Recipe: Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup

Whether you live alone or with other people, and whether you cook every day or just once in a while, a slow cooker is one of the best kitchen appliances you can invest in! We have a small, two-quart slow cooker that we bought from Target, and we use it almost every week at school. Slow cooker meals are great for busy schedules – you can just throw everything in the pot, leave it alone for hours, and come back to a low-effort hot dinner! 

Affectionately termed “peasant soup” by our roommates, this vegetable soup recipe was born out of some leftover frozen veggies we needed to use up. We supplemented them with some fresh vegetables from our campus salad bar, added a seasoning blend and vegetable broth, and let it cook for a few hours while we did homework and ran errands. We love this meal because it’s super simple while also full of healthy ingredients. You can adjust it to use whatever vegetables you have on hand – just think about what ingredients you have and what would taste good together, throw them in the pot with some seasoning and broth, and let it cook! 

Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup (makes 2-4 servings)

Ingredients:

• Carrots (meal plan or $0.99/lb)*
• Peas (meal plan or $1.00/bag)*
• Corn (meal plan or $0.65/can)
• Celery (meal plan or $1.39/stalk)
• Black-eyed peas (meal plan or $0.79/can)
• Onion (meal plan or $0.23/serving)
• Garlic ($0.03/serving)
• Vegetable broth ($1.99/box)
• Seasoning blend (we recommend Herbs de Provence) ($4.49/jar)

*Another buying option is frozen peas and carrots for $1.00/bag

Supplies:

• 2-quart slow cooker ($11.99)

Chop vegetables so everything is approximately the same size. Layer in the crockpot, placing the vegetables that take the longest to cook on the bottom (first onion and garlic, then carrots, celery, corn and peas, and black-eyed peas). Layer seasoning blend as you layer the veggies, so that each layer of veggies has some seasoning on top. Pour about a quart of vegetable stock on top – remember that the vegetables will release liquid as they cook down, so adjust the amount of broth you want accordingly. Cook in the crockpot on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Enjoy with some crescent rolls or crusty bread! 

❤ Juliana and Sarah