The Basic Mistake You're Making With Slow-Cooker Soup

As the ultimate hands-off cooking appliance, a slow cooker can be like a magic wand. With the addition of a few ingredients and the turn of a knob, cooks can simply walk away and let the slow cooker cook just about anything the heart desires. Soup can be a classic dump-it-and-leave-it slow cooker meal that feeds the whole family. But, a simple mistake can get in the way of it being truly great.

It may seem impossible to screw up a slow cooker recipe, but the do-it-all appliance isn't a one-size-fits-all machine for all dishes, especially not soup. Overfilling the slow cooker with soup can hinder the cooking process before the heat is even set. Apart from potentially causing an overflow, overfilling the pot can extend the cooking process because the contents within don't cook evenly. It also makes it hard to occasionally stir the soup without it spilling everywhere.

Crock-Pot, one of the most famous names in slow cookers, backs this. For the best results, the company advises, keep a slow cooker only half or two-thirds full. This allows for more even cooking, better stirring, less (or no splashing), and room to add ingredients during the cooking process, if necessary.

To avoid overfilling soup in a slow cooker, the easiest solution is to have the right-sized pot at your disposal. Crock-Pot sells a range of sizes, so the question becomes, how much soup are you hoping to make? The answer will determine what you need. For larger crowds, a six- to eight- quart slow cooker is ideal; for smaller crowds, a three- to four- quart pot should do the trick.

Having the right slow cooker can also determine how much soup goes in. For example, if you have a six-quart slow cooker and a classic chicken noodle soup recipe that makes six quarts, you can cut the recipe in half or down a third to ensure the pot is only half to two-thirds full and the soup cooks evenly. In situations where a slow cooker may be a little too full of liquid in the soup-making process, Crock-Pot recommends using a ladle to even things out. After lifting the lid to release steam, cooks can ladle out the excess liquid and put the lid in place.

A good slow cooker soup can also be made or broken by the order the ingredients are put in. Meat and denser vegetables that need longer cooking times should go on the bottom, followed by lighter vegetables, and liquid. This ensures all the ingredients cook evenly and the soup turns out exactly as expected.