Pho is one of my favourite cold-weather foods. In my mind, the broth has unexplainable healing powers. Some people have their go-to chicken noodle soup for chilly days or when they are feeling under the weather – I have pho.
While I usually order in from one of the various pho restaurants in town (there are too many to count), making slow cooker chicken pho means I can stay in my pajamas, save a little cash, and avoid the blustery cold weather. Score.
It’s easy to make the base of this pho in the slow cooker. Just combine chicken broth, brown sugar, and a variety of spices including star anise, cloves, ginger, lemongrass, and cinnamon. Add chicken thighs and breasts to the crock and cook on HIGH for 2 ½ hours or on LOW for 4 to 5 hours until the chicken is cooked and tender.
Remove the chicken from the crock and strain the broth using a cheesecloth or a fine mesh sieve and a colander. Pour the broth back into the crock, add rice noodles, and continue to cook until the noodles are soft and plump.
Slice or shred the chicken breasts and add to the pho broth and noodles. If you want to enjoy your pho just like you would at your favourite restaurant, serve with plenty of toppings. We topped ours with chili peppers, chili sauce, Thai basil, bean sprouts, and hoisin sauce but you could add extra chilis and sriracha for added spice or even extra steamed vegetables like mushrooms, carrots, or broccoli.
Not only is this soup easy to make in your slow cooker, you can wow your family or friends with the presentation. Whether you are eating a restorative bowl in your coziest pajamas or having this Vietnamese noodle soup for a weeknight dinner, you’ll soon pho-rget you ever had it any other way.
In a slow cooker crock, combine chicken broth and brown sugar. Add garlic, star anise, cloves, ginger, lemongrass, cinnamon, cilantro and peppercorns. Arrange chicken and onion in an even layer in crock.
Cover slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or LOW for 4 to 5 hours or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken from crock. Line a colander with cheesecloth and strain broth. Pour broth back into crock. Set on HIGH. Add rice noodles and cook until noodles are soft, about 25 minutes.
Slice chicken breasts for soup, discarding bones. Reserve dark meat for another use.
To serve, pour noodles and broth into bowls. Add sliced chicken and desired accompaniments.
If you’re looking for a traditional ham and pea soup, you should probably keep searching. This refreshing vegetarian soup isn’t the drab, hot dish you’re used to.
Instead, it’s been lightened up for spring with brighter ingredients like vibrant herbs, zesty lemon and tangy Greek yogurt. Then, perfect for the spring and summer months, it’s served cold.
Fresh English peas are plentiful in farmers markets and grocery stores this time of year, so use them in this recipe if you can. In the fall and winter – or if you can’t find fresh ones – use frozen peas thawed to room temperature.
This cool soup will become a fair-weather staple for its fresh, invigorating flavors and bright garnishes. Free of heavier ingredients, this soup feels light and healthy, full of seasonal ingredients and nutrients. The spring pea, determined not to be taken for granted, shines in this exceptional soup that will encourage you to embrace the warmer months ahead with zeal.
In a small saucepan over medium-high, melt the butter. Add the onions and shallots. Cook until onions are clear, about 4 minutes.
Spoon onion mixture into a blender jar. Add peas, broth, mint, half and half, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Blend on PUREE for 2 minutes or desired consistency.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Swirl in yogurt before serving. Garnish with lemon zest and mint sprigs (optional).
Recipe Notes
To further improve the smooth consistency of the soup, press it through a fine mesh strainer or food mill after blending.
Healthy and hearty slow cooker soups keep us feeling satisfied and sunny, no matter what news the weatherman delivers – and this lentil soup fits the bill perfectly.
It’s a little bit spicy, quite a bit healthy and a whole lot hearty. It’s incredibly filling and flavourful for a vegetable and lentil soup, so vegetarians and meat eaters alike will love this slow cooker masterpiece. Top it with a little dollop of Greek yogurt, lemon and cilantro, and you’ll forget all about the chill in the air. This slow cooker lentil soup is as nutritious as it is delicious, so you’ll have plenty of spring in your step.
TEST KITCHEN TIP: If you have a slow cooker with stove-top safe cookware, substitute the cookware for the skillet in the directions above. After browning or sautéing, place cookware in base, cover and cook as directed in recipe.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes. Add carrots and celery for additional 3 minutes.
