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!
Another thicking agent to use in the soup is instant potatoes. It makes a more savory soup. I recommend using a good quality brand
Yes, very true! We hope you enjoy this recipe!
OK read the comments regarding freezing. Looks like we will be finishing this week. just the two of us. May bring some over to my brother.
We hope you guys enjoy it, Lorraine!
I have enjoyed this soup at a favorite restaurant that closed years ago. When I read your recepie ( 3 days ago) I couldn’t stop thinking about making it, and so I did so today! This soup is delicious and so easy to make. I will definitely make this again, very soon because it’s that GOOD!
We’re so glad you enjoyed this, Cheryl — we appreciate you giving it a try!
This is my new go-to! I have made it 3 times since finding it a month or so ago! But I wanted to share that tonight I cut the recipe in half (since I live alone and can’t freeze it :( ) and made it on the stove top since I thought the crock pot would be too big for half the recipe. It took about an hour start to finish. I also added about 1/4 cup minced red pepper because I love it in everything! I saute’d the onions and peppers in the bacon grease after crisping up the bacon in the same pot I was using for the soup!) I also didn’t have evaporated milk on hand, so I just used the milk I had, which was a 1% milk and it worked just fine! (Not as thick, but since I add a little extra cheese and smash the potatoes, it totally worked!) I just adore this recipe! THANK YOU!
Thanks for sharing, Jen — we’re so happy you enjoy it! :)
Looks delicious but could I substitute regular whole milk for evaporated milk? We just don’t happen to have that on hand.
Hi Grace! 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!
love this
Hi,
I want to take this to work one day for coworkers. I’d love to assemble it all at work, could I add heavy cream in at the end instead of doing a roux? I know it makes it unhealthier, but I’m going for convenience over health for this! Do you think it would still be thick enough?
All other crock pot potato soups I’ve found use cream of chicken soup, which I refuse to use.
Thanks so much! Love your recipes.
We think that should be okay, but we haven’t tried it so we’re not 100% sure it would be thick enough. If you find that it’s not, you could always make a roux and add it in at the end. We hope this helps and that you and your coworkers enjoy! :)
When I was a child I once had the perfect creamy potato soup and ever since then have been trying to find another to duplicate that experience and have so far been disappointed. Until now. This soup had everything I could ask for, perfectly creamy without being too heavy. With bacon and cheddar in the soup and green onions with more cheddar cheese on top, this soup is incredible! The potatoes in the crock pot turned out so silky and luscious with an incredible mouthfeel. Most creamy potato soups, whether homemade, store-bought or from a restaurant all seem to have one thing in common, and that is that they have solid chunks of potatoes that are too starchy and firm, I’ve always found these detracted from the soup. I believe this is partially due to the fact that they’re not cooked long enough and due to the use of potatoes other than Yukon Gold. This soup is the complete opposite, while the potatoes still have texture, they are also perfectly soft, not starchy and marry perfectly with the creamy base. I also thought that making the roux using bacon fat was ingenious and imparted a lovely smoky flavor when added to the soup. Before I even finished eating the leftovers I was already dreaming about making it again. This is going to be my go to recipe for creamy potato soup and will be in heavy rotation this winter. By far my favorite creamy potato soup of all time!
Thanks for sharing with us, April — we’re so thrilled you loved this! :D
I made this tonight, but accidentally used sweetened condensed milk instead of evaporated milk. I was worried that it would be ruined, but surprisingly it was still really good! Next time, I will pay closer attention to what I’m picking up! ?
Oh no! Well we’re glad it still turned out okay and that you enjoyed it! And if it makes you feel any better, that is an easy mistake to make! :)
Best soup ever ? I made it tonight for my family and they all loved it!! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe ?
We’re so happy you and your family loved this, Bethany — we appreciate you giving it a try! :)