This Crock Pot Vegetable Soup recipe offers an easy to make and wholesome solution if you’re seeking a hearty dining experience that’s packed with a variety of nutritious vegetables.
Make a big batch of this easy vegan slow cooker veggie soup with frozen vegetables for a cozy and healthy dinner that’ll make you feel good from the inside out. It’s quick to prepare and uses lots of easy shortcuts like frozen cut green beans and already prepared pesto so your meal is convenient as well as delicious!
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Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.
Why you’ll love this vegetable soup
- Meal prep: it makes a nice big batch of soup that you can portion out for lunches or you can freeze for later. It’s great to make for a new mom or someone at home who’s sick too.
- Healthy: It’s packed with lots of veggies for vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
- Budget friendly: It’s nice to know that you can put a healthy meal on the table for your family that doesn’t cost too much these days. Veggies are still my choice for affordability.
- Easy to make: All you have to do it toss the ingredients in and let the slow cooker do the work for you. And there’s minimal chopping involved.
- Versatile. Switch it up. I offer lots of ideas on ways to make it different each time you make it. It can also be changed to accommodate your family’s preferences, as well as help you use leftover veggies from your fridge or freezer.
How to make
The simple ingredients in this old-fashioned vegetable soup made in the crock pot help make this filling and flavorful soup. I have both crock pot directions, as well as stove top directions for you. This recipe is based on my crock pot minestrone soup.
The full printable recipe ingredients and instructions are available in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. You can find important tips and tricks in the post.
Crock pot directions
Grab a large slow cooker and place all the ingredients except frozen mixed vegetables and pesto in it.
Give it all a stir, cover it, and cook on low 8 to 10 hours or high for 4 hours.
Pro tip: The recipe gives you general time ranges, rather than exact times because every slow cooker runs at a slightly different temperature. Newer models will cook hotter than older models.
Stir in the frozen mixed vegetables. Cover; cook on high 30 minutes or until soup is hot. Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste.
Top each serving with a spoonful of pesto.
Stove top directions
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and sauté about 5 minutes.
Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, broth, chopped potatoes, parsley, dried onion, basil, thyme, oregano, and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, and add the green beans.
Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 to 30 minutes.
Add frozen mixed veggies, and cook 5 more minutes or until soup is heated through.
Top each serving with a spoonful of pesto.
FAQs
Let’s take a quick look at the ingredients and any questions you might have.
crushed tomatoes
I like canned crushed tomatoes for soup and stew recipes. They add a nice silky texture and you aren’t left with chunks of tomatoes in the soup; they kind of melt right in. Some of my other recipes that use crushed tomatoes are Tomato Lentil Soup, red lentil artichoke stew, and Vegetable Lasagna.
If you can’t find crushed tomatoes or have another kind of canned tomatoes in your pantry, feel free to use them. Diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, fire roasted petite dice, any will work. You don’t need to drain the can of tomatoes; the juice adds nice flavor and liquid to the soup.
Broth
I’m a big fan of using the broth that your family already loves. We use vegetable broth to keep everything vegetarian. You can even step it a notch and use homemade vegetable broth. If you prefer chicken broth, by all means feel free to use it, just as long as you’re not concerned with keeping the meal vegetarian.
Potatoes
You don’t need to peel the potatoes, of course you can if you like, but the peel has lots of nutrition in it. And it saves time if you don’t peel them.
Frozen cut green beans
This is a super convenient shortcut so you don’t have to chop them. And, they go in frozen so there’s no need to defrost them.
Dried onions and herbs
I love dried onions flakes; they’re so easy to use and perfect for the slow cooker. No chopping needed. I also like that you aren’t left with hard chunks of onion in the soup like you can be if you use fresh onions. Same with the dried herbs.
And, yes, you can feel free to use fresh onion or herbs if you like.
Dried herbs are more concentrated than fresh herbs, so you’ll need more if they’re fresh. The rule of thumb is 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon of dried herbs.
Frozen mixed vegetables
Use your favorite. A blend of vegetables is great. Or you can use up the last of different bags from the freezer. You can measure up to the pound called for in the recipe, or simply eyeball the amount.
You don’t even need to thaw them before adding them to the soup. They pretty much thaw immediately when added.
Pesto
Don’t forget the dollop of pesto for serving! Use your favorite store-bought pesto or use a homemade pesto – it perks up the flavor nicely. It’s also great topped with chimichurri.
Storage and reheating
This recipe makes a large pot of soup. It’s perfect for meal prep, and the leftovers are great!
