12 Dump-and-Simmer Slow Cooker Soups From Pantry Cans & Frozen Veggies
Ever come home, drop your bag, and wish dinner would cook itself? We feel that deep in our bones. On those tired nights, slow cooker soups are like a warm hug that shows up right on time.
With a few pantry cans, a bag or two of frozen veggies, and almost no chopping, we can turn soup night into one of our easiest weeknight dinners. These are true dump-and-simmer, easy dinner ideas that work for busy parents, worn-out workers, and anyone craving simple recipes that still taste like love.
Kitchen Tools & Staples For Easy Slow Cooker Soups
Most of these quick recipes use a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. We like a programmable model so dinner stays warm until we are ready to eat, something like a basic 6-quart slow cooker. An Instant Pot on the slow cook setting works too if that is what we already own.
For creamy soups, an immersion blender makes things smooth right in the pot. Beyond that, we just need a cutting board, a can opener, and a ladle. Nothing fancy, just easy cooking tools that earn their keep.
Our pantry and freezer heroes are canned beans, tomatoes, broth, coconut milk, canned chicken, frozen onions, mixed vegetables, corn, broccoli, and frozen potatoes. With those on hand, we can pull off quick meals that taste slow-cooked, feel like cozy family meals, and still count as budget-friendly recipes.
12 Dump-and-Simmer Slow Cooker Soups From Pantry Cans & Frozen Veggies
1. Creamy Chicken & Rice Dump Soup
Easy because everything comes from cans and the freezer, and prep is tiny.
Prep: 5 minutes | Cook: 4 hours on low
Ingredients: chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, canned chicken, instant rice, frozen mixed vegetables, dried onion, salt, pepper.
Dump everything in the slow cooker, stir, and cook until the rice is tender. Cool leftovers, then freeze in portions for grab-and-heat meal prep lunches.
2. Pantry Taco Bean Soup
Easy because we just open cans, sprinkle taco seasoning, and walk away.
Prep: 5 minutes | Cook: 4 to 6 hours on low
Ingredients: canned black beans, canned pinto or kidney beans, diced tomatoes with chiles, corn, taco seasoning, broth or water, salt if needed.
Stir it all in the slow cooker and let it bubble until flavors blend. Portion leftovers into jars for fast, protein-packed quick meals.
3. Tomato Basil Tortellini Soup
Easy because frozen tortellini and jarred sauce do all the heavy lifting.
Prep: 10 minutes | Cook: 3 to 4 hours on low
Ingredients: tomato pasta sauce, chicken or vegetable broth, canned diced tomatoes, frozen cheese tortellini, Italian seasoning, dried basil, a splash of cream or milk.
Add everything except the cream, cook until the tortellini are tender, then stir in cream at the end. This one reheats nicely for simple lunches and makes great Friday night weeknight dinners with garlic bread.
4. Cozy Potato Corn Chowder
Easy because frozen potatoes mean no peeling and chopping.
Prep: 5 minutes | Cook: 4 to 6 hours on low
Ingredients: frozen diced potatoes or hash browns, canned corn, cream-style corn, chicken broth, evaporated milk, dried onion, garlic powder, salt, pepper.
Stir all except the evaporated milk into the slow cooker, then add the milk in the last 30 minutes. This is perfect for meal prep since it thickens in the fridge and tastes even better the next day.
5. Freezer Veggie Lentil Soup
Easy because lentils cook right in the broth and need no soaking.
Prep: 8 minutes | Cook: 5 to 7 hours on low
Ingredients: dry lentils, vegetable or chicken broth, canned diced tomatoes, frozen mixed vegetables, frozen onions and peppers, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper.
Rinse lentils, then add everything to the slow cooker and let it gently simmer until the lentils are soft. Freeze leftovers in flat bags for easy stackable dinners that feel like 30-minute meals when we reheat them.
6. Italian Sausage & White Bean Soup
Easy because pre-cooked sausage and canned beans give us big flavor with no browning.
