Slow Cooker Busy Day Soup
15 Comments Apr 16, 2024
Updated Apr 27, 2025
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Slow Cooker Busy Day Soup is the perfect meal to have on hand to help offset the whirlwind of busy days. This flavorful meal keeps it simple with ground beef, mixed vegetables, broth, and seasonings for a dinner-saving meal the whole family is sure to enjoy.
Looking for a few more soups to add to your meal plan? You’ll love my Slow Cooker Lentil Soup and Slow Cooker Cauliflower Soup.
The highlight of this soup is the fact that it’s perfect for busy days. With this recipe, you’ll only need a handful of ingredients, most of which you may already have in your fridge and pantry. Plus, using a crock pot means minimal effort and cleanup – a win-win for busy schedules.
You’ll love the quick prep time, moderate cooking time, and the ability to put a wholesome meal on the table without stress! Make busy day soup the next time you need some on the fly. We also make slow cooker chicken tortilla soup we are short on time.
Recipe Ingredients
- Ground Beef: Although you’ll cook this prior to adding it to the crock pot, I still recommend using a lean ground beef for less fat/grease. If you have extra slow cooker ground beef, use that!
- Diced Tomatoes: This recipe calls for Italian seasoned diced tomatoes, which adds a nice tangy taste.
- Frozen Mixed Vegetables: Keep it simple by using a bag of frozen vegetables. These are the same vegetables that are used in Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup.
- Beef Broth: Adds a nice touch of beef flavor to the hearty soup.
- Seasonings: Kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.
- Onion Soup Mix: Adds an additional dose of flavor. I use the Lipton brand but you can use any brand of your choice.
How to Make Busy Day Soup
Step One – Cook the ground beef in a skillet on the stove top, drain off any fat.
Step Two – Add the ground beef to the slow cooker along with the other ingredients (except the rice).
Step Three – Cover and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours.
Step Four – Add the uncooked Minute brand rice.
Step Five – Stir everything together and continue cooking on HIGH For 45 minutes longer or until the rice is done. Serve and enjoy!
How to Serve
- Ladle a helping of the soup into bowls and top with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Garnish with fresh herbs like parsley or basil.
- Serve alongside crusty bread or garlic breadsticks.
- Pair with a crisp green salad tossed in a zesty vinaigrette. This easy soup recipe can also be served over tender pasta. We love this homemade Italian dressing recipe.
- For an extra kick, add a dash of hot sauce or red pepper flakes.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, absolutely! Ground turkey or chicken are excellent alternatives for a lighter twist on this recipe.
Store any leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Absolutely! Allow the soup to cool completely, then transfer it to freezer-safe containers or bags. It can be frozen for up to 2-3 months. To reheat, simply thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm on the stove or in the microwave until heated through.
More Slow Cooker Soup Recipes
- Kielbasa Potato Soup is filled with potatoes, cheese and cream, a cozy pub style soup.
- If you love enchiladas, then try my Green Chicken Enchilada Soup, it’s much lighter than the original form.
- A classic Slow Cooker Beef Lentil Soup, is just like grandma used to make.
- We love this easy, Slow Cooker Ham and Potato Soup which is made from scratch, is a crowd please.
- This copycat recipe for Potato Cheese Soup is a recreation from Marie Callender’s!
- Tangy Dill Pickle Soup is a fun recipe to try, and is great along with buttered bread.
Slow Cooker Busy Day Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 15 oz. can Italian seasoned diced tomatoes
- 12 oz. frozen mixed vegetables
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- 1 oz. lipton onion soup mix
- 32 oz. Beef broth (one carton)
WAIT TO ADD:
- 1 cup minute brand rice (uncooked)
Instructions
- Cook the ground beef in a skillet on the stove top, drain off any fat.
- Add the ground beef to the slow cooker along with the other ingredients (except the rice).
- Cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 4 hours.
- Add the uncooked Minute brand rice and stir. Continue cooking on HIGH For 45 minutes longer or until the rice is done.
- Serve and enjoy!
Sarah’s Notes
- Ground turkey or chicken are excellent alternatives for a lighter twist on this recipe.
- Store any leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
- Standard rice does not cook up well in the slow cooker, instead we use Minute brand rice which works better in the slow cooker.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Instead of the rice I am going to add canned drained, rinsed garbanzo beans.
That’s a great substituion.
just my opinion but using rice or any kind of pasta in this soup, i personally wouldn’t cook it in the soup because it soaks up all the liquid so i would add whatever it is i’m adding, already cooked and just put it in your bowl and add the soup…
Very good! One problem though. The rice soak up all the soup broth.
Can macaroni be substituted for the rice? If so, when should it be added and does it need to be cooked prior to adding?
For the best texture, I would boil the macaroni on the stove top, most pastas turn out chalky and mushy in the slow cooker.
I do not use rice of anykind, as it is a filler. I also do not add onions.
If you call rice a “filler” that would apply to each of the other ingredients as well. Also, onions are very good for you.
I see that the recipe is 5 servings. How ucis a serving size, 1 cup?
I apologize, I do not measure. It’s 1/5 of the recipe.
Yummy! Planning on making this! I have leftover rice, would that do? Or what about some kind of pasta? Macaroni or orzo?
Can you use canned vegetables
How much longer should I cook it if I use regular long grain rice?
Can you use regular rice in place of the AWFUL min, rice?
If you cook it first. Standard rice turns chalky and mushy in the slow cooker.