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!
hands down one of the best potato soups i’ve ever made! so easy and super yummy. i literally just got done making it and had to post how awesome it is!
Thanks Kelly! We’re so happy you enjoyed it! :)
The best potato soup recipe I have found on the internet yet! Going into the “Moore family archives”! Lol
What a nice compliment Beth! We’re so happy you and your family enjoyed it! :)
Made this for dinner tonight. Playing the waiting game for another 15 minutes and it will be ready! We added a little extra bacon (2 more slices) a little of the bacon grease to the soup for extra taste, and a little extra cheese. It smells and tastes delicious so far!
Awesome Hunter, we hope you guys loved it! :D
With St. Patty’s Day coming up, I’m thinking there will be leftover corned beef. Would that work as a substitute for the bacon? Maybe even some of the broth from cooking the corned beef…
Mary Jo, we think that sounds like an AWESOME idea!
Hi. Is it possible to take a few articles to my website?Of course the link to your site I’ll leave .
Hi Ellen! Is this for a recipe roundup you’re doing on your blog? If so, I know Ali is fine with that, as long as you attribute proper content and image credit, and link back to her recipe on her blog.
Made this today in my 7 quart crock pot. I used 3 heaping tablespoons of low sodium chicken base powder with three cups and water and added a little celery that I had left in the fridge. It took only 6 hours on low to cook before it was ready. Very yummy and thick. No need to mash the potatoes here. At the end I used sour cream and topped with green onions, bacon and more low fat old fort cheddar cheese.
If I was to do this recipe again with my 7 quart crockpot, I would double the recipe, use a little less flour and cook for 8 to 10 hours. May even experiment with a small batch with free evaporated milk or 2% milk instead and use use chives.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful wintertime soup :)
Thanks for sharing with us Diane! We’re happy to hear you enjoyed this! :)
This potato soup recipe sounds heavenly! I love potato soup, but no one else in my household will eat it. I was wondering how well it will freeze? Thanks
Thanks Kathy! Unfortunately this soup is not ideal for freezing, due to the high amount of dairy it has. Freezing will likely cause it to separate.
Can I use chicken broth, instead of stock?
Sure, that’s fine! We hope you enjoy! :)
This is an awesome recipe. I left out the yogurt, only because I didn’t have any of it or sour cream and it was still good. Will definitely make this again.
Awesome, so glad to hear it! :)
This recipe is so amazing! It’s pretty fantastic the flavour the potatoes absorb from cooking in onions, bacon and stock for 6 hours.
I kinda screwed up when halving the recipe and ended up with a much greater potato to liquid ratio. So I ended up with mashed potatoes. But the most AMAZING mashed potatoes. Keeping this forever and I’m never going back to normal mashed potatoes ever again.
I’m excited to make the full unedited recipe next time for the true potato soup experience! But wow those mashed potatoes…amazing.
Thank you for the recipe!! (bookmarked forever <3 )
Thanks for your sweet words Campbell, we’re so happy you’re a fan! We’re glad you were able to make some awesome mashed potatoes out of it too! :)