprig, oregano, salt and pepper. If you have fresh oregano, it can be tied with twine to the thyme in a bundle. The thyme (or bundle) should be removed after the 6 hours of cooking.
Low and slow….. let the soup cook for about 6 hours. Once the carrots are tender, all the veggies should be tender as well. At that point it’s time to add the zucchini. The zucchini should only cook until tender, about 30-45 minutes. The house should smell good now!
It’s ready! Warm the soup bowls by letting them sit with hot water in for 2-3 minutes. Dump the water out and add the hot soup.
(guess I should have cleaned the outside my trusty slow cooker before taking pictures!)
Top with Pesto
Shave a bit of parmesan and basil on the top as well. This makes a nice hot meal all on it’s own. This soup also makes terrific lunches for the next couple of days.
