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 made this last week. It was amazing. Everyone in the house liked it!!
Thanks for sharing, we’re glad to hear that!
I have been making different recipes for potato soup, but this one has the flavor, the consistency and taste were a single batch will not be enough. I am telling you do not waste your time with a single batch. Double it from the start. The bacon grease makes the flavor. I also added some diced celery. You might want to cut some of the salt due to bacon and bacon grease.
Thank you, Joe — we’re so happy you enjoy it! :)
Thanks for taking some time with me on this.
My cooker is advertised at 6.5 qt. I just measured the inside
using cold water. The measurement was just 5.2 qt. all the way
to the top. When I loaded my soup/stew, It yielded 10 portions
of 16 fl. oz. each, which is a yiedld of 5 qts. exactly.
Now if I reduce the loading to 4 qts. it should allow the crock
to heat above the 190 F I got on the 5 qt. load. That should
yield 8 servings at 16 fl. oz each with cooked potatoes.
Now it appears to me that this should be advertised as a 4 qt.
slow cooker. Is this stretching of the truth common among
slow cooker manufacturers?
I just checked the temp. I have been running it on high for 5 hours now. The temperature according
to my thermometer is 189 F. Can you recmmend a programmable 6 or 7 qt slow cooker that is known
for better temps? Mine is a HB “stay & go” 6.5 qt.
I would like to get some prep done tonight if possible and then put it in the slow cooker in the morning before I leave work…..I’m up at 3:30 and leave my house at 4:30…..what do you recommend I do and how do I store it?
Hi Cindy! For prep the night before, you could go ahead and have your bacon cooked and your roux made (store both in the fridge). Unfortunately you can’t really do anything with the potatoes in advance, or else they will oxidize. You can already have your onion diced (just store in a container in the fridge). We hope this helps!
Question:
I have been using my slow cooker for vegetable soup/stew. Everything works well
for me except potatoes.
I have used white, gold, red and have the same problem, which is, diced potatoes
in the soup/stew will not cook enough. What could I be doing wrong that would
produce rock-hard cubes of nearly raw potato after 5 – 7 hours on high?
I don’t need that much cook time for anything else in there, but the other vegetables
de-construct if I go over six hours.
Thanks for considering my problem.
Dee A.(Andy) Jacobs
Hi Dee! Hmmm, that’s frustrating! It sounds like maybe your slow cooker isn’t getting hot enough, because the potatoes should be tender after spending so long in the slow cooker. We’d suggest checking the temp of the liquid in the slow cooker. Some people say potatoes should reach an internal temperature of 210F before they soften (so very close to boiling). We hope this helps!
Instant potato flakes are great for thickening and only add to the potato flavor!
Can I make the roux ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until the end?
We think that would be okay. We hope you enjoy!
This recipe looks amazing! I used baby gold potatoes instead of Yukon gold. After dicing 2 lbs of potatoes, I dumped them in the slow cooker with the onion, bacon, and the 3 cups of chicken stock. However, the stock barely covers the potatoes :( Will the soup be too thin if I add a few more cups of chicken stock? Just enough to cover the potatoes…
Thank you, Allie — we’re so glad to hear you love it! And yes, you can definitely add some more stock. :)
If you want to avoid the cream all together (hubby can’t tolerate it), use a package of instant yukon mashed potatoes. Slowly add to the chicken broth, stirring the entire time slowly, until you get the thickness that you want.