Slow cooker vegetable soup recipe (2024)

A simple and versatile slow cooker vegetable soup that’s perfect for an easy lunch or supper. Any leftovers will keep very well in the fridge for a couple of days, or can be frozen.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1 celery stick, cut into roughly 1cm/½in slices
• 2–3 carrots (around 250g/9oz), peeled and cut into roughly 1cm/½in chunks
• ½ small swede (around 275g/9¾oz), peeled and cut into roughly 1cm/½in chunks
• 3 potatoes (around 375g/13oz), peeled and cut into roughly 15mm/¾in chunks
• 1 tsp mixed dried herbs
• 600ml/20fl oz hot vegetable stock, made with 2 vegetable stock cubes
• 1⁄8 tsp ground turmeric (optional)
• 100ml/3½fl oz milk or water
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• chopped fresh flatleaf parsley, to serve (optional)

Recipe tips

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the onion, celery and carrots for 4–5 minutes, stirring regularly until beginning to soften. Tip into a slow cooker and add the swede, potatoes, mixed herbs, stock and turmeric, if using. Season with lots of pepper and stir well.

2. Cover and cook on High for 3½–4 hours or Low for 5–7 hours, until the vegetables are just tender.

3. Take 3 ladlefuls of the cooked soup (around 450g/1lb) and transfer to a large bowl or jug. Using a stick blender, blitz to a purée then return to the slow cooker pot and mix thoroughly to thicken the soup.

4. Stir in enough milk or water to reach the preferred consistency then cover and cook on High for a further 10–15 minutes, or until hot. Season with salt and pepper and scatter over the parsely, if using. Serve with warm crusty bread, if you like.

Recipe Tips

Add a couple of diced parsnips or extra carrots instead of the swede, if you like.

A spoonful of curry paste will add some extra spiced flavour.

If you don’t have a stick blender, use a food processor to blitz the vegetables and milk together before returning to the slow cooker.

For an extra colourful soup, add 100g/3½oz frozen peas (thawed) to the soup at the same time as the milk. You can also add any other chopped cooked vegetables at this point.

To stretch the soup to serve 6, add a can of drained beans at the same time as the milk.

If the soup cooks a little too long and the vegetables soften too much, simply blitz the whole soup until smooth and serve topped with a drizzle of cream and a sprinkling of fresh herbs.

You will need a slow cooker that holds at least 4 litres/7 pints for this recipe.