Crock Pot Potato Soup (+Video)
This creamy, delicious Crock Pot Potato Soup is not only simple to make but it gets better as it slowly cooks. Topped with cheese and bacon!
AN EASY, CREAMY POTATO SOUP RECIPE
This recipe for homemade slow cooker potato soup has been a favorite of ours for years. It’s a simple recipe with simple ingredients. Let the slow cooker do some of the work for you and come home to a warm meal and comforting smells!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
We usually eat this with a small side salad and some sort of crusty bread to dip into the soup. My favorite bread is my rustic dutch oven bread.
Russet potatoes are generally the way to go. You can however use red skin or Yukon gold; however, they are lest starchy and may not thicken up the soup as well as you may want.
If you like a thinner potato soup, simply stir in more chicken broth, milk or half and half until you’ve reached your desired consistency.
The easiest way to thicken potato soup is to add a bit of instant mashed potatoes. Start with a little then stir it in. Give it a few minutes to plump up then add more as necessary. You can also use a cornstarch slurry. Whisk together about 3 Tablespoons of cornstarch with 3 Tablespoons of water. Add this to the potato soup, turn it up to high and it will begin to thicken.
A BLT tastes great with potato soup. Perhaps a grilled cheese or even a ham and cheese sandwich!
It is not recommended as potato soup tends to not reheat well since the potatoes continue to soak up the liquid they are in and can often be grainy when thawed and reheated. In addition, soups with dairy in them can lose their creamy consistency.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- potatoes
- diced onion
- garlic
- celery
- chicken broth
- salt and pepper
- half and half
- toppings: shredded cheddar cheese, cooked and crumbled bacon, sliced green onions
HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER POTATO SOUP:
Layer diced potatoes in a lightly greased 5-quart slow cooker.
Top with chopped onion, garlic and celery, salt and pepper.
Pour in chicken broth. Broth will not completely cover potatoes.
Cover and cook on low setting for 8 hours or until potatoes are tender. Mash mixture with a potato masher. I don’t mash it completely because I still want some visible potato chunks in there.
Stir in half and half.
Cover and cook on high setting 20 more minutes, or until mixture is thoroughly heated.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with bacon, cheese and green onion. Serves 8.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES? GIVE THESE A TRY!
Crock Pot Potato Soup (+Video)
Ingredients
- 4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 stalks celery, finely diced
- 2 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth (or one 28 ounce carton)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups half and half
- garnish: shredded cheddar cheese, cooked and crumbled bacon, sliced green onions
Instructions
- Put diced potatoes into the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker.
- Top diced potatoes with chopped onion, garlic and celery.
- Add chicken broth, salt and pepper. Broth will not completely cover potatoes.
- Cover and cook on low setting for 8 hours or until potatoes are tender.
- Mash mixture with a potato masher. (Don’t mash completely, leave some potato chunks.)
- Stir in half and half.
- Cover and cook on high setting 20 more minutes, or until mixture is thoroughly heated.
- Ladle into bowls and garnish with your favorite toppings.
Video
Notes
- We usually eat this with a small side salad and some sort of crusty bread to dip into the soup.
- Red skin, russet or Yukon gold potatoes can be used in this recipe.
- For a touch more creaminess, try adding abut 1/2 a block (4 ounces) of cream cheese.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Originally published: September 2011
Updated & republished: January 2023
This is my go to recipe for potato soup. I make it for my family of 3 and being leftovers to my pescatarian mom, so bacon crumbles are always on the side. We oven cook bacon for this to get it nice and crispy.
Is this soup good reheated?
Deb, we love this soup, and the leftovers! I keep the bacon separate so it stays nice and crispy and then heat that separately from the leftover soup, then you can add as much or as little as you like. There’s just three of us, so we always have some leftover and it makes a great lunch throughout the week!
When using frozen potatoes, should you thaw the potatoes first, before putting them in the slow cooker?
Loved this soup. I got all of my ingredients in the crock-pot the night before and put the bowl in the refrigerator. The next morning I just put it in the base and turned it on to cook. It turned out wonderfully and no leftovers. Definitely going into the dinner rotation.
Since the temperatures here are suppose to be 70degrees tomorrow, it’s chilly here today… I’ll be making this tonight… I love a very chunky soup, so may not mash the potatoes to much… Or do I need to mash them a lot to get it to be thicken??? Thank You…
Since the recipe calls for 4 pounds of potatoes do I need 2 bags of frozen hashbrowns or just one?
Hi Pam – if it were me, I would probably just use one bag. But if you want lots of potatoes – go with two.
I made this today!! Awesome recipe!! However, instead of shredded cheese, I added Campbell’s Cheddar Cheese Soup to the soup mixture!!! Delicious!!!!
Can I use the stove? I don’t have 8 hours but love this soup!! How can I make it faster?
Hoping to make this today!! It looks totally wonderful. I have seen the question asked MANY times but No answers. How well does this soup freeze? It’s just my Husband and I, so we do usually have leftovers. Thank You. Anyone who has made it and frozen it that can answer would be helpful.
Potato soup in general does not freeze well. The potatoes just don’t work after freezing. I make this soup and have never had enough left to freeze. When I put potatoes, onions, celery and garlic I also add carrots and any other chopped veggies I want. It’s a delicious soup.
Has anyone ever doubled this recipe? I’m thinking of making it for a work pot luck, but would like to have enough for about 15 servings (30+ people). If you have doubled it, would it fit in a single crock pot?
Ann, you could definitely double it but make sure you have a large enough crock pot. You would probably want to use at least a 7 quart crock pot. 🙂
This recipe was so easy. The finished soup with garnish turned out amazing. My husband absolutely loved it! I will be making this again.
That is wonderful Lorrie, so glad you found a recipe to love and perfect for all the cool fall days ahead.
Thank you for the recipe. Does the soup freeze well?
I will be cooking this today! Simple ingredients, simple recipe! LOVE!!
This may sound crazy but this is awesome with canned coconut milk instead of the cream or 1/2 & 1/2,
started making my butternut squash soup with this and it is so lovely. Love your blog.
So many good comments from those who have tried this. I'm Pinning it!!
So sorry, I forgot to mention,that I did not use the crock pot….I cooked it on the stove top on a low simmer.When the potatoes were tender,the soup was done…saved me lots of time!
I made your soup last night and added ham, along with one glove of garlic. We enjoyed it very much…as my husband said "it's a keeper"!
So glad I found your site.tomorrow's dinner will be potato soup and salad…Thanks again for posting.
Could II use whole Lactaid milk in this instead of the cream due to dairy allergies?
Could I use heavy cream instead of half and half? I have some cream in my fridge I need to use up 🙂 thanks!
Can a person use whole milk instead of half and half? Trying to reduce my fat intake.
Egads! It's six a.m. and I'm standing in my kitchen staring at my frozen hash browns and wondering if they have to be thawed before making the soup. Yipes! I'm going to find a way to screw this up, aren't I? LOL If anyone knows, I would surely appreciate an answer… 🙂
Just found this recipe recently and pinned it. 🙂 I too am wondering if it could be done on High for 4 hours? I waited too long and want it for dinner tonight! 🙂
Thanks for posting!
I am in the process of making this right now, with my own little tweaks to account for food allergies, of course! I will be using Almond milk in place of the half and half, and nixing the pepper completely (an allergy to black pepper…who knew?)
How do you print it?