With the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it’s nice to have a few go-to soup recipes you can set and forget. A slow cooker of easy soup is perfect for the days between Christmas and New Year’s when you’re tired of eating but still have to feed people!
3 Easy and Delicious Soup Recipes
College Chili
My dear friend and college roommate @wanderanddwell always made chili in the winter. Apartment 13 on Campus Avenue in Ames was a cozy little place and this soup was perfect after class (or when we skipped class and watched Sex and the City all day). All I really remember about the chili recipe is she used V8 juice as a base. I thought that was genius. Over the years, here’s how I’ve made it. But you can really freestyle this to make it your own!
- One 64-oz bottle of Spicy V8 (I use low sodium)
- A pound or two of ground beef (I use “our own” from Fareway)
- 15 oz can of corn, drained
- 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 30 oz can of Mrs. Grimes Original Chili Beans
- A couple tablespoons of chili powder. I like Penzy’s and you really do this to your taste preferences.
That’s it! Set it in a slow cooker until it’s hot. I’ve done it on low all day or high for a couple hours and then low. Serve with shredded cheddar, wheat saltines, and sour cream.
Taco Soup
If you really have it together, you can buy five pounds of ground beef. Freeze two pounds for your chili and then season three for this taco soup recipe.
My mom brings this to tailgates every season and it’s a big hit. Serve it with Doritos, sour cream and shredded cheese – it’s not the same if you leave out the Doritos or try to get cute and use tortilla chips. Don’t do that, it’s not good – speaking from experience!
She has a lot of great recipes so I convinced her to put them on the internet. You can check out her Taco Soup recipe here.
Potato Soup
I stick with this potato soup recipe because it’s easy and good – and sometimes, that’s what you need! It’s also a hodge podge of different potato soup recipes I’ve tried over the years.
- 25 to 35 oz of frozen, shredded hash browns. Depending on the brand, the ounces vary.
- 32 oz carton chicken broth
- 15 oz can of cream of chicken soup
- ½ c chopped onion (or buy the frozen, chopped onions and use those)
- 8 oz package of cream cheese. Don’t use the low-fat stuff, it never melts well in anything.
- Ground pepper – at least a ¼ teaspoon but more doesn’t hurt
If you have leftover ham on hand from the holidays, toss it in the soup. It’s not a “have to” and I only do it if I have some I want to get rid of. But, it’s really good in the soup. Chicken seasoned well with black pepper would also probably be good.
Put everything but the cream cheese in the slow cooker on low for a few hours. I usually go somewhere between five and seven hours depending on the day. But, as long as everything is hot, it’s fine to eat. About a half hour before you want to eat it, put the cream cheese in. I like to cut it up so it melts faster.
Then, serve it with shredded cheddar and crackers. If you really want to go the extra mile, bake some really crispy bacon for a topping as well as have some fresh toppings like chives or green onions. Pair it with fresh, crusty bread and a veggie platter to round out the meal. I’ve never actually done any of that because I don’t want to work that hard. But, I know it would be good!
I hope the holidays treat you well and these super-easy soup recipes help you out!
What’s your favorite soup recipe?
