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)!
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).
Then toss everything in the slow cooker (<– this is the one I use) along with lots of good-quality chicken or vegetable stock. Set the timer for 3-4 hours (on high) or 6-8 hours (on low). Then walk away and let the slow cooker do its thing.
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.
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.)
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
Ingredients
- 6 slices cooked bacon*, diced
- 3-4 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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
i was just wondering if you could replace the sour cream with cream cheese. I am in need of some comfort food and can’t get out to the store for sour cream
HI Tessa! Yes, we think you could probably do that. We hope you enjoy!
Do u cook the bacon before adding?
Hi Wendy! We included a note on this at the bottom of the recipe:
*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).
We hope you enjoy the soup! :)
Can you use cauliflower instead of potatoes?
Hi Terri! We haven’t tried that, but we like the idea and feel like it should work! If you try it, let us know how it turns out! : )
Is there anything else I can use instead of evaporated milk? {evaporated milk has too much sugar}
Sure, you’re welcome to use cream, half and half, or regular milk. Although evaporated milk shouldn’t contain extra sugar — maybe you’re thinking of sweetened condensed milk?
Made this tonight and it was a hit with my husband and friends. Followed everything to a T, except for using leeks instead of onions. I just like the texture of leeks in the slow cooker. I also did the bacon grease for the roux instead of just butter. Wow. Just wow. Definitely a keeper recipe! Thank you!
Thank you so much, Debbie! We’re happy this was a hit with folks! :)
Oh, my this was good. After I got home from grocery shopping I found that I didn’t have as much cheddar in the fridge as I thought so I used parmesan and what was left of the cheddar. It was really good. And because I was in a time crunch, I pressure cooked the potato mixture for 8 minutes and set to simmer for 2 hours. I did the roux on the stovetop as directed. It came out great. I will be making this all winter. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing, Terrie — we’re happy you enjoyed it!
Made it using what I had instead of yellow potatoes used sweet potatoe still came out great.
We’re glad to hear that, Quintessa! :)
I’m getting ready to make this and am wondering how much it makes? I’m going to have 5 adults plus two boys with big appetites to feed and I’m thinking I should double?
Hi Tiffany! This makes 8-10 servings. If you want to double so you definitely have leftovers, you’ll need to make sure you have a larger slow cooker to accommodate (we used a 6-quart for a single batch of this). We hope they all enjoy! :)
How about potato flakes instead of the cream???? Would that work?
Hi Sharon! We haven’t used potato flakes before, so we aren’t sure, however, we know some people use those in other recipes for this soup.
I also like to mince a roasted red pepper and add it to my soup. That smoky flavour is wonderful.
We think that’s an awesome idea, Deb! :)