This is a collection of the 20 best slow cooker soup recipes. I love the ease of using a slow cooker for all types of meals, especially soup. Most slow cooker recipes in general let you take a “hands-off” approach that allows you time to do other chores while amazing flavors develop. After simple prep time and dumping in the ingredients, the slow cooker almost makes the meal for you!
Soups are amazing comfort foods, and can be served at anytime of year. Most soups can even be made ahead and stored overnight or frozen before serving. In my experience most soups will also taste even better the next day. Freezing does sometimes change the texture, and some cheese or cream based soups may be best when reheated slowly. Heating too quickly may cause the broth to break. When reheating frozen soup of this type, you may want to let it thaw naturally in the fridge until ready to use.
Best Broth For Making Soups
Most soup recipes will incorporate some type of broth or stock. The type of broth you use can have a direct and profound impact on the final result. Broth can be made using several different methods, each of which will have differing pros and cons.
Option 1: Homemade Broth
Anything homemade is usually better if you have a quality recipe. Homemade stock is actually pretty east to make, but if you are pressed for time, is not always the best solution. The method I use is to make a large batch of stock, and freeze it for future use.
Option 2: Better Than Boullion
I started using Better Than Boullion (BTB) two years ago and have not looked back since. If you are not familiar, it is sold in jars that make around 30 cups of broth for an average price of $5-7 per jar. It comes in many different flavors, and is the closest option to homemade broth that I have found. If it is not sold in your local market, it is readily available from Amazon or directly from their site: https://www.betterthanbouillon.com/our-products/
Option 3: “Boxed” Liquid Broth
I cannot deny that premade liquid broth is very convenient in many occasions. Until I discovered BTB, it was all I ever used. My frustration with it was the fact that it costs $4 per box (approximately 4 cups) and needs to be used within 7-10 of breaking the seal. Over time I realized that I was throwing out half of the box because I did not always need more than one or two cups per week. In addition to better taste, I found that BTB was by far a more economical solution.
Option 4: Powdered Soup Base
Powdered soup base is actually a pretty viable option to make broth. It dissolves fast and is very inexpensive. As opposed to BTB, it is usually only found in a few flavors. Compared to the liquid broth, it is substantially cheaper and has a much longer shelf life. I admittedly still keep some on hand as a backup for when I do not have time to make fresh broth, or am out of BTB.
Option 5 (least favorite): Boullion Cubes
I’m not trying to hate on dried boullion cubes, but let’s face it, most of us have had these cubes collecting dust in our cabinets for years (if not decades!). As am absolute last resort I will use them, but they are by far my least favorite option. The flavor is not nearly as good as the 4 previous options, and the salt content just seems higher to me. If your goal is to make one of our best slow cooker soup recipes, I would just simply avoid using these dusty cubes.
From corn chowder, to vegetable soup, to chicken and dumplings, I hope you enjoy this list of the best slow cooker soup recipes.
