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Slow Cooker Potato Soup

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This Slow Cooker Potato Soup recipe is easy to make in the crock-pot, and it’s perfectly thick and creamy and flavorful (without having to use heavy cream)!

Slow Cooker Potato Soup -- so delicious, and made extra-easy in the crock pot! | gimmesomeoven.com

Alright everyone, I think this one tops the charts as our most requested recipe on the blog ever, so I hope you like it. :)

That’s right, I finally made you a recipe for Slow Cooker Potato Soup!!!

The keywords, of course, being slow cooker.

Many of you have already discovered my classic Potato Soup recipe on the blog, which will forever and always be my favorite. But nearly every other comment we have received about this soup is from all of you slow cooking fans, asking if you can make the soup in your crock pots. As someone who shares a deep and undying love of all things potato soup and slow cooking, I was right there with ya! Unfortunately, the traditional recipe wasn’t one that that easily converted to slow cooking. Or at least, you couldn’t just dump all of the ingredients in and expect thick and creamy and delicious potato soup afterwards.

But I tested out a few different slow cooker approaches and finally figured out one that I think we’re all going to love. Just like my classic potato soup recipe, this one is super rich and creamy (but made a tiny bit lighter without heavy cream – yay!), it requires less than 20 minutes of prep time (mostly just chopping those potatoes), and it’s wonderfully comforting and delicious. But unlike my classic potato soup recipe, your crock pot gets to be the one to slow cook this soup to perfection.

Alright, let’s do this.

 

Slow Cooker Potato Soup Recipe Video (1 Minute)

 

The first step in this Slow Cooker Potato Soup recipe is probably the most time consuming — chopping up a storm. Chop up lots of potatoes (I strongly recommend Yukon golds), a big onion (white or yellow), and lots of cooked bacon (you can fry or microwave the bacon while you chop, or buy it pre-cooked).Slow Cooker Potato Soup -- so delicious, and made extra-easy in the crock pot! | gimmesomeoven.com

Then toss everything in the slow cooker (<– this is the one I use!), along with lots of good-quality chicken (or vegetable) stock.

And then set the timer for 3-4 hours (on high) or 6-8 hours (on low), and walk away and let the slow cooker do its thing.

Slow Cooker Potato Soup -- so delicious, and made extra-easy in the crock pot! | gimmesomeoven.com

Then once everything has slow cooked, you’ve gotta do the final step on the stovetop. I know, I know, this recipe isn’t 100% slow cooker. But in order to have a soup that’s nice and thick and avoid using heavy cream, we need to make a quick and easy creamy roux on the stove.

So just melt your butter (or you can use reserved bacon grease, if you fried the bacon on the stove, which will be way more flavorful) and whisk it together with some flour to form a roux. Then whisk in a can of evaporated milk. And once the mixture comes to a simmer, it will thicken up into a really thick gravy-like mixture. Add that to directly to the slow cooker, and give everything a stir.

Slow Cooker Potato Soup -- so delicious, and made extra-easy in the crock pot! | gimmesomeoven.com

And then if you’d like an even thicker soup (which I recommend), use a potato masher to mash up about half of the potatoes in the soup. Or you can just leave them all chunky. Up to you.

(Or, some of you have asked about a slightly healthier soup. If you’d rather leave out the roux entirely and just have a brothy-er soup, you can do that, and/or just mash some of the potatoes if you’d like to thicken it up a bit.)

Slow Cooker Potato Soup -- so delicious, and made extra-easy in the crock pot! | gimmesomeoven.com

And then…ta da! A big crock pot full of delicious, creamy Slow Cooker Potato Soup will be yours to enjoy!
Slow Cooker Potato Soup -- so delicious, and made extra-easy in the crock pot! | gimmesomeoven.com

 

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Slow Cooker Potato Soup

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 265 reviews
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 250 minutes
  • Total Time: 260 minutes
  • Yield: 8 -10 servings 1x

