This Slow Cooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup is thick, creamy and packed with bacon, sharp cheddar cheese and sour cream. Just 15 minutes of prep and your slow cooker does the rest. A cozy dinner the whole family will ask for on repeat.
This simple recipe takes everything you love about a classic baked potato- smoky bacon, sharp cheddar, tangy sour cream and yogurt and buttery gold potatoes- and turns it into a thick, creamy soup that practically cooks itself.
Fifteen minutes of prep. 4 hours in the slow cooker. One pot to clean.
Slow cooker loaded baked potato soup is the kind of recipe that earns a permanent spot in your fall and winter dinner rotation. Whether you're feeding a crowd on a cold weeknight or prepping something cozy for the weekend, this soup delivers every single time.
Table Of Contents
- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- What Makes This Baked Potato Soup The Best
- Ingredients
- Instructions
- Kristina's Tips For The Best Creamy Potato Soup
- Variations
- What To Serve With Potato Soup
- How To Store And Reheat
- Can I Use Russet Potatoes Instead Of Gold?
- Do I Need To Peel The Potatoes?
- Why Is My Potato Soup Grainy?
- Can I Make This Ahead Of Time?
- Recipe
- Recipe Reviews
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Dump and go: everything goes in the crockpot raw; no sautéing required.
- Incredibly flexible: puree it smooth or leave it chunky with diced potato pieces.
- Makes a big batch: serves 8 and stores beautifully for up to 5 days.
What Makes This Baked Potato Soup The Best
Most creamy baked potato soups require boiling potatoes, making a roux and standing over the stove for 45 minutes stirring, mixing and dirtying up cooking utensils and pots. My crockpot potato soup allows you to skip those time-consuming hands-on steps. The slow cooker does the heavy lifting- just dump the ingredients in and let it effortlessly create tender potatoes and a thick creamy broth full of flavor and depth.
Ingredients
- Potatoes: I prefer buttery gold potatoes, but russet is a good choice, too.
- Onions + garlic: the perfect base for any soup; serves as your veggies here!
- Chicken broth: or substitute with vegetable broth.
- Herbs and spices: salt, pepper, parsley.
- Sour cream and plain yogurt: these help to thicken the broth and give it incredible flavor; use Greek yogurt for the best results
- Sharp cheddar cheese: I prefer extra sharp yellow cheddar, but any cheddar including white cheddar will be great.
- Cornstarch: use to thicken if you like it extra creamy.
- Cooked bacon bits (optional): because everything's better with bacon! Or make your own bacon bits by air frying your bacon.
- And, my secret ingredient: Lawry's garlic salt with parsley I seriously love this stuff. I use it whenever I can.
Instructions
- Put the diced potatoes, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, garlic salt, parsley, and chicken broth in the slow cooker and set to high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. If using bacon, add it now, but reserve a bit for serving.
- When the 4 hours is done, mash the potatoes until you reach your desired consistency. Or use an immersion blender to puree the soup until it's smooth. Stir in the sour cream and yogurt, mixing until well blended. Add shredded cheddar cheese and whisk until melted and the broth is smooth.
- Taste and season with more salt and pepper if desired. Serve topped with extra cheddar, green onions or chives, and bacon bits.
Kristina's Tips For The Best Creamy Potato Soup
- For a thicker soup, mix cornstarch with a small amount of cool water and add to the slow cooker. Let simmer for 30 more minutes.
- Keep the skins on: I only peel a little skin off my potatoes. I think the skin adds more flavor, plus it's full of nutrients. Including the skin also adds heartiness to the soup. But you can peel yours entirely if you'd like.
- Don't skip the yogurt- it creates a flavor that sour cream can't on it's own, plus it makes the broth creamier.
- Shred your own cheese: freshly shredded cheese melts better than packaged cheese does. Out of convenience use packaged shredded cheese, but know that it may cause the broth to be slightly grainy.
Variations
- Make it vegetarian by eliminating the bacon and using vegetable broth.
