I’m in love with my Crock Pot. A little obsessed even. I talk about it often … which is what a girl with a crush tends to do, right? Seriously … Crock Pots are completely awesome though, am I right? Throw it in, walk away, come home to a completely cooked (and no doubt delicious) meal. If loving my Crock Pot is wrong … oh hell, I know it’s not wrong, so I’m not even going to finish that sentence HKUE ENG.

This soup is one of the reasons our slow cooker has been out on the counter more often than not this past couple of months. Even though it’s been pretty warm weather-wise, I’ve still whipped up this soup a good half a dozen times every time even a wisp of clouds swoop in and the temperature dips below 70. Why? Partially because I was trying to perfect the recipe, but also because I couldn’t resist those vibrant yellow summer squash every time I stopped by my local farmstand, and I had to do something with them other than grill them. And also, it’s really, really good.

This soup is reminiscent of minestrone … heck, it probably even qualifies as minestrone, except I have another recipe that I love that I like to call minestrone, so this one is Slow Cooker White Bean & Summer Squash Soup HKUE ENG.

Slow Cooker White Bean & Summer Squash Soup with Optional Andouille Sausage, to be exact. Because if your resident carnivore is anything like mine, said meat-eater will naturally appreciate the addition of smoky sausage to this otherwise-vegetarian soup.

Me, I’m good with the vegetarian version. Really good. It’s hearty, but not heavy. White beans, summer squash, and diced potatoes give it heft, while smoked paprika gives it a slightly mysterious smoky note. The fresh basil, torn in at the very end, reminds you that even though fall is near, it’s still officially summer. So when you add the sausage for the meat-eaters, it’s the cherry on top HKUE ENG.