Simplify Dinner: 9 Delicious Whole Food Soups, Stews, & Slow Cooker Recipes (7 Ingredients or Less!)
Navigating the demands of daily life while striving to put wholesome, delicious meals on the table can feel like a constant juggle. That’s where these incredible recipes come in! We’ve curated a collection of nine whole food, easy family-favorite soups, stews, and slow cooker meals designed to minimize your time in the kitchen while maximizing flavor and nutrition. Each recipe proudly features seven ingredients or less, alongside minimal hands-on preparation time, making them the ultimate solution for busy weeknights or relaxed weekends. Imagine plugging these into your weekly menu and having dinner sorted for an entire week – pure culinary bliss!
In the bustling rhythm of family life, simple, comforting soups, hearty stews, and set-it-and-forget-it slow cooker recipes are more than just welcome additions to our meal plan – they are absolute life-savers. These dishes consistently rely on readily available pantry and refrigerator staples, transforming humble ingredients into extraordinary meals. They are quick to assemble, incredibly easy to prepare ahead of time, or can be conveniently automated with a slow cooker, allowing you to reclaim precious hours in your day. Furthermore, a significant benefit of these recipes is their tendency to yield generous quantities, making them perfect for planned leftovers. And in our household, leftovers don’t just mean a second delightful dinner; they translate directly into effortless lunches, effectively eliminating the need to think about yet another meal!
We’re confident that easy soups and stews are likely go-to meals for your family too – after all, you’re here, reading this! That’s precisely why we’re thrilled to share nine of our family’s most cherished, tried-and-true recipes. These are the dishes you would find regularly gracing our dinner table if you were to visit. Each one is crafted with health in mind, utilizing only real, whole food ingredients. What makes them truly stand out, however, is their simplicity, with each recipe requiring just seven primary ingredients or fewer. But beyond their health benefits and ease, their enduring presence on our menu stems from one undeniable fact: they are all incredibly delicious, offering comfort and flavor in every single bite.
To ensure clarity and align with our philosophy of uncomplicated, whole-food cooking, we’ve established a straightforward definition of ingredients for these recipes. When we say “ingredients,” we are referring exclusively to real, unprocessed foods – absolutely no mixes, boxed items, or highly refined products. Standard kitchen additions such as various spices, salt, pepper, and water are not counted towards the seven-ingredient limit, as these are typically assumed staples in most cooking endeavors. This approach ensures that you’re focusing on natural flavors and wholesome components. Now, are you ready to infuse your culinary repertoire with some truly tasty, effortlessly healthy, and family-approved recipes?
Unveiling Our Top 9 Easy Whole Food Soups, Stews, and Slow Cooker Dinners
30-Minute Amazing Cauliflower Cheese Soup – Prepare to amaze your family with this delightful soup that consistently wins over even the most ardent cauliflower skeptics! This rich, creamy, and incredibly flavorful soup is so masterfully crafted that no one will suspect they are enjoying a bowl primarily filled with wholesome vegetables. It’s a quick, comforting, and nutrient-packed meal that comes together in just half an hour, making it an ideal choice for busy weeknights when you crave something both hearty and healthy. The secret lies in blending the cauliflower seamlessly into a luxurious, cheesy base, creating a texture and taste that’s pure comfort food perfection.
Rotisserie-Style Slow Cooker Spiced Whole Chicken – Discover the unparalleled ease and incredible flavor of making a whole chicken in your slow cooker. This recipe truly delivers the easiest, most succulent chicken you will ever prepare, rivaling your favorite deli rotisserie chicken with minimal effort. A carefully selected blend of spices infuses the bird with a deeply aromatic and savory flavor profile, while the slow cooker works its magic, ensuring the chicken remains incredibly moist and tender from bone to skin. It’s an effortless way to achieve a perfectly cooked, flavorful whole chicken, ready to be carved for a family dinner or shredded for future meals like sandwiches, salads, or tacos.
The BEST Sausage and Lentil Stew – If your perception of lentil soup leans towards the “boring” side, prepare for a delicious revelation with this incredible sausage and lentil stew! This robust and flavor-packed recipe will completely change your mind, proving that lentils can be the star of a truly exciting and satisfying meal. The savory sausage pairs perfectly with the earthy lentils, creating a rich and hearty stew that’s both nutritious and incredibly comforting. A fantastic bonus is that this recipe yields a generous amount, and like many great stews, it tastes even better the next day, making it an absolute win for delicious leftovers – perfect for a quick lunch or another easy dinner!
