Vegetable Cream Soup (Slow-Cooker)

Slow Cooker Creamy Vegetable Soup is a hearty, healthy crockpot soup. It’s low in calories but big in flavour. Even picky eaters love this vegetarian soup recipe.

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 lb Yukon gold or red potatoes, finely diced, peeling optional
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 rib celery, thinly sliced
½ medium onion, finely diced
1 cup evaporated milk or heavy cream
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1½ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
2 bay leaves
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen green beans
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped

In a 4 qt slow cooker, whisk together broth and corn starch.

Add potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, cream, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and bay leaves to slow cooker (optional: sauté vegetables and seasoning in 2 Tbsp. oil before adding to slow cooker).

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, until potatoes and carrots are tender.

Stir in corn, peas, green beans and spinach. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired before serving.

Makes 6 servings.

Cook's Notes:

 Storage:

• This soup keeps well in the fridge since there’s no rice or pasta to get mushy. The flavour will be even better after refrigerating for a couple of days. If you know you’re going to have leftovers, I would recommend adding the spinach to each individual bowl just before serving.
• Just keep your leftovers stored in an airtight container for about 3-4 days. You can microwave individual portions for 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time it stops until warmed all the way through.
• Freezing: It is possible, but I don’t necessarily recommend it. Freezing soups with cooked potatoes changes their texture significantly.
• If you would like to freeze this creamy vegetable soup, be sure to let it fully cool to room temperature prior to storing in an airtight container. Label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow it to slowly thaw in the fridge prior to reheating.

Variations and Substitutions:

• Veggies: There’s a lot of wiggle room with your vegetable selection. You can add more veggies if you want to clean out your produce drawer. Add firmer ones at the beginning and softer or frozen ones right at the end.
• Spicy: You can certainly heat things up in this simple soup with a pinch of cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, Cajun seasoning or whatever else floats your boat.
• Creamy: I like to create the creamy broth with heavy cream or evaporated milk. These two dairy products hold up well to an extended cook time, so I do not recommend substituting them.