Prepare a big batch of crockpot vegetable soup for a cozy and healthy dinner that will make you feel good from the inside out. Pair each bowl of old-fashioned vegetable soup with a loaf of crusty bread, biscuits, or cornbread — it’s just like Grandma’s!
Table of Contents
If you’re looking for even more Crock Pot soup recipes, be sure to try this Crock Pot chicken noodle soup, a batch of Crock Pot potato soup, chicken corn chowder, this broccoli cheese soup with ham, a bowl of minestrone, a zesty vegetarian Crock Pot black bean soup recipe, and this chicken tortilla soup, too!
How to Make Crockpot Vegetable Soup | 1-Minute Video
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Healthy. It’s packed with a wide variety of nourishing vegetables.
- Easy. If you can chop some veggies, you can make this soup! The Crock Pot does all of the hard work, while you go about your day.
- Affordable. You don’t need any pricey meat for this soup, so it’s a budget-friendly way to prepare a big meal.
- Versatile. This easily adaptable recipe can be changed to suit your family’s preferences and the ingredients that you have on hand. It’s a great opportunity to clean out that vegetable drawer in your fridge, since just about anything can be thrown into the crockpot soup!
- Make Ahead. Prep a batch over the weekend, and reheat individual bowls of soup for quick lunches and dinners throughout the week.
How to Make Vegetable Soup tastier
No boring vegetable soup here! This recipe gets its flavor from herbs and seasoning like parsley, thyme, bay leaves, and garlic.
Get creative and spice it up with cayenne or crushed red pepper flakes, or use fresh herbs like rosemary, oregano, chives, or basil. It’s a nice way to add some extra vegetables to your diet in a satisfying, delicious way.
Ingredients
This is just a quick overview of the simple ingredients that you’ll need for a healthy crockpot soup. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Onions, carrots, celery, and garlic: aromatics that create the flavorful base for the soup.
- Potatoes: for a satisfying, hearty starch component. I use russet potatoes, but red potatoes, yukon gold potatoes, or even sweet potatoes are also fine! If using the red or gold potatoes, you don’t need to peel them before dicing and adding to your pot.
- Zucchini: a mild-tasting vegetable that bulks up the soup. You can substitute with yellow summer squash, too.
- Frozen cut green beans: a convenient shortcut that avoids extra chopping! There’s no need to thaw them first — just throw them into the crockpot soup while they’re still frozen.
- Petite diced tomatoes: don’t drain the can, since the juice adds flavor and liquid to the broth.
- Tomato paste: for rich, highly concentrated tomato flavor.
- Fresh parsley: a bright touch of freshness.
- Bay leaves and dried thyme; kosher salt and ground black pepper: extra seasonings that give the soup depth of flavor and an earthy taste.
- Vegetable broth: the liquid base of the soup. Chicken broth also works well if you’re not concerned with keeping the meal vegetarian.
- Frozen peas and corn: add them at the end so that they don’t get too mushy.
How to Make Vegetable Soup in a Crock Pot
This crockpot vegetable soup recipe can also be prepared in a pot on the stovetop, so pick whichever method suits your schedule. I’ve included both sets of instructions below.
The only “work” required for this crockpot soup is chopping up the veggies! If you can handle that task, then you can make a delicious homemade vegetable soup with very little effort. You’ll find the detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the quick version:
- Place all of the ingredients (except for the frozen peas and corn) in the Crock Pot. Cover.
- Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 2-4 hours, or just until your potatoes (and other veggies) are fork tender. The peas and corn do not need much time in the pot, so you’ll just add those two ingredients during the final 30 minutes.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper, if necessary, then ladle into bowls and serve!