Leftover soup will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
Reheat individual servings of leftovers in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
To reheat larger quantities, place in a saucepan on the stove, cover, and warm over low heat. Adding more broth if desired.
Or store it in the freezer for up to 6 months. It can be stored in smaller air tight containers for individual portions. Store it in {affiliate link} silicone trays with tight fitting lids. Once frozen the cubes can be transferred to bags for longer storage.
Potatoes can get mushy after they’re frozen, so you may want to leave them out if freezing the soup.
Defrost frozen soup in the fridge overnight or covered in the microwave.
Changes to the recipe
There are lots of ways to change up this basic vegetable soup. So don’t be afraid to get creative and spice it up. Try it once as directed, then each time you make it you can switch it up a bit.
for cooking
Add cabbage, about ½ of a head of cabbage, chopped added to the slow cooker with all the other ingredients. It cooks down nicely in the soup.
Spice it up with crushed red pepper flakes or a couple of pinches of cayenne pepper. Or toss in some Italian seasoning.
Add chicken to make a homemade chicken vegetable soup, or beef for homemade crock pot vegetable beef soup. You can use ground beef (and call it hamburger soup), chuck roast, pot roast, or even last night’s leftover steak.
Switch up the potatoes using red potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes, or sweet potatoes. Also try adding some cubed Butternut squash.
Add cooked rice, barley, pasta (egg noodles would be my choice), or beans.
for serving
Stir in some fresh spinach leaves right before serving. Wilted spinach is so pretty in soups.
Garnish each bowl with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, more chopped fresh parsley, or a dollop of sour cream.
Serve the soup with lemon wedges so guests can add a dash of lemon juice to brighten up the flavors even more.
Can I use fresh vegetables instead of frozen?
Yes, you can use fresh veggies in this soup as you like.
Frozen vegetables are frozen at the peak of freshness, and they’re so convenient, so, they really are what I recommend here.
If you have fresh veggies to use up so they don’t go bad, you may have to adjust the cooking time on the soup. Or, even add different veggies in at different times. Zucchini, for example, will take less time to cook than frozen green beans.
Best slow cooker vegetable recipes
Serving suggestions
Serve a bowl of vegetable soup with a lovely toaster oven grilled cheese for an easy and family friendly meal.
Everyone will love a slice of no knead bread, Dakota bread, or Garlic tomato bread to dunk in their soup.
Serve some lovely deconstructed hummus salad on the side.
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Recipe
Crock Pot Vegetable Soup
An easy, healthy, and delicious vegetable soup for the slow cooker or stove top.
Cook ModePrevent your screen from going to sleep.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 8 hours 50 minutes
Course Main Course, Soup
Cuisine American
Servings 10 servings
Calories 199 kcal
Ingredients
1x2x3x
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 14 ounces tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- 2 medium russet potatoes cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 cups frozen cut green beans
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ cup dried onion flakes
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound frozen mixed vegetables
- 7 ounces refrigerated basil pesto optional
Instructions
Crock Pot Directions
-
In large slow cooker, mix all ingredients except frozen mixed vegetables and pesto.
-
Cover, and cook on low 8 to 10 hours or high for 4 hours.
-
Stir in frozen mixed vegetables. Cover; cook on high 30 minutes or until soup is hot. Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste.
-
Top each serving with a spoonful of pesto.
Stove top directions
-
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and sauté about 5 minutes.
-
Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, broth, chopped potatoes, parsley, dried onion, basil, thyme, oregano, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then add green beans.
-
Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 to 30 minutes.
-
Add frozen mixed veggies, and cook 5 more minutes or until soup is heated through.
-
Top each serving with a spoonful of pesto.
Notes
The recipe gives you general time ranges, rather than exact times because every slow cooker runs at a slightly different temperature.
It makes a nice big batch of soup that you can portion out for lunches or you can freeze for later. It’s great to make for a new mom or someone at home who’s sick too.
If you can’t find crushed tomatoes or have another kind of canned tomatoes in your pantry, feel free to use them. Diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, fire roasted petite dice, any will work. You don’t need to drain the can of tomatoes; the juice adds nice flavor and liquid to the soup.
You don’t need to peel the potatoes, of course you can if you like, but the peel has lots of nutrition in it.
If you have fresh veggies to use up so they don’t go bad, you may have to adjust the cooking time on the soup. Or, even add different veggies in at different times.
Nutrition
Calories: 199kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 6gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 535mgPotassium: 764mgFiber: 7gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 4447IUVitamin C: 30mgCalcium: 102mgIron: 3mg
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Keyword crock pot, slow cooker, vegetable