Description
This Slow Cooker Witches Brew Stew is a hearty and flavorful autumn-inspired soup featuring ground beef, hot breakfast sausage, seasonal vegetables shaped like pumpkins and skulls, and a rich broth made with French onion and tomato soups. Slow-cooked to perfection, it’s perfect for a cozy, spooky-themed meal.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Meats
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 lb. hot breakfast sausage (original if you prefer less spicy)
Vegetables
- 3-4 large carrots, sliced and cut into pumpkin shapes
- 2 cups small diced gold potatoes
- 3 celery ribs, diced
- 1 cup diced leeks (1 large leek)
- 10 mushrooms, halved and carved into skull faces (added at the end)
Seasonings and Miscellaneous
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 1 tbsp. Italian herb seasoning (oregano, marjoram, savory, thyme, basil, rosemary, sage)
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
Liquids and Soups
- 10.5 oz. Campbell's Condensed French Onion Soup
- 10.5 oz. Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup
- 1.5 cups water
- 32 oz. box beef broth
Instructions
- Brown the Meats: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef and hot breakfast sausage together, crumbling as you cook. Drain off excess fat once browned.
- Prepare Pumpkin Carrots: Slice the carrots into rounds, then create pumpkin shapes by making two straight slits for the stem, cutting two triangles from the sides of the stem, and removing them.
- Add Ingredients to Slow Cooker: Transfer the browned meats to the slow cooker. Add the prepared pumpkin carrots, diced gold potatoes, celery, leeks, minced garlic, Italian herb seasoning, salt, pepper, French onion soup, tomato soup, water, and beef broth to the slow cooker. Stir to combine.
- Cook: Cover with the lid and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours.
- Prepare Skull Mushrooms: Near the end of cooking, cut mushrooms lengthwise into halves. Use a straw to poke out eyes, and a knife to create slits for the nose and on the stem to form skull shapes.
- Add Mushrooms and Finish Cooking: Add the carved mushrooms to the slow cooker after the main cooking time. Let them cook for an additional 10 minutes to warm through while keeping their shape.
Notes
- Meat Substitutions: Using ground hot sausage adds hearty and decadent flavor, but you can swap for chicken breasts, ground turkey, or kielbasa. Adjust seasoning and salt accordingly.
- Freezing: This soup can be frozen before or after cooking. If freezing before cooking, wait to add mushrooms until after thawing and cooking.
- Scaling the Recipe: The recipe can be doubled if using a 6-quart or larger slow cooker.
- Time-Saving Tip: You don’t have to cut the carrots and mushrooms into shapes; the flavor will remain great without added prep time.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 700mg
- Fat: 20g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0.3g
- Carbohydrates: 15g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 18g
- Cholesterol: 65mg
