This Crockpot Potato Soup Recipe is easy to make and even easier to eat! It is the ultimate in comfort food. Loaded with bacon, cheese, and potatoes, your family will love this loaded baked potato soup recipe.
I have been thinking a lot lately about happiness and joy. I’ve been thinking about what specifically brings me joy, and how I can have more of that in my life. Even more than that, I’ve been thinking about joy that doesn’t seem to have strings attached. For example, sure, a big chocolate bar brings me immediate joy, but after eating it I sort of feel like a lump on a log. I guess what I’m talking about is lasting joy rather than an immediate high.
Food is really something that brings me a lot of joy. Yes, I am in part talking about eating good food. But I guess I’ve been thinking about it in a much bigger picture way. Cooking food for people I love is something that has been passed down to me from my grandmother and my own mother (interestingly my dad’s mom passed it on to her daughter in law, my mom). I come by it honestly. There is a lot of joy for me in making delicious food that other people enjoy.
This joy has gotten bigger by creating my own recipes. There is such a spark of joy for me when I come up with a recipe, taste it for the first time, and am overcome with how delicious it is. And then I photograph it and admire not just how delicious it tasted, but how beautiful it looks. (I realize I sound like a huge nerd, and I’m totally okay with that). Finally, I find so much joy in then coming here and sharing that love and that joy with you.
Easy Crockpot Potato Soup Recipe
This is exactly what happened with this Crockpot Potato Soup Recipe. I decided to combine the cooking method I used in my Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheddar Soup with the cooking method I use in my New England Clam Chowder. And it turned out so incredibly perfect.
If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen my story where I talked about how in love with this recipe I was that it was getting bumped to the top of my editorial calendar.
If I could, I would make this for you right in my own house so that I could watch you eat it and enjoy it. Only in a non creepy stranger on the internet inviting you over sort of way. Since I can’t do that, I hope you do make it at home and I hope you love it’s simple easy flavors and comforting warm ways. I hope it spreads a little joy to your life. Because that is what food is. It doesn’t just nourish our bodies, it nourishes our souls.
How Do You Make Crockpot Potato Soup?
The key to a good soup from scratch is a homemade roux, a thickening agent made from a fat and flour. My New England Clam Chowder uses bacon fat. Then you add in flour to start the soup, slowly adding clam juice to make a great thick and creamy soup in the end. In my Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheddar Soup, at the end of the cooking time you pull broth from the crock pot, melt butter on the stove top, add in some flour, and then slowly add the stock and eventually put it all back in the slow cooker.
In this slow cooker potato soup recipe, you cook up some bacon at the end of the slow cooker time. Then you add in flour, stock from the slow cooker, eventually some heavy cream and some cheese. You add it all back into the crock pot for the most delicious crockpot loaded potato soup ever.
Add the bacon at the end keeps it crisp. Additionally, using bacon to start our roux and thicken this soup really deepens the flavor of the whole soup.
See? It brings me so much joy just to talk about cooking and food.
Can I Make This Crockpot Potato Soup on the Stovetop?
Yes! You can! This recipe is basically the crockpot version of my Creamy Potato Soup with Bacon recipe. So if you would like to do it on the stovetop instead, I would point you to that recipe.
Reheating Instructions
This soup will make great leftovers. Though I won’t judge if there aren’t any. It will last in your refrigerator for two to three days in an air tight container.
Reheat it at low temperature so that it doesn’t separate. Either cook it covered in the microwave at half power, stirring halfway through, or cook it over very low heat on the stove top, stirring often.
Other Great Comforting Recipes to Bring You Joy
- These Italian Meatballs are my grandmother’s recipe, and they truly bring me joy and take me right back to her love filled home.
- This Crab Pasta Salad is my mom’s recipe and I love making it when I’m missing her.
- These Zucchini Fritters are my dad’s recipe. He has many talents, cooking may not be at the top of that list, but when he makes these magic happens.
Crockpot Potato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes peeled and diced
- 1 onion diced
- 4 cups chicken stock see note
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 slices thick cut bacon diced
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (plus more for serving)
- sour cream (optional for serving)
- green onions (optional for serving)
Instructions
- In a large slow cooker combine the potatoes, onion, chicken stock, salt and pepper.
- Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours.
- When there is only 15 minutes left of cooking time, remove 2 cups of the cooking liquid from the crock pot.
- In a small stock pot over medium heat, cook the bacon. Once it is crispy, whisk in the flour.
- Very slowly stir in the cooking liquid from the crock pot. Once it is completely added, stir in the heavy cream, and the cheese. Stir until the cheese is fully melted.
- Mash the potatoes in the crock pot using a potato masher or an immersion blender. Stir in the mixture from the stock pot. Serve and enjoy!
Kathy Stevens Ring says
Can’t wait to try this.
Carl Pirro says
Love soup also Lisa, thanks for the recioe.
Lisa Longley says
Hope you love it, Carl!
Krystal says
What type of potato are you using?
Lisa Longley says
Russet potatoes
Sandi says
This looks amazing. What size crock pot did you use?
Can this be made a day before and kept in the frig?
Lisa Longley says
I made it in a 6 quart crock pot. You can make it the day before, but I would suggest that when you reheat it you do so over very low heat on the stove top stirring often.
Joyce says
Good soup! Can this be frozen?
Lisa Longley says
You can freeze it, but you want to reheat it slowly. You may deal with some separation as you reheat it (not as great of a consistency as when it was fresh off to the stove), but it will still be really delicious.
Jennifer says
do you drain the bacon before adding the flour or do you include the bacon grease?
Lisa Longley says
You keep the fat in there. We are making a roux – which is flour plus fat – lots of times butter is the fat, but in this case it is bacon fat!
Brandi Moses says
Do you have to mash the potatoes? I like a little chunkyness in my potato soup.
Lisa Longley says
How much you mash them is totally up to you!
Caitlin says
Do I re-add the two cups of liquid that I removed?
Lisa Longley says
You are adding it back in in step 5.
Sierra says
Can you substitute the broth for cream of chicken soup?
Lisa Longley says
I haven’t tried that so I can’t say exactly how it will turn out. I don’t think it will work great in this recipe. The whole recipe would need to be tweaked to use that short cut.
Brooke says
Super easy and very tasty! My husband and I really enjoyed this soup! First time making potato soup and it was great!
Lisa Longley says
Thank you so much for coming back to let me know!
Jennifer says
Can anyone please tell me how many potatoes a 1Lb 1/2 is please and thank you ????
Lisa Longley says
Roughly 2 to 3 medium russet potatoes. But I would definitely weigh them at the store before buying. You can be off on this recipe by 1/4 to 1/2 a pound, but not much more than that.
Danielle says
Can this recipe be doubled?
Lisa Longley says
I haven’t tried that Danielle, I haven’t tried doubling it. I can’t think of a reason why it wouldn’t work provided you have a large enough crock pot. You will need to double the bacon and flour but you probably will only need to pull 3 cups of liquid out to finish off the roux.