I don’t know about you, but I firmly believe that as a society we are becoming fatter based on our food choices. It can be difficult to decide what to make for dinner or what to take for lunch, especially when exhausted. This is the biggest reason I use my slow cooker! I don’t have to make anything when I get home from work. I can put things together over the weekend or load the slow cooker the night before and just turn it on before I leave for work. Italian Vegetable Soup has saved me from a poor meal choice more than once. It is chocked full of healthy veggies and protein that helps to satisfy my need for a hearty meal. I hope you’ll try it!
Italian Vegetable Soup Recipe…
Italian Vegetable Soup requires very little in the way of babysitting during cook-time. Instead, the work is all on the front side and it’s very simple: veggie chopping! This little one-dish-wonder holds a supporting cast of onions, carrots, crimini mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini, and kale…that’s a heaping helping of veggies in each bowl!!!
I start the slow cooker when I leave at 6:45 a.m. When we are ready for dinner about 5:30 or 6:00 p.m., the soup is ready to go! I add the kale during the last hour of cooking because it will not hold up to all day stewing. However, I don’t precook the Italian sausage…it happily cooks in the broth all day and really helps to add to the flavor of Italian Vegetable Soup! I especially like a spicy sausage here, but you can use mild, too. 🙂
My house smells like an Italian chef showed up to cook me a hearty meal when I come home. Honestly, I can’t really tell you how happy that makes me after being gone all day! I love my job, but with trying to find time to exercise, help kids with homework, and do other household tasks, sometimes I don’t want to think too much about supper. (I’m a Foods teacher…I deal with food all day!) 🙂 Italian Vegetable Soup takes the stress out of dinner by creating a one-dish wonder that is full of healthy ingredients I LOVE serving to my family!
Italian Vegetable Soup: Healthy and Low Carb!
Notes
Depending on your sausage of choice, you may wish to add more or less salt to this recipe. In a pinch, adding the kale to the soup to cook a little longer will not impact the outcome or flavor of the recipe. This soup will reheat well for leftovers.
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, diced fine
- 5 large carrots, cleaned, peeled, and sliced
- 8 oz. of crimini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (or chopped fine, depending on personal preference)
- 5 cloves of fresh garlic, minced fine
- 2 (14.5 oz.) cans diced tomatoes with oregano, basil, & garlic
- 3 zucchini, washed and sliced (I quarter each zucchini long-ways and then slice thinly.)
- 1 lb. Italian Sausage Links (hot or mild), casings removed and sausage cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 T. Italian seasoning
- 1 t. Kosher salt
- 2 quarts chicken broth
- 12 oz. kale, stems removed and torn into 1-inch sized pieces
Instructions
- Add all vegetables except kale to a 6 quart slow cooker.
- Remove casing from sausage, cut into 1-inch sized pieces (will look like tiny meatballs) and add to vegetables.
- Stir in chicken broth and seasonings.
- Cook on low heat for 8-10 hours, or until sausage is completely cooked.
- During last hour of cooking, add kale leaves and stir well.
If you enjoy the ease of the slow cooker, you might like to check out similar recipes on my website like Swiss Steak in the Slow Cooker, our absolute favorite Red Beans and Rice, my Chicken and Chorizo Soup, or my Slow Cooker Beef and Bean Chili. If you’d like to see what other slow cooker recipes I have posted, simply visit my Recipe Page. I have many more simple dinner ideas waiting for you!
If you’d like to know what supplies I use for Italian Vegetable Soup, I have them listed below. Please know, these contain affiliate links. This means I earn a small commission on any sales, at no extra cost to you. The income I earn helps to pay for maintaining my blog. Thank you so much for your support!
