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!
Hi,
Was wondering what the specs were on this so I can calculate WW points.
Thank you!
Hi Cat! 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!
Hey, I’m in the middle of making your suggested vegetarian version of this soup and was wondering when I should add the Old Bay Seasoning? Do I add it to the slow cooker or wait and add it with the salt and pepper? Thanks!
Hi Ashley! We would recommend adding the Old Bay seasoning when you add the salt and pepper. We hope you enjoy this! :)
Hi! We love potato soup in our house – is there any way that this can be frozen to prepare ahead of time? We are in the process of moving from one house to another and will be staying in an apartment for a month (YIKES!) and I was hoping to get some freezer meals prepped for our stay!
Hi Sabrina! Unfortunately this soup is not ideal for freezing due to the high amount of dairy it has. Freezing will likely cause it to separate. We wish you luck with your move!
Hi .. can u pls tell me how to do it with heavy cream for those of us that don’t worry about whatever your worried about… thx
Hi Marie! You don’t want to add heavy cream to the slow cooker until the last 5 minutes of cooking, but feel free to add as much as you’d like. We hope you enjoy!
Hi I’m going to break down this recipie for one person. But was wondering I’m allergic to milk yes you read that right lol. Do you think it would taste any different if I just added the chicken stock, potatoes and onions?
Is there anything else you suggest adding to it besides milk?
Hi Andrew! In addition to chicken stock, we think you could try this with some non-dairy sour cream and/or non-dairy milk (we’d suggest plain cashew or almond milk). We hope that helps!
Do you think I could make this with 1% milk instead of evaporated milk?? Unfortunately, this is all I have on hand.
We think that would work fine Katelyn — we hope you enjoy!
Hello! I love your recipe. I have a question about the bacon. i made it once tasted amazing very addicting. Anyways my brother is coming this weekend and he cant have any pork, is it replaceable or its fine if it didnt have any? Thanks.
Hi Ashley! We’d say you’d be fine to just leave it out. We hope you guys enjoy! :)
Hi I making your potato soup recipe today. I had a quick question I don’t think you will get back to me that fast, so I’m just going to wing this..
My family loves heavy cream in this recipe. They say they don’t get this soup enough so who cares, if there is some fat in it..
Since you omitted the heavy cream in this recipe I was wondering if I should (could) use the heavy cream instead of the evaporated milk??
The recipe calls for 1- 12 ounce can so if I convert that into cups I should use 1-1/2 cups of heavy cream I think. Please let me know if you can before the 4 hours are up, if that’s possible or I’m just going to try it out if it doesn’t work the garbage may enjoy it lol ..
Oh I forgot do I still use the sour cream or yogurt?
Thanks much
Barb
Hi Barb! We think you could use the cream instead of the evaporated milk, but you’ll want to add that towards the end of the cooking time (any earlier, and it will curdle). Same with the sour cream or yogurt. We hope this helps, and that you and your family enjoy! :)
This soup is great!!! Just love it!!!
Thanks Linda — we’re so happy you like it! :)
If you have nothing against heavy cream, how much would you substitute for the roux?
And I’m assuming you’d add it last minute as well
Hey there! We would say try maybe 1-1/2 cups. And yes, add it towards the very end. We hope you enjoy this! :)