I’m a big fan of using my slow cooker to make dinner 2-3 times a week. I love the convenience of having dinner ready at the end of a long day which is a big time saver for me. As an added bonus, I can make large batches in it and freeze the leftovers for another time.
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Every 6-8 weeks I like to make a homemade batch of Beef Vegetable Soup in my crockpot. I really don’t follow a recipe and just toss in whatever vegetables I currently have on hand. Every year I blanch and freeze veggies from our backyard garden and this is a great way to use them up. In addition, I make and can (home canning) my own seasoned tomato sauce and I get to use that too!
Slow Cooker Beef Vegetable Soup with Pasta
2 pint-size jars of Seasoned Tomato Sauce
1 sm. can of Tomato Paste
1 sm. can of Diced or Stewed Tomatoes
2 cups uncooked Elbow Macaroni
Mixed Vegetables
2 large white Potatoes (sliced thin or diced small)
1/8 cup Light Brown Sugar
Parmesan Cheese, shredded
1 lb. lean ground beef (browned and grease drained)
Seasonings: Dried Basil, Dried Oregano, Dried Parsley, Ground Black Pepper, Crushed Red Pepper, Salt. You can season it to your own taste. I typically dump in 1/2 to 1 1/2 tsp. depending on the spice.
Mixed Vegetables: I used my own combination of green beans, lima beans, yellow corn, carrots, mushrooms, chopped bell pepper, diced spring onions, peas. You can certainly use a large bag of frozen mixed veggies from your grocery store.
Pour the tomato sauce, tomato paste and stewed or diced tomatoes into your slow cooker. Turn the heat up to high. Add your cooked lean ground beef. Stir in your dried seasonings and brown sugar to taste.
While that is heating up you need to cook your elbows on the stove-top for just 4-5 minutes to slightly soften them up. Drain water away. Add pasta to the slow cooker. Stir until everything is combined.
Put all of your frozen veggies into a large colander and run cool water over them for 3-4 minutes. Shake off excess water. I do this so that they’re not all stuck together, to remove any ice crystals, etc. before pour them into the slow cooker. Add your choice of veggies and the sliced or diced potatoes. Stir everything together.
Place lid on top of your slow cooker and cook on high for 1 hour and then turn down to low for an additional 3-5 hours. If you’re going to do this in the morning & want it done for dinner time then you can turn the heat down to low once everything is in the pot. If you’re making it and want it done within 3 hours I recommend using high heat setting for 2 hours and turn it down to low for the last hour.
Serve with shredded Parmesan Cheese on top.
Note: You can freeze it for later use. Let soup thoroughly cool. Spoon into freezer contains leaving a 1 1/2″ headspace. Label and freeze. It will keep for several months in your freezer. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and next day you can reheat it via the stove-top or microwave oven.
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I have an instant pot,slow cooker, but I still have not used it. This sounds like a great recipe to try out.
I looks very yummy. I had to laugh at your phrase: you need to cook your elbows on the stove-top. My mom would not approve of elbows on the stove….
This is pretty close to my recipe for vegetable soup, except I tend to use tomato juice instead of seasoned tomato sauce. I’d say using the seasoned sauce would give it a deeper flavor, though, so I’ll give that a try next time.
WOW this sounds so good and I have everything so I could make this. I like to cook once, save enough for two meals and then freeze the rest.
I try and make something in the slow cooker every week. It is easy and can be served many meals during the week. I love beef vegetable soup too. I even cook it during the Summer.