This post is sponsored by The Little Potato Company. As always, all opinions are my own.
Crockpot Cheddar Bacon Ranch Potato Soup
At my last teeth cleaning, my amazing dental hygienist, Elizabeth (who loves to cook), was telling me about a ranch potato soup that she loves to make. So, being the food lover that I am, I asked her for the recipe. You can’t beat a tried and true recipe from someone you know, right? I love when folks are always willing to share their recipes with me, especially since they know that they might end up on the blog (with full credit of course!) Later that night, I got an email with her recipe for Crockpot Cheddar Bacon Ranch Potato Soup and it did not disappoint!
Little potatoes make all the difference
I hope Elizabeth will forgive me for taking a little artistic license with her recipe since I made just a couple of changes to it. Not many. All I did was make it a slow cooker recipe and instead of russet potatoes, I used my favorite Little Potatoes.
In fact, I got my hands on some Three Cheese Microwave Ready Little Potatoes. So I thought, why not use these? They are already washed and I don’t have to peel them! Also, I decided to take the cheese packets that come with the Microwave Ready Little Potatoes and add them to the ranch dressing mix to give it a cheesy flavor. The result? AMAZING! My new favorite way to make potato soup!
Ingredients:
one small onion, finely diced
celery (2 stalks), diced
2 lbs. (2 packages) Microwave Ready Three Cheese Little Potatoes
1 (32 oz.) container chicken broth
4 tbsp. flour
1 (1 oz.) packet ranch dressing mix
2 cups (1 pint) half and half
1 cup sour cream
salt & pepper, to taste
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, for topping
1 lb bacon, cooked & crumbled, for topping
1/2 cup green onion, sliced, for topping
Directions:
Dice onion and celery. Remove creamer potatoes from the microwave package (setting aside the cheese packets for later) and slice them in half (or in quarters for the larger potatoes).
Add celery, onions, Little Potatoes and chicken broth into a 6 quart slow cooker.
Cover crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
Once potatoes are fork tender, mash about half of the potatoes. You’ll want to leave some chunky potato bits.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ranch dressing mix and the contents of both cheese packets.
Stir in sour cream and half and half.
Finally, pour ranch mixture into the slow cooker. Stir well. Cover and heat for an additional 30 minutes.
As potato soup finishes cooking, cook and crumble the bacon; shred the cheddar cheese and slice the green onions.
Place all the toppings into separate bowls so everyone can serve themselves.So creamy and delicious! A definite fall must-make recipe! Thank you Elizabeth 🙂 Enjoy!
Crockpot Cheddar Bacon Ranch Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 lbs Microwave Ready Three Cheese Little Potatoes
- 1 (32 oz) container chicken broth
- 4 tbsp flour
- 1 packet ranch dressing mix
- 2 cups half and half (1 pint)
- 1 cup sour cream
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, for topping
- 1 lb cooked & crumbled bacon
- 1/2 cup sliced green onion, for topping
Instructions
- Dice onion and celery. Remove creamer potatoes from the microwave package (setting aside the cheese packets for later) and slice them in half (or in quarters for the larger potatoes.)
- Add celery, onions, Little Potatoes and chicken broth into a 6 quart slow cooker.
- Cover crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
- Once potatoes are fork tender, mash about half of the potatoes. You'll want to leave some chunky potato bits.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ranch dressing mix and the contents of both cheese packets.
- Stir in sour cream and half and half.
- Finally, pour ranch mixture into the slow cooker. Stir well. Cover and heat for an additional 30 minutes.
- As potato soup finishes cooking, cook and crumble the bacon; shred the cheddar cheese and slice the green onions.
- Place all the toppings into separate bowls so everyone can serve themselves.
I know the point of this recipe is to use the microwave potatoes, but wondering if you could use regular ones in it as well, precooked a bit?
Yep, you could use baby potatoes for this. You don’t need to pre-cook them first. They will get plenty soft during the cooking process. 🙂
Brandie, I Love your new site!!! Wow! You are the best!! Thank you so much!!!!!!!
Where do you find those microwave potatoes for this recipe? I never saw them before
Hi Jill! You can find them at Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club! You can find where to buy here: http://www.littlepotatoes.com/en/where-to-buy/
Where do you get the potatoes?
Wal-Mart
At what point do you add the first pound of bacon to the soup? You give directions for the second pound for the topping, but not the first.
Hi Cindy! Nope – there is only one pound of bacon in this recipe (not two.) It is just for the topping. If you want, you could stir half of that cooked bacon into the soup before serving and then serve with more sprinkled on top but we prefer to sprinkle it all on at the end with each individual serving. 🙂
Yes but your recipe lists one pound of bacon 2 times.
Hi Patricia – it’s just one pound (and that is for serving). Sorry for any confusion!
These potatoes are NOT found in frozen foods, but in Fresh Produce section.
I have a ton of regular potatoes to use, wondering if there is anything else I should add since I don’t have those little cheese packets? Any ideas what to use in place of the cheese packets?
Hi Elizabeth! No problem – just leave it out. I promise it will still taste amazing! 🙂
I have discovered your website with all your recipes lately and I have to say —my dry spell of not cooking has changed. I made your cheese ranch potato soup tonight and I seriously could have eaten the whole crock pot. Best recipes and the easiest recipes I have made in a very long time.
Approximately how much cheese should I use in place of the cheese packets? Also what kind? It really sounds delicious and I want to try it with the Idaho potatoes I already have. Thank you.
If i cook on high how long should i cook?
What is considered a serving
LOL! I just saw this!! It’s our favorite potato soup! And yes, Brandi, you may use and adapt any of my recipes anytime! I’ve never seen those little cheese potatoes, but I might try them sometime now. I usually use peeled and diced russet potatoes, I noticed you pictured the Kitchen Basics Chicken Stock. Good choice. I won’t use any other in my soups, it’s so good. I might try it sometime in a crock pot. And I know it may be frowned on by healthy choice cooks, but I do leave the bacon drippings in my pot to add to the flavor. I use it for the grease to pre-cook my onions and celery before adding the remaining ingredients. And thanks again for letting me know which slow cooker I needed to buy to make my Chocolate Covered Peanuts and not burn them! We enjoyed making and sharing them for Christmas!