Real Food Slow Cooker Cheesy-Garlic Scalloped Potatoes – Elevate your side dish game with these phenomenal cheesy-garlic scalloped potatoes, made effortlessly in your slow cooker. This brilliant cooking method not only ensures that your scalloped potatoes turn out perfectly tender and creamy every single time, but it also strategically frees up valuable oven space. This is particularly advantageous when you’re preparing a larger meal or hosting guests, allowing you to focus on the main course without juggling oven timings. The rich, garlicky, and cheesy layers bake slowly to golden perfection, creating a comforting and crowd-pleasing accompaniment to any dinner.
You’ll Never Go Back to Canned Homemade Tomato Soup – Prepare to have your perception of tomato soup completely transformed with this recipe. This was, in fact, the very first “real food” soup recipe I ever tackled from scratch, and it irrevocably spoiled me for canned soup forevermore. The vibrant, fresh flavors and smooth, comforting texture of this homemade version are miles beyond anything you’ll find in a can. What’s truly surprising is how incredibly easy and quick it is to make this delightful soup from scratch, using just a few simple ingredients. Once you experience the unparalleled taste of homemade, you’ll wonder why you ever settled for anything less.
Slow Cooker Italian Style Pot Roast – Elevate your classic pot roast with a delightful Italian twist, all thanks to the magic of your slow cooker. This recipe guarantees a pot roast that is consistently and perfectly tender, practically melting in your mouth with every bite. Infused with aromatic Italian herbs and flavors, it transforms a simple cut of beef into a gourmet-worthy meal. Served alongside creamy garlic mashed potatoes, this Italian-style pot roast becomes an absolutely fabulous company meal, impressive enough for special occasions yet simple enough for a satisfying family dinner. It’s a true set-it-and-forget-it wonder that yields incredible results.
Fast and Easy Curried Red Lentil Soup – Experience the perfect trifecta of healthy, tasty, and incredibly quick with this sensational curried red lentil soup. This vibrant and aromatic soup can be on your table in 30 minutes or less, making it an ideal solution for those nights when time is of the essence but you still crave a nourishing, home-cooked meal. The warm, inviting flavors of curry spices perfectly complement the tender red lentils, creating a soup that is so surprisingly filling and satisfying, you’ll genuinely never miss the meat. It’s a fantastic plant-based option that doesn’t compromise on flavor or satiety.
Easy Slow Cooker Curried Barley – Expand your slow cooker’s utility beyond main courses by using it to create delicious and flavorful side dishes like this easy curried barley. Preparing grains and sides in your slow cooker is an excellent strategy throughout the year. In the summer months, it keeps your kitchen cool and complements grilled foods beautifully, while in winter, it provides a warm, comforting accompaniment to baked or roasted dishes without monopolizing stovetop space. The earthy barley absorbs the aromatic curry flavors, creating a wonderfully tender and versatile side that effortlessly enhances any meal.
Quick Bone Broth Chicken Vegetable Soup – Unlock the secret to almost instant comfort and nourishment with this quick bone broth chicken vegetable soup. The key to its speed and profound flavor lies in keeping a supply of rich, homemade (or high-quality store-bought) chicken bone broth readily available in your freezer. With this foundational ingredient at your fingertips, you can whip up a comforting, healing, and hearty vegetable soup anytime the craving strikes or when you need a quick, wholesome meal. Loaded with colorful vegetables and beneficial bone broth, it’s a wonderfully restorative dish perfect for any day of the week.
There’s no denying it – simple, whole food recipes are absolute game-changers in the kitchen, offering not just ease but also incredible flavor and nourishment for your family. We hope these nine tried-and-true soups, stews, and slow cooker meals inspire you to embrace a simpler, healthier approach to dinner. By focusing on minimal ingredients and straightforward methods, you can consistently deliver delicious, comforting, and wholesome meals without the stress. Remember, cooking doesn’t have to be complicated to be spectacular. If you’re eager to discover even more effortlessly healthy and delicious dishes using minimal ingredients and focusing on whole foods, be sure to explore our extensive recipe index!