Prep: 8 minutes | Cook: 4 hours on low
Ingredients: pre-cooked sausage slices or crumbles, canned white beans, chicken broth, canned diced tomatoes, frozen spinach or kale, Italian seasoning, garlic powder.
Toss everything into the slow cooker and let the broth soak up that sausage flavor. Pack leftovers with a slice of bread for hearty family meals all week.
7. Weeknight Chicken Noodle Soup
Easy because we use canned chicken and frozen veggies instead of raw.
Prep: 5 minutes | Cook: 3 to 4 hours on low
Ingredients: chicken broth, canned chicken, frozen carrots and peas, frozen onions, wide egg noodles, dried parsley, salt, pepper.
Stir everything except the noodles into the slow cooker, then add noodles for the last 30 minutes. This is one of our favorite easy dinner ideas when someone is under the weather, and it doubles as gentle meal prep for the week.
8. Easy Pantry Minestrone
Easy because it is basically “dump every Italian-style can in the kitchen.”
Prep: 8 minutes | Cook: 4 to 6 hours on low
Ingredients: canned mixed beans, canned diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, vegetable or chicken broth, frozen mixed vegetables, small pasta, Italian seasoning, dried basil, salt.
Add all ingredients except pasta, cook until hot and flavorful, then add pasta for the last 30 minutes. This stretches into budget-friendly recipes that feed a crowd with just a few cans.
9. Buffalo Ranch Chicken Soup
Easy because ranch mix and hot sauce turn plain canned chicken into something fun.
Prep: 5 minutes | Cook: 3 to 4 hours on low
Ingredients: chicken broth, canned chicken, cream cheese, ranch seasoning mix, hot sauce, frozen corn, frozen celery and onions.
Whisk broth, cream cheese, ranch, and hot sauce in the slow cooker, then stir in chicken and veggies and cook until creamy. Portion leftovers into microwave-safe bowls for quick recipes that feel like game-day food without the fuss.
10. Coconut Curry Chickpea Soup
Easy because everything is pantry-stable and dairy-free.
Prep: 8 minutes | Cook: 4 to 5 hours on low
Ingredients: canned chickpeas, canned coconut milk, vegetable broth, canned diced tomatoes, frozen spinach, curry powder, garlic powder, salt.
Add it all to the slow cooker, stir, and cook until the chickpeas are silky and tender. This freezes beautifully and gives us meatless weeknight dinners ready to reheat in minutes.
11. Broccoli Cheddar Comfort Soup
Easy because frozen broccoli and shredded cheese melt right into the pot.
Prep: 10 minutes | Cook: 3 to 4 hours on low
Ingredients: frozen broccoli florets, chicken or vegetable broth, evaporated milk, shredded cheddar, dried onion, garlic powder, salt, pepper.
Cook the broccoli, broth, and seasonings until soft, then blend part of it with an immersion blender and stir in the cheese and milk. Store leftovers in glass containers so they reheat smooth for simple recipes at lunch.
12. Stuffed Pepper Shortcut Soup
Easy because frozen peppers and pre-cooked meatballs skip all the stuffing work.
Prep: 8 minutes | Cook: 4 to 6 hours on low
Ingredients: frozen bell pepper strips, frozen fully cooked meatballs or beef crumbles, canned tomato sauce, canned diced tomatoes, beef or chicken broth, cooked rice, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper.
Stir everything except rice into the slow cooker, then add cooked rice for the last 20 to 30 minutes. This one stretches into big family meals, and leftovers taste just like next-day stuffed peppers without any fuss.
Soup Night Can Be Your Easiest Night
When we stock a few cans and freezer bags, slow cooker soups turn into the calm center of our busy week. We are not chasing complicated steps, we are letting low heat and time do the work. These quick meals may simmer all day, but our hands-on time stays short, right in that 30-minute meals sweet spot across the week.
Pick one recipe, set up your slow cooker before work, and enjoy walking into a kitchen that already smells like dinner. Then tell us which soup your crew loved most, and use that win to build your own little rotation of go-to meal prep favorites. Let soup night be the soft place you land when life feels loud.
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