Add onion mixture, lentils, broth, diced tomatoes, salt, cumin, coriander, crushed red pepper and black pepper to slow cooker crock.
Cover slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 3 1/2 to 4 hours or LOW for 7 to 8 hours.
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If you’re like most people, an occasional last-minute party will pop up or you’re too busy to make a big dinner every night. Don’t worry, the Hamilton Beach® Programmable Stay or Go® 6 Quart Slow Cooker can easily adapt. You simply add ingredients in the morning and let the slow cooker finish the cooking automatically. Once the cooking time is up, it automatically switches to warm.
My family used to eat the popular canned version of cream of mushroom soup often. As an adult, I still love the simple soup, but it’s much more appetizing when made from scratch. The soup is creamy, and the tarragon really accentuates the earthiness of the fresh mushrooms. I love that it’s effortless to make in the slow cooker, so I don’t have to trade convenience for all that extra flavor.
Cream of mushroom soup is a hearty, rustic dish, so we served it with a loaf of pumpernickel bread. It doesn’t get more satisfying than this when it comes to late winter comfort food.
If you can’t find tarragon, you can substitute thyme, and if you want to add extra depth, you can replace the vegetable broth with chicken broth. Add in some wild mushrooms (such as shiitake or portobello) and blend the soup more or less depending on how you like it. There are many ways to make this cream of mushroom soup recipe your own.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add onion and garlic. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until onions are clear.
Add mushrooms and cook until tender. Add wine and cook 2 minutes.
Transfer mixture to slow cooker crock. Add vegetable broth, tarragon, salt and pepper.
Cover slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or LOW for 3 to 4 hours.
In a small bowl, whisk cream and cornstarch until smooth. During last 30 minutes, stir cream mixture into soup in crock. Stir until smooth. If using LOW heat, turn to HIGH. Cover and cook until thickened.
Remove half of soup mixture with sliced mushrooms. Transfer remaining mixture to a blender or use a hand blender to blend mixture in crock until somewhat smooth. Combine with reserved mushroom soup mixture and serve.
Recipe Notes
If you have a slow cooker with stove-top safe cookware, substitute the cookware for the skillet in the directions above. After sautéing, place cookware in base, cover and cook as directed in recipe.
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For the cook who is busy all day but wants a home-cooked dinner at night, a slow cooker is the answer. And with the Set & Forget® Programmable Slow Cooker, technology takes a big leap forward from the outdated slow cookers found in yesterday’s kitchens.
I don’t know what it is about this time of year, but for some reason, everyone in my house is working late, traveling and running from event to event. Long nights and busy weekends don’t make for good food choices and it’s tough to spend a Sunday meticulously preparing lunches for the week ahead. We’ve been ordering take out and pizza more often than I’d like to admit. But that’s going to stop – because now I have foolproof slow cooker recipes like this comforting Italian Wedding Soup.
Instead of making poor choices so early in the year and destroying all the progress we’ve made towards our nutrition goals, this simple soup has come to our rescue. We make this hearty soup filled with healthy ingredients in the slow cooker. It takes a few minutes to prepare the meatballs, and, within a few hours, the entire house is filled with the inviting aromas of Italian ingredients, savory broth, turkey meatballs, spinach and pasta. Bring the crock to the table and add parmesan and freshly cracked pepper. Your whole family will love it and you can easily reheat leftovers during the hectic week ahead.
Stir turkey, eggs, 1/2 of the onion, bread crumbs, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper in a large bowl until well blended. Roll turkey mixture into balls using 1 tablespoon per meatball.
Add meatballs and remaining ingredients, except pasta and spinach to slow cooker crock.
Cover slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or LOW for 6 to 6 1/2. Add pasta, cover and continue cooking for 15 minutes until pasta is tender and meatballs are cooked through.
Stir in spinach and remaining Parmesan cheese before serving. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and coarse black pepper.
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For the cook who is busy all day but wants a home-cooked dinner at night, a slow cooker is the answer. And with the Set & Forget® Programmable Slow Cooker, technology takes a big leap forward from the outdated slow cookers found in yesterday’s kitchens.
