Slow-Cooker & Crock Pot Soup & Stew Recipes

Prep the ingredients for this soup months in advance for a total hands-off meal that's ready when you are. Vegetarian lentils and vegan coconut milk make this soup creamy and pack in plenty of plant-based protein and a hearty amount of fiber. To keep it vegan, opt for vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.

This easy slow-cooker chicken noodle soup is chock-full of vegetables and noodles, and gets extra creaminess from a little light cream cheese.

Spices often used in Moroccan cuisine like turmeric, cumin, cinnamon and black pepper give this soup complexity and deep flavor. Make it a day ahead, if you can, to give the spices time to mingle and develop. This easy slow cooker recipe makes it a cinch to get the soup cooking while you do other things.

Load the crock pot and go with this stew recipe that's prepped in the morning and simmers all day so you'll come home to a Sunday-worthy dinner (and your house smelling downright heavenly). Tender beef, melt-in-your-mouth potatoes and carrots in a rich broth--this could be the best and easiest beef stew you've ever made.

Grab your crock pot for this delicious and easy slow-cooker vegetarian chili with beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, bell peppers and sweet potatoes. The recipe requires just 20 minutes of active time: after a bit of chopping, you just dump the ingredients in the slow cooker and let it do the work. Adding a squeeze of lime juice and a sprinkle of cilantro just before serving brightens up the flavors. Top it with some shredded cheese, if you'd like, or serve it as-is to keep it vegan. Either way, this healthy chili is sure to become a go-to when you want a satisfying and healthy dinner.

This easy slow-cooker potato soup has all the good stuff you love on a potato--including bacon, cheese and scallions. Serve this loaded baked potato soup with a salad for an easy dinner--just 15 minutes of active prep time!--whenever you're in need of some serious comfort food. It would also be fun fare for a casual party. Serve it straight out of the slow cooker and set out bowls of toppings so everyone can assemble their own. You can easily make this soup vegetarian--just use vegetable broth and skip the bacon.

The slow cooker makes this veggie-packed beef stew super-easy and extra-savory.

Let your slow cooker work--while you're at work!--and come home to a delicious bowl of hearty stew for dinner. Full of potatoes, hominy, green chiles, and chunks of pork sirloin, this filling stew recipe takes just 25 minutes to prepare in the morning.

This rich Italian soup, made with ground pork, potatoes and kale is sure to satisfy. Using a slow cooker makes this low-calorie recipe easy to execute.

Don't skip cooking the onions for the meatballs. This step softens the onions so they more easily add their sweet flavor to the meatball mixture. Best part? This slow-cooker meatball soup only requires 25 minutes of hands-on time.

Grab your crock pot for this hearty and easy vegan chili, which is chock-full of great-tasting and good-for-you ingredients, including pinto and black beans, red pepper, tomatoes and butternut squash. Once a little chopping is done, all you have to do is dump the ingredients in the slow cooker, making this colorful veggie chili the perfect weeknight dinner. A garnish of fresh avocado and chopped cilantro is a nice touch.

A bowl of this healthy white chicken chili packs a whopping 22 grams of protein in each serving and is appropriate for a diabetes-friendly diet. Consider topping this white chili with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream to reduce calorie and fat content while still getting a creamy texture.

Get dinner on the table on a busy day with ease with this load-&-go crock pot recipe. This zesty soup can simmer in the crock pot for an entire workday, making it perfect for a busy weekday meal. Bump up the Southwest flavors with a garnished of chopped fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime, if desired.

In this genius slow-cooker soup recipe, two types of onions are caramelized for hours before adding a sherry-spiked broth. For a bistro-worthy presentation, ladle the soup into ovenproof crocks, top with the bread and cheese and broil.

This easy slow-cooker soup has all the great flavors of your favorite dish of spaghetti with beef sauce, without a lot of fussy preparation.

This slow-cooker chicken soup uses a spice bag full of coriander and cloves to help impart flavor as it cooks. Fresh and dried mushrooms provide a deep umami flavor. Top this soup with your favorite garnishes like cilantro, Sriracha or lime juice.

Adjust the heat level in the dish by choosing either hot or mild Italian sausage. You can add red pepper, too, to make it extra hot. Serve this slow-cooker minestrone with crusty bread, if desired.

This brothy stew is boldly flavored with a blend of characteristic Middle Eastern spices and finished with fresh spinach and fiber-rich chickpeas. Economical lamb shoulder tenderizes beautifully when leisurely cooked in a slow cooker. If you can't find boneless shoulder stew meat, do not substitute more-expensive lamb leg--it tends to dry out during slow cooking. Instead, purchase lamb shoulder chops and debone them. Serve over bulgur and accompany with a salad.

Be sure to use waxy potatoes, such as red or Yukon Gold, in this crockpot potato soup recipe. The result will be creamier than if you use starchy varieties like russets. Load your bowl up like a classic baked potato or see Tip (below) for more ways to mix it up.

This comforting slow-cooker soup is inspired by pho, the traditional Vietnamese noodle dish made with rice noodles and meat, and served in a flavorful, clear broth with a multitude of garnishes. For this recipe, we've used low-sodium chicken broth seasoned with star anise, clove, ginger and cinnamon. Ngo gai (culantro) and onion are also commonly used to flavor the broth. It's perfect for the slow-cooker because pho usually simmers for at least three hours, becoming infused with the flavor of the spices. For garnishing, we've lined up bean sprouts, basil, mint, cilantro, sliced chile and lime wedges, but you could also use cabbage or scallions. One of the best parts of this dish is how customizable it is.

Fans of French onion soup who love it for its caramelized onions, beefy broth and cheesy toast topping won't be disappointed with this recipe, which offers all those elements plus a hands-on time of only 20 minutes.

This streamlined goulash skips the step of browning the beef, and instead coats it in a spice crust to give it a rich mahogany hue. This saucy dish is a natural served over whole-wheat egg noodles. Or, for something different, try prepared potato gnocchi or spaetzle.

Eat this dish along with cornbread on a cold day. This slow-cooker pork stew is filling, and the heat from the spicy barbecue sauce and vinegar from the hot peppers will warm you. Reduce the amount of barbecue sauce or use a sweet variety if you can't handle the heat.

Chicken thighs get perfectly tender in just a few hours in the slow cooker. Plus, cooking everything together low and slow infuses all the flavors together for complexity in every bite.