Description

This Slow Cooker Potato Soup recipe is thick and creamy (without using heavy cream), wonderfully flavorful, and made extra easy in the slow cooker!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 6 slices cooked bacon*, diced
  • 34 cups good-quality chicken or vegetable stock
  • 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes**, peeled (if desired) and diced
  • 1 medium white or yellow onion, peeled and diced
  • 4 tablespoons bacon grease* (or butter)
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 (12-ounce) can 2% evaporated milk
  • 1 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt or low-fat sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, or more to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
  • optional toppings: thinly-sliced green onions or chives, extra shredded cheese, extra bacon, sour cream

Instructions

  1. Add bacon, 3 cups chicken stock, potatoes and onion to the bowl of a large slow cooker, and stir to combine.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours, or until the potatoes are completely tender and cooked through.
  2. Once the soup has slow cooked and is about ready to serve, cook the butter in a small saucepan on the stove over medium-high heat until it has melted.  Whisk in the flour until it is completely combined, and then cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.  Gradually add in the evaporated milk while whisking it together with the flour mixture, and continue whisking until the mixture is completely smooth.  Let the mixture continue cooking until it reaches a simmer, stirring occasionally, and then it should get really thick.
  3. Immediately pour the milk mixture into the slow cooker with the potatoes, and stir until combined.  Add in the cheddar cheese, Greek yogurt (or sour cream), salt and pepper, and stir until combined.  If you would like the soup to be even thicker, you can use a potato masher or a large spoon to mash about half of the potatoes (while the soup is still in the slow cooker) to thicken the soup up.  If you would like the soup to be thinner, add in an extra 1-2 cups of warmed chicken or vegetable stock.  Stir to combine, then taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
  4. Serve warm, garnished with desired toppings.  Or transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.  (This recipe will not freeze well.)

Notes

*You can either fry the bacon, cook it in the microwave, or buy pre-cooked bacon.  If frying or microwaving, I recommend dicing the bacon before cooking it.  And if you are frying it, I highly recommend saving the bacon grease for later and then using it to make your roux (instead of butter).

**I highly recommend using Yukon gold potatoes, which have the perfect texture and buttery taste for this soup.  But Russet potatoes or red potatoes would also work just fine in this recipe.

***If you would like to make this recipe vegetarian, use vegetable stock, omit the bacon, and I would recommend adding in 2-3 teaspoons of Old Bay seasoning for extra flavor.

This post contains affiliate links.

Slow Cooker Potato Soup -- so delicious, and made extra-easy in the crock pot! | gimmesomeoven.com

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1,135 comments on “Slow Cooker Potato Soup”

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  1. If I wanted to add corn to this, would you recommend canned, creamed or frozen?

    • Hi Jodie! We would recommend adding canned corn or frozen corn that you’ve thawed. We hope you enjoy!

  2. Do you have the nutritional value for this recipe? Calories, etc?

    • Hi Susan! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!

  3. I lOVE it when a recipe turns out above my expectations!  Thank you for sharing this recipe!
    Your converting your stove top cooked one to this slow cooker one is GENIUS!
    God bless you, Happy New year!

  4. Hi I was wondering is there any way to substitute the bacon for ham I’m trying to find a good potatoes soup recipe using ham (we have so much left over from christmas) thanks greatly appreciated but this recipe sounds so delicious!

    • Hi Sara! Yes, you can definitely substitute the bacon for ham — we think that would be delicious! :)

  5. I have searched and searched for the perfect potato soup recipe and I found it here! I have never made potato soup and didn’t want a recipe that resulted in hard chunks of potato in a tasteless cheese sauce. I was looking for a savory, thick and creamy concoction of cheese, potatoes, and bacon. My 5 year old son LOVES potato soup and has been begging me to make it. I followed this recipe to the T and it was DELISH! I was so proud of how delicious it turned out. THANK YOU for such a great recipe that will now always be my go-to potato soup recipe. 

    • Thank you so much for your sweet words, Tammy — we’re happy to hear you and your son love this! :)

  6. I never comment on recipes but this soup was outstanding! By far most flavorful potato soup I’ve had, and so easy to make. I had 3 lbs potatoes so I upped everything else a bit, including using a whole package of bacon. And I cooked the flour mix in the bacon grease,definitely would use that again!  

  7. If I wanted to use ham instead of bacon when do I add it it? I have a pre-cooked ham that needs to be used. Thanks in advance. Would like to make this.