Serving Suggestions
Here are some easy sides that go well with vegetable soup for a classic, comfort food supper:
- Kale Apple Salad with Bacon, Feta, and Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing, Wedge Salad with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing, Southern Caesar Salad, Green Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette, Mixed Greens with Dijon Vinaigrette, House Salad with Candied Pecans, or Classic Caesar Salad
- One-Bowl Pumpkin Bread, Easy Pumpkin Muffins, or 2-Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins
- Homemade Soft Pretzels
- Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits, 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits, 4-Ingredient Butter Swim Biscuits, 7UP Biscuits, Sweet Potato Biscuits, Cheese Biscuits, Pumpkin Spice Biscuits, Cheddar Biscuits with Bacon and Chives, Angel Biscuits, or Drop Biscuits
- Cast Iron Cornbread, Sour Cream Cornbread, Fluffy Bakery-Style Corn Muffins, Southern Cornbread, Jiffy Cornbread with Creamed Corn, Sweet Cornbread, Broccoli Cornbread, Pumpkin Cornbread, Cake Mix Cornbread, Skillet Cornbread, Corn Sticks, or Honey Butter Cornbread
- 3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins
- Cranberry Orange Bread or One-Bowl Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Honey Beer Bread
- Homemade Crescent Rolls or Soft Dinner Rolls
- A loaf of crusty Dutch Oven Bread, No-Knead Cranberry Walnut Bread, or French Baguette
- Fried Apples or Baked Apple Slices
Preparation and Storage Tips
- A pot of crockpot vegetable soup is a healthy lunch or dinner to prepare in advance and then stash in your fridge or freezer for busy days. Leftover soup will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, or in freezer bags or an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Reheat individual portions of leftover soup in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. To reheat larger quantities of soup, place in a saucepan on the stovetop, cover, and warm over low heat just until the soup reaches the desired temperature.
- It’s important to note that the potatoes tend to get a bit mushy when they’re thawed after freezing, so if that bothers you, do not freeze this soup.
Recipe Variations
- If you love cabbage in your vegetable soup, add about 1/2 of a head of cabbage (chopped or shredded) to the slow cooker. It looks like a lot of cabbage, but it will cook down quite a bit.
- Add fresh spinach leaves at the very end. The spinach will wilt almost instantly, so wait to stir it in until you’re ready to serve.
- You can stir cooked rice, pasta, or barley into your soup when it’s done cooking.
- Make this soup with hamburger by adding 1 lb. of ground beef (cooked and drained) — just like my grandmother used to do in this recipe! Other meats will also work well in this crockpot soup, including sausage, bacon, and chicken.
- I kept this recipe really simple and traditional by seasoning the tomato-based soup with parsley, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper. If you want to kick it up and add even more flavor, you can use any additional herbs and spices that you enjoy — such as dried oregano and dried basil, paprika, or a prepared Italian seasoning blend.
- This makes a very large pot of soup! You can either save the leftovers for later meals, or cut all of the ingredients in half to prepare a smaller batch.
Stovetop Preparation
To prepare this soup on the stove top instead of in the slow cooker, heat about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and sauté 4 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté 1 more minute.
Stir in broth, tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, tomato paste, parsley, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then add green beans. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until potatoes are almost tender, about 20 – 30 minutes. Add corn and peas and cook 5 minutes longer.
Expert Tips
- Every slow cooker runs at a slightly different temperature (which is why the recipe gives you general time ranges, rather than exact times). Since my slow cooker tends to cook at a relatively high temperature, I find that the meal is best when cooked on HIGH for about 2 hours or on LOW for about 4-5 hours. Just get familiar with your pot and adjust accordingly. You’ll know the soup is done as soon as the potatoes (and other veggies) are tender.
- You do not need to thaw the peas or corn before adding them directly to the soup. They will thaw almost immediately when they hit the hot broth.
- Fresh herbs add great flavor to this old-fashioned soup when they’re available. If you don’t have access to the fresh version, the dried herbs are fine, too!
- A squeeze of fresh lemon juice, lime juice, or a splash of vinegar at the very end is a nice, bright addition.
- Garnish each bowl with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, chopped fresh parsley, cilantro, thyme, or a dollop of sour cream for a delicious finishing touch!
