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

Scale

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)

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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.