19 Healthy Soups, Stews & Slow Cooker Dishes

Flavorful, simple, and healthy soups, stews and slow cooker dishes for every night of the week that you and your whole family will love. 

This list of healthy soups is a part of the Healthy Eating Series, where you can find tips for healthy eating as well as lists of recipes to get you started eating real food that’s easy to make and tastes amazing. Scroll to the bottom to find the list of all the articles in the series.

I love a good bowl of soup – I think that soups and stews are just about the perfect meal for the cold, winter months when a bowl of warm, comforting food is so welcomed.

And when that meal is made quickly and easily or in a slow cooker, all ready to eat when you get home? Perfection.

Actually, it’s part of what I enjoy about seasonal eating – I love the main dish salads of summers just as much as the soups and comforting foods of winter.

I have met people who do not feel the same as I do, though, and if you fall into that camp, I’d challenge you to try to embrace weekly soups just because they are usually so easy to make healthy!

Sometimes I just can’t believe the amount of vegetables you can stuff in a soup – and not feel like you’re eating a lot of vegetables! And the variety – it’s so easy to add international flavors, spices, and more to make them so different from each other.

There, I’m off my ‘you should try soups’ soapbox – now go forth and make soup – or stew!

Healthy Soups, Stews & Slow Cooker Recipes

Soups & Stews

1. Sriracha Chicken Noodle Bowls.

A whole meal in a super flavorful bowl – what’s not to love? Bonus is that it’s gluten free.

2. Traditional Turkey Noodle Soup. 

The classic way to make use of your holiday turkey. I look forward to this (or one of the turkey soups above) almost more than the turkey itself!

And this works just the same for chicken, too!

3. Curried Turkey or Chicken and Rice Soup.

This uniquely flavored turkey soup has shot to the top of the list when I have turkey (or chicken) bones to use up. It is SO good you won’t believe it’s “just” turkey soup.

4. Quick & Healthy Bone Broth Chicken Vegetable Soup.

Wonder how to make a healthy bone broth soup fast? Make bone broth in the slow cooker, keep it in the freezer and you can make a healthy vegetable soup like this whenever you need it – quick.

5. The BEST Sausage and Lentil Stew. 

This really is the best lentil soup I’ve ever had. I literally crave it – when was the last time you could say that about lentil soup?

6. Savory Tomato Seafood Stew.

This soup may remind you of a bouillabaisse, but without all the work (or expensive ingredients. All you need to add is some crusty bread for a lovely one-dish meal.

7. Fast & Easy Curried Red Lentil Soup. 

Red lentils cook fast, so this is your go-to 15 minute soup – really.

8. Creamy Turkey-Rice Soup 

I love using up the whole turkey so that none of it goes to waste. This changes up the traditional turkey noodle soup with rice and a creamy base.

Oh, and like many turkey recipes, this works perfectly with a chicken, too!

9. The “you-won’t-believe-it’s Cauliflower” Cheese Soup 

This quick cauliflower cheesy soup is full of cauliflower, onions, and carrots, in addition to the cheese – but my kids never knew they were eating all those veggies!

It’s probably my favorite soup ever – and the leftovers are SO good, too.

10. Easy Black Bean & Sausage Soup.

If you’ve got smoked sausage, precooked beans, and frozen corn you can add canned tomatoes and a few other ingredients and you’ve got an easy, filling weeknight soup.

11. Homemade Tomato Soup

This soup is SO good and SO easy, you’ll seriously wonder why you ever bought the cans!

Slow Cooker Recipes

12. Slow Cooker Sweet Chili Chicken & Vegetables.

I created this recipe to have a one-pot Asian inspired meal all ready to go in a slow cooker. It uses my honey-sweetened homemade sweet chili sauce recipe and it’s all very good.

13. Slow Cooker Chicken & Vegetable Lentil Curry

Comforting curries are one of my favorite ways to get a lot of vegetables in one pot with a lot of flavor.

The added health benefits of lentils (fiber!) make this a keeper.

14. Slow Cooker Sausage Bean Soup with Spinach & Tomatoes

This soup hits all the right notes with it’s tomato base with sausage and beans. Add some good bread and you’re set.

15. Slow Cooker Pork Stew with Vegetables

If you’d like a hearty, easy weeknight meal that deliciously combines comfort food with healthy food, this pork stew is for you.

I love serving it with mashed potatoes, but you can also just add diced potatoes to the stew and serve the stew alone.

16. Slow Cooker Chicken Chili.

A chicken chili make healthier with a tomato base and full of vegetables. Served with tortilla chips or quesadillas, this is everyone’s favorite.

17. Slow Cooker Italian Vegetable Beef Soup

Vegetables and beef simmering in a broth seasoned with classic Italian herbs (and plenty of garlic!) – it’s wonderful to come home to this!

18. Slow Cooker Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup

This is one of my favorite slow cooker soups – it gets better everyday which makes it perfect for leftovers.

 19. Easy Slow Cooker Cassoulet.

Get all the flavor of long-cooked cassoulet in an easy slow cooker recipe. The chicken is falling off the bone and the carrots are tender. Serve this with crusty bread for sure to sop up all the wonderful juices.

Be sure to check out all of AOC’s soups, stews and slow cooker recipes here in the recipe index.