    • Hi Lynn! If using pre-cooked ham instead of bacon, we’d just add it towards the very end (just allow enough time for it to get warm enough). We hope you enjoy the soup!

  8. I made this soup today. Fast, easy and ready for supper with fresh homemade bread. YUMMMM!

  9. Just loaded crockpot. Looking forward to making the roux in a few hours. Oh, and eating the finished product. 

  10. Do you have the nutritional data on this soup?

    • Hi Kathy! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!

  11. What do you think about adding french onion potato chip dip instead of greek yogurt or sour cream? I have this in the slow cooker right now — just started it and can’t wait. I realized I forgot yogurt/sour cream on my grocery list and the only thing I have close is chip dip (and I don’t feel like going to the store). What say you?

    • Hi Lisa! We’ve never tried that, but you certainly could — if you do, let us know how it turns out! :)

  12. How many servings is this recipie?

  13. This was the fastest and best crockpot soup yet. Thanks!

  14. What do you consider or recommend to be “good quality ” chicken stock? 

    Thank you!

    • Hi Kacee! For store-bought stuff, we like Trader Joe’s Organic Low Sodium Chicken Broth and Better Than Bouillon. We hope this helps!

  15. I use instant mashed potatoes to thicken my soup, as well as mash up some potatoes. Not as many calories.

  16. Could this be made with potatoes that have already been home canned, or will they get too soft?

    • Hi Jennie — we’ve never tried this with canned potatoes, so it’s hard to say. If you give it a shot though, let us know how it turns out!

  17. Looks good will try and let you know ☺☺☺

  18. Just finished making this on our first snowfall of the season – perfect! Just the right thickness and seasonings. I did throw in a bit of minced garlic when the potatoes and onions were cooking, but that was my only deviation. Amazing how the white sauce thickened up so nicely! I mashed my potatoes a couple of times – I cut them too big and will go smaller the next time. I also kept the bacon on the side for my vegetarian eaters and it was not missed. Thanks for a tasty and very easy recipe!

  19. Will return to my potato soup I cook on stove. This recipe turned out bland, tasteless. 

  20. We have a foot of snow here in Greeneville, TN:) Just put this on. I brought a stick of butter, chicken broth, 1&1/2 huge onions, celery seed, dash of garlic, salt an pepper to a roiling boil then added my taster’s, brought again to a roiling boil then poured it in the crock pot. Can’t wait to add the roux(gravey

  21. Always delicious! The only thing I change is I use leftover spiral ham. About 1 1/2 cups diced. I use the butter. I mash the potatoes up a bit. I freeze the left overs in pint size freezer bags, and use them for lunches.

    • Thank you, Pam — we’re so glad you enjoy this, and we bet the ham is fantastic in this!

  22. This soup turned out great. I love it.

  23. Hi, I was just wondering if you have ever calculated the nutrition info based off your original recipe?

    • Hi Tiffany! We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!

  24. This stuff is awesome! Made it today! A tasty way to warm up in this frigid weather! Only thing… I wish the nutritional values are, including calories per cup!!!

  25. I made this for my family and it did not last but 2 hours tops. My kids and husband really loved it, but this time I will be double all ingredients in order to have a bigger pot. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

  26. Do you know how long this keeps and if it can be frozen? We have a snowstorm coming so I’m planning to make this tomorrow.

  27. well this morning hearing the weather report i knew this recipe would be a great one for today. wow oh wow. thank you for sharing your talents. this recipe is delicious ! i am going to make cornbread to go with this delicious soup.

  28. I thicken mine with instant potatoes.

  29. Can you use milk instead of evaporated milk?

    • Hi Elizabeth! We use evaporated milk because it stands up to the slow cooker better — adding dairy (i.e. regular milk/cream) to the slow cooker too early on will cause the soup to separate, so we strongly urge you to use evaporated milk if you can. We hope you enjoy!

  30. The Best potato soup ever !!! My husband and I ate it for lunch and supper. Finished the whole pot !!! Love it !!!

  31. Made this yesterday (used Russet potatoes) and it was fabulous and we will make it again. We had it with grilled sandwiches for supper. We are having it again with steak sandwich tonight. I will carry it in my lunch to work tomorrow.

