Brothy Crock Pot Chicken and Vegetable Soup (No Chopping)

Some nights dinner needs to be something you can just throw together and let it cook. Crock pot chicken and vegetable soup is five ingredients, zero chopping, and about five minutes of hands-on work before the lid goes on.

Chicken breasts go in whole with a full bag of frozen mixed vegetables, a packet of onion soup mix, a can of cream of chicken soup, and four cups of broth. Eight hours on low, and the chicken shreds apart with two forks right in the pot.

One thing to know before you get started: despite the cream of chicken soup, this is a brothy soup, not a creamy one. The vegetables release enough water over eight hours that the broth stays light and spoonable rather than thick. If you’re after a chowder, this isn’t that recipe.

 

Prep Time	Cook Time	Servings	Prep Level
5 minutes	7.5 – 8 hours	4-6	Beginner +

Why This Soup Works So Well

This is the kind of recipe I put on when somebody’s feeling a little under the weather, or when I’m not in the mood to plan anything fancy. You’re not sautéing vegetables first, and you’re not browning chicken. Everything goes in cold, the slow cooker does the cooking, and then you shred the chicken at the end and call it dinner.

How To Make Crock Pot Chicken And Vegetable Soup

Lay the chicken breasts flat in the bottom of the slow cooker in a single layer. Spoon the condensed cream of chicken soup over the chicken, then sprinkle the dry onion soup mix on top. The soup mix and condensed soup go directly on the chicken rather than stirred into the broth, so they season the meat as they melt down.

Add the frozen mixed vegetables straight from the bag. No need to thaw. Pour the chicken broth over everything until the chicken is submerged. Don’t stir. Cover and cook on low for 7.5 to 8 hours, until a fork can twist easily through the thickest breast.

Low heat is what you want here. It gives the chicken time to soften and shred without drying out, and it lets the onion soup mix season the whole pot.

Pouring the broth over the top last is what distributes them, which is why there’s no stirring until the end.

Shred the chicken right in the slow cooker with two forks and stir to combine. Once you stir, the soup comes together fast, chicken in every bite, vegetables spread out, and the broth turns flavorful all the way through.

Julie’s Tips For The Best Results

Keep The Vegetables Frozen
Dump the vegetables in straight from the freezer. If they thaw on the counter first, they can cook softer than you want by the time the chicken is ready.

Make Shredding Easier
You can shred it right in the slow cooker (and I usually do).

Avoid Over-Stirring Early
During cooking, I leave it alone. Every time the lid comes off, heat escapes and the cook time stretches out.

Easy Swaps (Without Turning It Into a Different Recipe)

I keep this one as written most of the time, because the whole point is five ingredients and zero brainpower.

Here are the only swaps I can honestly recommend without changing the recipe:

• Use low-sodium chicken broth if you’re worried about salt. Between the onion soup mix and the condensed soup, there’s already plenty in the pot.
• Name-brand or store-brand frozen mixed vegetables. I’ve used both, and they both work.

I have not tested this exact recipe with chicken thighs instead of breasts. Thighs usually stay very tender in the slow cooker, but the cook time and the amount of fat in the broth can change the final texture.

Can I Cook This On High Instead Of Low?

I wrote this one for low heat for a reason. Cooking on low for 7.5 to 8 hours is what gets the chicken to shred easily and keeps the broth from cooking down too fast. I have not tested a high setting for this exact recipe, so I can’t promise you the same texture.