Winter Slow-Cooker Vegetable Bacon Soup
This hearty soup made from scratch is packed with bright, smoky, and savory flavors perfect to come home to after a long day of work.
The perfect combination of winter vegetables seasoned with herbs and smoky bacon, Winter Slow-Cooker Vegetable Bacon Soup hits the spot just right on a cold night.
Packed with potatoes, carrots, onion, parsnips, celery, white beans, and Kale, this soup is delicious and good for you as well! Stop by the farmer’s market or grocery store this weekend and cook up a batch of this soup. You will not be sorry.
The not so humble parsnip makes this recipe different from the rest.
If you’ve never worked with parsnips before, introduce yourself to a fun new root vegetable! Parsnips look and feel just like carrots, and are peeled and cooked the same, but they certainly DON’T taste like them. They have a very strong, almost spicy anise or nutmeg-type earthy flavor.
Since there are so many veggies in Winter Slow-Cooker Vegetable Bacon Soup, this recipe does involve quite a bit of chopping. I would highly recommend you use a food processor with some slicing/dicing attachments if you have one.
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I have to say that I 100% agree with the saying that “everything is better with bacon”. This soup would not be the same without the bacon. It gives the soup a wonderful smoky taste and an added chewy/crunchy texture that balances out all the soft veggies.
I always value the opinions of my readers (that’s YOU), so please rate the recipe and give it a review. Thanks so much for your support and enjoy the recipe!
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Winter Slow-Cooker Vegetable Bacon Soup
Description
Hearty, healthy, and delicious Winter Slow-Cooker Vegetable Bacon Soup brings carrots, potatoes, parsnips, white beans, and kale together in just the right flavor blends to create a bright warming soup perfect for a winter day.
Ingredients
- 6 bacon slices, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 medium yellow onion, minced
- 1 and 1/2 pounds (24 ounces) Yukon Gold potatoes, skins washed, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1/2 cup peeled and diced parsnip
- 3/4 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup peeled and chopped carrots
- 1 (16-ounce) can of white beans, drained
- 7 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
- salt and pepper
- 3 cups chopped kale
- A squirt of lemon juice (optional) OR 1/2 cup heavy cream (not both together)
Instructions
- Cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. While bacon cooks, chop veggies, starting with onion. Place cooked bacon in a paper towel-lined bowl and set aside. Remove all but 1 tablespoon bacon grease from the pan. Cook onion in bacon grease until soft and translucent. Add in garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Remove from heat and place onion and garlic into your slow cooker. Remove 2 tablespoons bacon bits and place them into a container, cover with a lid, and place in the refrigerator. Place the remaining bacon into the slow cooker with the onion.
- Place potatoes, parsnip, celery, carrots, beans, broth, rosemary, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper into the slow cooker with the onion, garlic, and bacon. Cook on low for 8 hours.
- Stir in kale (and lemon juice or cream if using); season with any additional salt to taste if necessary. Serve and sprinkle individual servings with reserved bacon bits.
Notes
You can prep this recipe the night before by following the recipe through step 2, then place the slow cooker in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, continue with step 3 and cook.
