Crock pot potato soup is a classic comfort food that's warm, creamy, and filled with cozy flavor. With just 5 minutes of prep this soup comes together in your slow cooker.
Heather's recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Cheesy, creamy soup filled with tender potatoes. Serve with your favorite toppings like croutons, bacon bits, and chives.
Slow cooker size: 2.5 to 3 quarts
Serves: 6 people
Similar to: Slow Cooker Chicken Broccoli Cheese Soup
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Potatoes - To reduce prep time, I'm using a bag of frozen diced potatoes. Refrigerated diced potatoes also work. If you'd like to use fresh potatoes, simply clean, peel, and dice your potatoes into bite size cubes. Yukon gold potatoes hold their shape best in a soup.
- Heavy cream - Makes your soup thick and creamy. Heavy cream can be substituted with half & half or whole milk for a slightly thinner soup.
- Cheese - I used sharp cheddar cheese, but any melty cheese grated from a block works great in this recipe. I recommend monterey jack, gruyere, or pepper jack cheese. I don't recommend using bagged, pre-shredded cheeses. They're often coated in anti-clumping powders that add a grainy texture to homemade soups.
How to make crock pot potato soup
- Add potatoes, onion, garlic, broth, and seasoning to your crock pot and stir to combine. Cook for about 4 hours or until potatoes are fork tender.
- Whisk heavy cream and cornstarch together, pour into your crock pot, and stir to combine.
- Add shredded cheddar cheese, stir, and replace the lid.
- Cook an additional 30 minutes or until soup is hot and cheese is melted.
Tips and tricks
Dicing your own potatoes? - Chop your potatoes into small cubes, just like the bags of potatoes you find in the freezer section. Large cubes take longer to cook through and will increase your cooking time.
Shred your own cheese - Shred your own cheese from a block instead of using a bag of pre-shredded cheese. Bagged cheeses are coated in anti-clumping powders that don't melt well and add a grainy texture.
Use a whisk - Whisk the cornstarch into the heavy cream until smooth. Otherwise, unincorporated cornstarch can create lumps in your soup.
Add more flavor - This soup has a mild, savory flavor as written. It's perfect for the whole family. If you're looking for more flavor or a little heat, feel free to add extra chili powder, a dash of hot sauce, or some fresh chopped herbs.
Frequently asked questions
I don't recommend freezing cream based soups because they tend to thaw with a grainy texture.
The cornstarch and heavy cream are the two ingredients in this recipe that thicken your soup. Omitting either will cause your soup to turn out thin. Substituting heavy cream with another dairy product like milk will cause your soup to turn out thinner than shown in the photos.
Yes. If your potato soup cooks for too long, the potatoes will get soft and fall apart. If this happens, your soup is still edible and can be enjoyed as is (but with less bite to the potatoes). You could also blend the soup until smooth, like my Irish potato soup recipe.
Yes, fresh diced potatoes work in this recipe. Dice your potatoes into small cubes, just like the bagged potatoes you'd find in the freezer section.
Yes, with adjustments. I'd recommend melting ¼ cup of unsalted butter in a stock pot, sautéing the onions until translucent, then adding the garlic for 30 seconds. Add ¼ cup of flour (omitting the listed cornstarch below) and cooking for 1 minute to create a roux. Then add the potatoes, broth, and seasoning, simmering until the potatoes are fork tender. Last add the heavy cream and cheese, stirring until melted and hot.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Crock Pot Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 32 ounces frozen cubed hash brown potatoes
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 32 ounces chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- 8 ounces heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, freshly grated
Instructions
- In a 3 quart slow cooker, add hash brown potatoes, onion, garlic, broth, salt, pepper, chili powder, and thyme. Stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on low for about 4 hours (or high for about 2 hours), or until potatoes are fork tender.
- In a bowl, whisk together heavy cream and cornstarch. Pour into slow cooker along with shredded cheese. Stir to combine.
- Cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes, or until soup is hot and cheese is melted.
- Top with your favorite soup toppings, like crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, chives, and croutons.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Salt: If you plan to incorporate other salty ingredients to your soup, like parmesan cheese or crumbled bacon, I recommend reducing the listed salt slightly.
- Low Sodium: If you need to use low sodium broth, I recommend doubling the chili powder and thyme to make up for the lost flavor.
- Storage: Leftover soup will keep for 3-4 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator and reheats well on the stovetop over medium heat or in the microwave.
- Potatoes: Frozen hash browns can be substituted with refrigerated hash browns or fresh diced potatoes.
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