Tag Archives: slow-cooker soup

Slow-Cooker Vegetable & Chicken Meatball Soup

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Aren’t meatballs fun? There are so many options as far as which ground meat to use: beef, pork, veal (or a combo of all three), turkey, and finally chicken, as in this healthy soup recipe. And size is another matter because you can make mini, medium, large or colossal, and serve them as appetizers, in soups, with pasta, as a side, in casseroles, as sliders on buns, or the ever-popular meatball sandwich… the options are limitless. Below are links to over a dozen more meatball recipes.

Here, we’ll concentrate on soup which we know can require a fair amount of prep in chopping all of the veggies, and with the addition of forming meatballs it’ll take about 30 minutes of your time in total. The slow-cooker does all the rest for the next two and a half hours, so your free to indulge in other pursuits.

However, 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. And as always, use homemade chicken stock if at all possible for the most flavor. I really think it would be too bland if you use canned or boxed store-bought broth. A few other changes we made included slightly increasing the amounts of most vegetables.

Plan on feeding 4 as an entrée or 6 as a first course.

Slow-Cooker Vegetable & Chicken Meatball Soup

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped 
  • 5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 ½ tsp. kosher salt
  • ½ tsp. black pepper
  • 4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 1 large zucchini, chopped
  • 4 oz. green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
  • 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
  • 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
  • 1 lb. ground chicken
  • ⅓ cup panko
  • 2 ½ Tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 tsp. chopped fresh oregano
  • Grated parmesan cheese for garnish, optional

Directions

  1. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add the onions, garlic, salt, and pepper to the skillet; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 6 minutes.
  2. Remove 1/2 cup of the cooked onion mixture, and place in a medium bowl; set aside. Transfer the remaining onion mixture to a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker.
  3. Add the diced tomatoes and stir up the browned bits to the pan to deglaze. Stir the stock, carrots, zucchini, green beans, and celery into the slow cooker.
  4. Add the chicken, panko, 1/2 tablespoon of the parsley, and 1 teaspoon of the oregano to the reserved 1/2 cup onion mixture in the bowl; stir gently with a fork to combine.
  5. Shape the chicken mixture into 18 (1 1/4-inch) meatballs. Carefully submerge the meatballs into the chicken stock mixture in the slow cooker without stirring.
  6. Cover and cook on HIGH until the meatballs are done and the vegetables are tender, about 2 hours and 30 minutes.
  7. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons parsley and 1 teaspoon oregano. Ladle the soup into bowls and top some grated cheese, if desired. And if you’re not counting carbs, serve hot crusty bread too.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Adapted from a recipe found on EatingWell.com

Related Meatball Posts:

Cellentani with Turkey Meatballs and Homemade Tomato Sauce

Sheet-Pan Chicken Meatballs and Charred Broccoli

Meatballs in Almond Sauce

Pork, Veal and Fennel Meatballs

Italian Meatballs with Tomato & White Wine Braise

Ginger-Chicken Meatballs with Chinese Broccoli

Swedish Meatballs

Vietnamese Meatball and Watercress Soup (Canh)

Sweet and Tangy Retro Meatballs

Festoni Con Polpette Di Mamma

Sheet-Pan Meatballs with Red Onions and Artichokes

Cumin Spiced Chicken Meatballs

Lion’s Head Meatballs

Slow-Cooker Southwestern Bean Soup

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What’s better than a good soup for lunches during the cooler months, or for a quick, healthy dinner in a time crunch? This Slow-Cooker Southwestern Bean Soup is a load-and-go crock pot recipe adaptation from one we found on Eating Well.

While there is really nothing “quick” about it because you first have to soak the beans overnight, the “fast” method in a slow cooker takes four hours on high, and the “slow” method takes seven or eight hours in the crockpot. Not exactly my idea of a quick turn-around. But the prep is quite simple and then its hands off for hours, allowing you to do other things.

As with many recipes, we alter them to suit or own personal preferences. In this case, we increased each of the three bean types from one-third cup to a half cup each. Then we included 4 pressed garlic cloves and a can of crushed tomatoes to address the moisture for the extra beans. All of these changes are noted below.

Bump up the Southwest flavors like we did with all, or some, of these garnishes of chopped fresh cilantro, some crumbled Cotija (or ricotta salata) cheese, sliced scallions and a squeeze of lime, if desired.

To make ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Slow-Cooker Southwestern Bean Soup

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced 
  • 1 large stalk celery, diced
  • 1 large carrot, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed
  • 2 cups water 
  • 4 cups chicken broth, (or vegetable broth)
  • 1 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes
  • ½ cup pearl barley
  • ½ cup dried black beans
  • ½ cup dried great northern beans
  • ½ cup dried kidney beans
  • 1 Tbsp. chili powder
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • ½ tsp. dried oregano
  • ¾ tsp. salt

Directions

  1. Soak black beans, great northern beans and kidney beans in water for at least 6 hours or overnight. Drain and boil in fresh water for 10 minutes. Drain and add to a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker.
  2. Add oil, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, water, broth, tomatoes, barley, chili powder, cumin, oregano and salt to the slow cooker. Cover and cook until the beans are tender, about 4 hours on High, or 7 to 8 hours on Low.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Recipe adapted from Carolyn Malcoun for EatingWell.com