  32. This recipe is amazing!!!! We had it and the whole family has raved. This is my new favourite soup!! 
    Cheers to you and thanks so much!!!

    Ann Marie aka Murray 

    • Thanks for sharing with us, Murray — we’re so glad you and your family loved this! :)

  33. You rock

  34. This turned out so yummy!!!!  Definitely will be making it again.  My husband my the roux and made it really thick.  We had to add milk to thin out the soup.  I also accidentally used 1 c of sour cream instead of 1/2 c and it still tasted awesome.  Thanks for publishing this.  It is very easy to make.  Worth the effort.  

  35. My Grandson, 23, was the first to eat the creamy potato bacon soup. He says it is yummy.
    It came out just perfect.

  36. LOVE this soup! I’ve made it once before, and its in the crock put now for dinner tonight. My husband says this is my best potato soup – and I’ve tried several!!

  37. Fantastic soup. Everyone loves this soup when I make it.

  38. I forgot to actually read the second 1/2 of the instructions for some reason…  abject starvation is my excuse.  So I just dumped the evaporated milk in, had no onion so I sautéed a shallot.  At the 4 hour mark we couldn’t bear to wait any longer, even though the potatoes were still a tad firm. Two large bowls of soup later – we all declare this soup tasting high fat and delicious!  Instead of making bacon I used a container of bacon bits.   That and the butter used to sautée the shallots are the only significant sources of fat. This is amazing. 

  39. This soup is amazing!!

  40. Fantastic!!!! My family loved it!!!!

  41. Hi! Is there any way to skip the final roux step if I don’t have any qualms about adding heavy cream? If so, would you mind telling me how? This is my first time making a soup. Can’t wait to try this new recipe out w my new crock pot! Thanks so much!!

    • Hi Kristin! We wouldn’t really advise skipping the roux. And we use evaporated milk because it stands up to the slow cooker better — adding dairy (i.e. regular milk/cream) to the slow cooker too early on will cause the soup to separate, so we strongly urge you to use evaporated milk if you can. That being said, definitely feel free to still add a bit of heavy cream in towards the very end! We hope you enjoy! :)

  42. A trick my grandma use to do. Take cornstarch, mix with water, add to Crock-Pot with everything else, add a pat or two of butter/ margarine, stir well, cook. A few minutes before serving, stir well, and your soup is thick without the stove top . Yay Granmas!

    • Thanks for sharing with us, Margaret — we think that’s a great tip (gotta love grandmas, they know what’s up)! :)

  43. I was wondering if I could use something other than flour to thicken to make gluten free? Ideas please? 

  44. Can you used a bag of bacon bit (real not the hard one) ,if so how much oz’s would you use to equal six strips of bacon.also could you use a red onion,not sure it would be strong enough and if it would be too sweet.

    • Hi Dani! Yes, you could use bacon bits if you prefer. We would just add the bacon bits to your bowl of soup. And we haven’t tried a red onion in this, but we think it would probably work fine. We hope you enjoy!

  45. Thanks so much. We enjoyed this soup…definitely pin worthy. 

  46. Hello! I have made this soup in the past (both stovetop and crockpot version) and LOVE them both! I am going skiing this weekend and would like to bring a crockpot full! Do you think if I make it on Friday and refrigerate overnight I could reheat on low in crockpot Saturday? Thanks! 

    • Hi Victoria — we’re so glad to hear you love the soup, and yes, we think that should work just fine! :)

  47. I made this several weeks ago and loved it, i I sent leftovers to my sister’s house for her kids. Well my nephew just asked me to make it for a winter fundraiser they are doing at the High School. Awesome recipe

    • Thanks for sharing with us, Bobbie — we’re so happy it was a hit with folks! :)

  48. I want to add carrots! Anyone tried it and knows when to add them? I am worried if I add them raw at the beginning, the carrots will get too mushy…

    • Hi Molly! If you want to add carrots, we cook them separately (we’d steam them) and add them at the very end (that way they won’t get mushy when you smash the potatoes). We hope that helps and that you enjoy the soup!

  49. I made this for a fundraiser for my nephew. This soup was the first to sell out …everyone loved it .
    .awesome recipe

  50. Could you add corn to it?