More Vegetable Soup Recipes to Try
Vegetable Beef Soup
1 hour hr 55 minutes mins
Chicken Vegetable Soup
1 hour hr
Vegetable Noodle Soup
50 minutes mins
Did you make this recipe?
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Watch How to Make It
Crock Pot Vegetable Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 small onions (or 1 large onion), chopped
- 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 3 ribs celery, chopped
- 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 1 zucchini, chopped
- 2 cups frozen cut green beans
- 1 (28 ounce) can petite-diced tomatoes, not drained
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except for peas and corn in a slow cooker. Gently stir to combine. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 2-4 hours (or until potatoes and other vegetables are tender).
- Stir in the frozen peas and corn during the final 30 minutes of cooking time.
- Remove bay leaves. Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste. Ladle into bowls and serve!
ALTERNATE STOVETOP DIRECTIONS
- Heat about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and sauté 4 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté 1 more minute. Stir in broth, tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, tomato paste, parsley, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then add green beans. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until potatoes are almost tender, about 20 – 30 minutes. Add corn and peas and cook 5 minutes longer.
Notes
- Every slow cooker runs at a slightly different temperature (which is why the recipe gives you general time ranges, rather than exact times). Since my slow cooker tends to cook at a relatively high temperature, I find that the meal is best when cooked on HIGH for about 2 hours or on LOW for about 4-5 hours. Just get familiar with your pot and adjust accordingly. You’ll know the soup is done as soon as the potatoes (and other veggies) are tender.
- You do not need to thaw the peas or corn before adding them directly to the soup. They will thaw almost immediately when they hit the hot broth.
- Fresh herbs add great flavor to this old-fashioned soup when they’re available. If you don’t have access to the fresh version, the dried herbs are fine, too!
- A squeeze of fresh lemon juice, lime juice, or a splash of vinegar at the very end is a nice, bright addition.
- Garnish each bowl with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, chopped fresh parsley, cilantro, thyme, or a dollop of sour cream for a delicious finishing touch!
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in January, 2020. The photos were updated in November, 2023.
Oh my goodness this looked so delicious that I got my crock pot repaired by https://www.appliancerepairguelph.com/ just so I can make it. Starting within the hour. Might be back to tell you how it turned out!
Any suggestions on what dried spices / herbs to use in place of fresh parsley? Store was out of stock…
Hi, Liz! Really anything that you like will work fine! I would use a couple of teaspoons of dried parsley, or dried basil or rosemary would also work. If you have a dried Italian seasoning blend, that would be a great addition. Just remember that dried spices are much more concentrated than fresh, so you only need about 1/3 as much. Enjoy!
The soup tastes pretty good, but by hour 6 nothing but the zucchini was near fully cooked, and I had to bump it up to high for well over a half hour to get the potatoes cooked enough to be edible. I recommend not adding the zucchini until closer to the end. It was mush by the time everything else was no longer very crunchy. I think if I make this again, I will just completely omit it. I used Better Than Bouillon Seasoned Vegetable Base for the broth, and I highly recommend that. Overall a solid soup recipe that just needs to be cooked far more than expected.
Thanks, Leon! I’m glad that you were able to make it work. Every slow cooker runs at a slightly different temperature, so it’s always a good idea to check your particular dish and adjust accordingly. 🙂
3 hours on high and potato and carrots not cooked. could be my crock pot but not positive. The flavor was actually quite bland. Don’t think I will be using this recipe again
Sorry you didn’t enjoy it, Bob. Every crockpot is different. You can always add more seasoning! We hope you give some of our other recipes a try.
This was delicious, but after 4 hours in my crockpot on high, my carrots and potatoes were nowhere near cooked through. I ended up putting everything into a big sauce pan and simmering on my stove for two more hours before it was near the consistency I wanted. (Maybe cooking this on low for longer is the better approach?)
Hi Kate! We would recommend to continue cooking on low next time. We hope you still enjoyed the recipe!