Crockpot Cheesy Vegetable Soup
This Cheesy Vegetable Soup made in the crockpot has carrots, broccoli, potatoes, carrots, celery, and onions. So many vegetables in one soup!
The number one question we get from parents is “How can I get my kid to eat vegetables“? We are actually thrilled you are asking this! If you are asking, it means you understand the huge impact vegetables can have on our childrens health. Studies have shown us time and time again, that kids who consume more vegetables are:
- Less likely to develop chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease (source).
- More able to maintain a healthy weight.
- Have improved test scores and grades.
- Improves digestive health (source).
That’s why we love to bring you recipes like this cheesy vegetable soup. It gives you a way to introduce your kids to a variety of vegetables in a recipe that they are going to love.
What vegetables to put in vegetable soup?
When it comes to making vegetable soup, root veggies like potatoes and carrots create a good hearty base. Also, if you want picky eaters to enjoy the soup, these vegetables are a good start because many kids already like them. Add a little cheese on top, and most kids who give it a chance, usually like it. But what other vegetables are good in soup? It can depend on what type of soup you like, creamy or brothy.
- Veggies for creamy vegetable soups: We usually use root veggies (like potatoes, carrots, and parsnips), starchy veggies (like corn), and flavorful veggies (like onions, mushrooms, and garlic).
- Veggies for broth based vegetable soups: We usually use veggies that hold their shape in water and have a lot of flavor like green beans, carrots, peas, tomatoes, celery, carrots, zucchini and onions. Check out this quinoa vegetable soup if you want to try kale as well.
Can you make soup in a slow cooker?
Making soup in a slow cooker or crockpot is always a good idea. Soups thicken up if you want it to, and the flavor is enhanced with slow, low temperature cooking. The other great thing is that most soups don’t require several steps for cooking ingredients separately. The best recipes have you combine all the raw ingredients into a pot or slow cooker, and everything cooks at the same time. This makes it ideal for a slow cooker. And finally, the slow cooker is ideal because you don’t have to watch your soup! Soup over the stove top can boil over or stick to the bottom of the pan if not watched carefully.
While this recipe can be made in a slow cooker or on the stove top, we recommend the slow cooker. It’s just easier, and you won’t have to stand over a hot stove and watch it.
What do you serve soup with?
It’s actually kind of crazy how often we get this question. It seems that most people don’t feel like soup by itself is a complete meal. However, it can be a complete meal! Especially with a recipe like this cheesy vegetable soup. We’ve got some carbs (potatoes), the veggies, and some protein (a little from the milk and cheese)
But I get it! We want to serve our soup with a little something extra to make sure it’s a filling meal for those we make it for. Some of our favorite things to eat with soup are:
- Rolls or bread. Who can resist dipping bread into creamy, cheesy soups?
- A green salad. Although a lot of soups already have vegetables, if you want a little something fresh or cold on the side, a fresh green salad is great.
- Fruit salad. Also for a fresh side dish, fruit salad is yummy with a hot soup.
- A protein. Although it seems like it should be the main part of the meal, try having a “side” of chicken, or a piece of meat that is smaller than the soup itself.
So, try this creamy soup in the slow cooker. Don’t hesitate to try different veggies or include one or two more that you are interested in your kids getting used to! Let us know in the comments what your kids think of it, and what other veggies you decide to try!
Crockpot Cheesy Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 5 medium russet potato
- 4 medium carrot
- 4 stalk celery
- 2 cup broccoli, florets
- 1 medium onion
- 6 cup chicken broth, low-sodium
- 4 tablespoon butter, unsalted
- 1/2 cup flour, all-purpose
- 3 tablespoon mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, ground
- 2 cup milk
- 2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Chop all vegetables: potatoes, carrots and celery (about 2 cups each), broccoli (or a combination of broccoli and cauliflower), and onion.
- Place chopped vegetables and chicken broth into crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours or until vegetables are soft.
- About 30 minutes before serving, prepare sauce: Melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour, mustard, salt, and pepper; stir until combined. Slowly stir in milk and cook on medium heat until thickened.
- Add sauce to crock pot along with cheese. Stir until cheese is melted and fully combined.
- Enjoy.
what kind of mustard do you like to use for this recipe?
Yellow mustard! It sounds weird, but it really gives it a good flavor and makes it sort of creamy!
Not sure what went wrong, Amy, perhaps my crockpot wasn’t hot enough: the veggies were undercooked, the cheese sank to the bottom of the pot and didn’t mix in to the soup, and I chose not to use all of the roux because it was so thick. I can usually assess whether a recipe will be tasty or not, but not this time.
Dang Anne! We’ll keep testing this recipe and update it with any tips we find.
Hi! I just made this for my family tonight. I was wondering if this is a soup you could freeze?
You can try, but I don’t love freezing a creamy, cheesy soup. I feel like it tastes to icy.
I’m wondering if it would be better to put the cheese into the sauce first, mix to well combine it, then add it to the soup, this way the cheese does not end up as a solid ball in the bottom of the soup (which was noted in one of the comments). That’s what I’ve usually done for cheesy soups and it’s worked out well.
That would be a great idea! I’ll do that next time.
I’ve got to say that this is one of the best soup recipes I have tried! Thank you for posting it! I did add some cooked bacon at the end as well. It was awesome! Thanks again!!
So glad to hear it!
Do I use Dry mustard or Prepared Mustard…does it matter ?
Hi Ava, you should use prepared mustard in this recipe.
I took the suggestion of other reviewers and added the cheese to the roux before putting it in the crockpot. My kids wouldn’t eat the soup, but that’s my kids: veggies individually are fine; veggies mixed together with any added ingredients are sent straight to earth from Hades. That gets a little boring for me though because I love a good veggie soup, and according to my husband, “This recipe is a keeper.”
I accidentally put the milk in with the broth and didn’t wait until the 30 minute mark with the flour… now what?!
Hi Samantha, I hope the soup turned out all right for you!
This soup was a winner at my house. In response to some of the comments- Yes, melt the cheese into the sauce before adding to the soup. When making the sauce make sure you are constantly stirring with a whisk to prevent lumps. Add the cheese to the thickened sauce and let it melt as you continue to stir. It will be thick but becomes thinner yet still creamy when added to the soup base in the crockpot. Make sure it is stirred well throughout the soup. I used mild cheddar but will use a stronger cheddar next time for a cheesier flavor. I also used prepared mustard.
Made this exactly as recipe states. It was excellent ! Even in my older than dirt crockpot. I will be keeping this recipe for sure !
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing!