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Slow Cooker Potato Soup (with frozen potatoes)

This Slow Cooker Potato Soup is so fast to throw together thanks to frozen potatoes. A hearty, thick soup with incredible flavor and easy to make!

A SHORTCUT POTATO SOUP RECIPE

I love potato soup so much! It is one of my family’s favorite comfort foods. I have a Crock Pot Potato Soup recipe where I make it completely from scratch. It’s delicious but some days you just don’t feel like messing with all that, right? This recipe is my shortcut solution to potato soup. You still get fantastic flavor with a few convenience foods used to help you put a delicious meal on the table without too much effort!

spoon with potato soup in it being held over a white bowl filled with potato soup.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Can this recipe be cut in half?

Absolutely! It is easily cut in half. However, I tend to make this full batch so that I can have leftovers the next day.

What if I don’t have heavy cream?

You can use milk.

Can I substitute the bacon?

Cooking up the bacon probably takes the most time in this recipe. So, if you are wanting to make it even faster, feel free to use the store-bought bacon pieces (found in the salad dressing aisle of the grocery store.) They work perfectly fine in this.

Why does the cream cheese need to be at room temperature?

This helps them melt faster and smoothly. If it goes in cold, it will stay lumpy in the soup.

Can I use shredded hash browns instead of cubed?

Yes. It will just come out much more creamy and smooth without the chunks of potato in it like you get with the cubed.

I don’t like cream of chicken soup, what can I use?

You can just leave it out. The soup will be a littler thinner and you can add a bit more heavy cream to add more creaminess to the soup. I would also suggest perhaps you make my homemade slow cooker potato soup recipe instead. It doesn’t use any cream soups.

Do I need to thaw the potatoes first?

Nope! They go in frozen.

How do I store leftovers?

This soup will last in the refrigerator up to five days in a covered dish/airtight container and reheats easily on the stovetop or microwave. It can also be frozen but I caution this as sometimes creamy soups don’t always reheat well after being frozen.

a spoon scooping up some cooked potato soup over a slow cooker.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)

  • bacon
  • frozen hash brown cubes
  • onion powder
  • garlic powder
  • chicken broth
  • cream of chicken soup
  • cheddar cheese
  • cream cheese
  • heavy cream
  • salt and pepper
  • green onions or chives
frozen hash brown cubes, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, seasonings and heavy cream.
(note: smaller amounts are shown in ingredient photo to be able to fit it all in)

HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER POTATO SOUP (WITH FROZEN POTATOES):

Cook the bacon. Drain excess grease on paper towels. Then crumble up bacon into pieces. Set aside.

cooked bacon shown on a paper towel with some of the bacon shown crumbled in a bowl.

Pour the frozen hash brown cubes into the bottom of a 5-6 quart oval slow cooker. 

frozen hash brown cubes shown in the bottom of an oval slow cooker.

Evenly season potatoes with onion powder, garlic and pepper.

seasoning sprinkled onto hash browns in the crock pot.

Pour in the chicken broth, cream of chicken soup and ¾ of the cooked and crumbled bacon (reserve the rest of the bacon for serving).

chicken broth, bacon and cream of chicken soup added to the oval slow cooker with the hash browns.

Stir everything until well combined then cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.

ingredients mixed together in the slow cooker.

After cooking, use a fork to check the potatoes for doneness. They should be fork tender. 

potato soup after it has been cooked for 5 hours shown in the crock pot.

To the slow cooker, add 1 cup of shredded cheese (reserve the rest for topping), cubed cream cheese, heavy cream and stir. 

cream cheese and shredded cheddar cheese added to potato soup.

Cover slow cooker and cook on high for another 30-45 minutes or until all of the cheeses are melted. Stirring occasionally. At this point, taste for seasoning. Add additional salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

fully cooked potato soup shown overhead in a slow cooker.

When ready, ladle into bowls and top with reserved crumbled bacon, remaining shredded cheese and sliced green onions or chives. 

close up photo of potato soup in a bowl topped with crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar cheese and sliced green onions.

CRAVING MORE RECIPES?

Slow Cooker Potato Soup made with frozen potatoes recipe.

Slow Cooker Potato Soup (with frozen potatoes)

This Slow Cooker Potato Soup is so fast to prepare thanks to frozen potatoes. A hearty, thick soup with incredible flavor and easy to make!
5 from 10 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Crock Pot Potato Soup with Frozen Potatoes, Potato Soup with frozen potatoes, Potato Soup with hash browns, Slow Cooker Potato Soup
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours
Total Time: 5 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 10
Calories: 545kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 pound bacon, divided use
  • 2 (2 pound) bags frozen hash brown cubes (they do not need to thaw first)
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 48 ounce container chicken broth (6 cups)
  • 2 (10 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided use
  • 8 ounce block cream cheese, softened to room temperature and cut into cubes
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • salt, to taste
  • sliced green onions or chives, for topping

Instructions

  • Cook the bacon. Drain excess grease on paper towels. Then crumble up bacon into pieces. Set aside.
  • Pour the frozen hash brown cubes into the bottom of a 5-6 quart oval slow cooker. 
  • Evenly season potatoes with onion powder, garlic and pepper.
  • Pour in the chicken broth, cream of chicken soup and ¾ of the cooked and crumbled bacon (reserve the rest of the bacon for serving).
  • Stir everything until well combined then cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.
  • After cooking, use a fork to check the potatoes for doneness. They should be fork tender. 
  • To the slow cooker, add 1 cup of shredded cheese (reserve the rest for topping), cubed cream cheese, heavy cream and stir. 
  • Cover slow cooker and cook on high for another 30-45 minutes or until all of the cheeses are melted. Stirring occasionally. At this point, taste for seasoning. Add additional salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
  • When ready, ladle into bowls and top with reserved crumbled bacon, remaining shredded cheese and sliced green onions or chives. 

Notes

  • You can use low/no sodium options for the broth and cream of chicken soup.
  • This recipe can easily be cut in half.
  • If you don’t like the bacon to cook with the soup, just save it to use only as a topping. 
  • You can use bacon pieces (found in the salad dressing aisle) instead of cooking up the bacon. 
  • This soup will last in the refrigerator up to five days in a covered dish/airtight container and reheats easily on the stovetop or microwave.
  • This recipe calls for double the amount of frozen hash browns than is typical but I found the ratio between potato and liquid to be perfect! However, this recipe can easily be cut in half. 
  • For a thinner soup, add additional chicken broth or milk.
  • Milk can be substituted for the heavy cream. 
  • Use as little or as much of the cheese as you prefer. 
  • 2 pounds of hash browns equals 32 ounces. Sometimes the bags will say 2 pounds and sometimes 32 ounces. 


Nutrition

Calories: 545kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 85mg | Sodium: 1160mg | Potassium: 743mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 609IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 283mg | Iron: 2mg

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 can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

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6 Comments

  1. Absolutely the best potato soup! Love doing it in the Crock Pot! Many thanks for all these wonderful recipes. The perfect thing to take to a shutin, and perfect thing for anytime! Thank you again!

  2. 5 stars
    I made this today for 5 of us…the only thing we did different was use the cubed hash browns with peppers and onions. my whole family loves it even my 5 year old.