- Use heavy cream in place of the cornstarch to thicken.
- Mix up the cheeses: use a combination of sharp cheddar and another, like gruyere, asiago, or parmesan. We love a 4 cheese combination in macaroni and cheese, and I think it'd be great in this soup too.
- Make it spicy- add a dash of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.
What To Serve With Potato Soup
- This fantastic bread machine garlic bread or white bread
- A side salad, like Cobb, garden or Caesar.
- Crusty french bread.
How To Store And Reheat
Refrigerator: Store in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight covered container.
Freezer: Freeze in freezer-safe storage containers for up to 3 months.
To defrost: Put in the fridge overnight. The soup may separate while being stored.
Reheating: This soup is best reheated slowly in the microwave or on the stove, as the cheese and dairy creams may separate if heated too quickly. Reheat in 30-60 second intervals in the microwave, stirring in between. On the stove, heat in a pot over low heat stirring occasionally.
Can I Use Russet Potatoes Instead Of Gold?
Yes, it's fine to use russet potatoes to make potato soup.
Do I Need To Peel The Potatoes?
Nope! You can leave the skins on, peel the potatoes partially or peel the skins off entirely. How you peel or don't peel the potatoes is a matter of preference, time and convenience.
Why Is My Potato Soup Grainy?
Grainy soup is usually caused by pre-shredded cheese or overheating the dairy. For the best results, grate your own cheese and use the low setting.
Can I Make This Ahead Of Time?
Yes, crockpot potato soup can be made up to 5 days ahead of time. You can also make it up to 3 months ahead and freeze, following the tips above to thaw and reheat, This makes it a great option for batch cooking and meal prepping.
Recipe
Slow Cooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 3 lbs gold potatoes peeled and chopped
- 10 slices cooked bacon broken into pieces
- 1 large onion diced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley or 3 tablespoon fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 ⅓ cups sour cream
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 4 tablespoon cornstarch optional for thickening
- green onions for serving
Instructions
- Put the diced potatoes, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, garlic salt, parsley, and chicken broth in the slow cooker and set to high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. If using bacon bits, add now, but reserve a bit for serving.
- When the 4 hours is done, mash the potatoes until you reach your desired consistency. Or use an immersion blender to puree the soup until it's smooth. Stir in the sour cream and yogurt, mixing until well blended. Add shredded cheddar cheese and whisk until melted and the broth is smooth.
- If not your desired thickness, mix cornstarch with 4 tbsps of cold water and stir into the soup. Cover and cook for 30 more minutes on low.
- Taste and season with more salt and pepper if desired. Serve topped with extra cheddar, green onions or chives, and bacon bits.
Notes
Nutrition
Tristin says
Oh this was good soup! It was getting chilly here already last week, so I had to find a great soup recipe and this one fit the bill!
Tammy says
Ahhh this looks amazing! So comforting and satisfying for a chilly Autumn day. I would love to cozy up with a bowl of this!
Sean says
One of my favorite soups and this recipe was so good it disappeared in one day.
Linda says
Yum! The soup is like a loaded baked potato in a bowl! I love the easy prep and what comes out was thick, delicious and oh so creamy. It's one I'll be making over and over through the cold winter months.
Judi says
Can’t wait to make this soup! But, you may want to edit the recipe to say SOUP, right now it says SOAP. Kind of funny!
Kristina says
Fixed! That is too funny= thanks autocorrect!
Jessica says
I love recipes that are big enough to have leftovers! My family is going to enjoy this at home and we don't have to go to the $$ restaurant anymore...win, win!!
Veronika says
This recipe is amazing! Made it yesterday and my whole family loved it! So easy to prep and great flavors 😉
Amanda says
This soup is so, so good! It's perfectly creamy and hearty, and the Instant Pot makes the whole process super simple. Glad it's soup season again so I can put this on the regular rotation!
Marta says
I loved that I could set this loaded baked potato soup in the slow cooker and get some work done while it simmered away. This is a definite must for the upcoming cooler weather.