EASY Slow Cooker Potato Soup (With Frozen Potatoes)

Slow Cooker Potato Soup is a cozy and creamy soup made with frozen hash brown potato cubes, broth, cream cheese, bacon bits, and ranch seasoning that cooks low and slow until everything is perfectly soft and perfectly seasoned. This cheesy potato soup is a hearty soup and so comforting for those chilly nights. It will warm your whole family right up!

For a stove top version of potato soup be sure and try my Easy Hashbrown Potato Soup recipe. It too uses frozen cubed potatoes so it’s simple to prepare, but rather than a slow cooker, you make it in a soup pot on the stove. 

Slow Cooker Potato Soup Recipe (Loaded Baked Potato Soup)

This slow cooker potato soup is a great recipe for those cold days when you need something that will warm you right up. The best part is that it’s so easy to make – simply add everything into the slow cooker and walk away!

This is the best potato soup and one of my family’s favorite dinners and I love that it is simple to make, inexpensive, and a great meatless option that is still hearty and filling. 

The longer cook time makes all the flavors meld together and the soup gets so creamy and delicious. Don’t forget all the potato soup toppings such as shredded cheese, sour cream, green onions, and bacon bits. 

Simple Ingredients Needed

1. Frozen Southern Hash Browns : These are just frozen cubes of potato. They are the perfect base for this easy potato soup recipe. Just dump and go. No need for a cutting board and knife or fresh potatoes. 
2. Chicken Broth : I recommend using full salted chicken broth for the best flavor. The longer cook time tends to mute flavors slightly, so it’s always best to avoid the lower-sodium products in this recipe. You could also use chicken stock or bone broth. Another option is to use water + chicken bouillon. 
3. Cream of Chicken Soup
4. Shredded Cheddar Cheese : For the best creamy and smooth melt, I highly suggest using freshly shredded cheese that you shred from a block of cheddar cheese. Of course, the bagged pre-shredded cheese will work, but I love the freshly shredded cheese better in this recipe. 
5. Bacon Bits
6. Cream Cheese
7. Ranch Seasoning Packet
8. Favorite Toppings For Cheesy Potato Soup : Be sure and serve the creamy potato soup with bowls of different topping options – additional shredded cheddar cheese, dollop of sour cream, and thinly sliced green onions, of course crispy bacon are always my family’s favorite toppings. I like cooking up some bacon for the topping – I use the microwaveable bacon from Costco but you can also oven cook or skillet cook bacon. 

How To Make Simple Crockpot Potato Soup (Printable Recipe Card)

Add the southern hash browns (no need to thaw them first), chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, cream cheese, bacon bits, ranch seasoning, and shredded cheddar cheese into your slow cooker. Stir everything together. 

Cover with the lid and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours. 

Stir the soup until thoroughly combined and serve with your favorite toppings; shredded cheese, chopped bacon, green onions, and sour cream.

How To Store Delicious Potato Soup (Leftovers) 

Store any leftovers of this crock pot potato soup recipe in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for 3-4 days. 

Reheat individual servings in the microwave for 45-60 seconds at a time, stirring in between until it reaches the desired temperature. For larger amounts, warm them up in a pot, on the stove top, over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thoroughly heated. If needed add a splash of milk or broth when reheating if the soup becomes too thick. As leftover soup sits in the fridge it will become much thicker. 

What Are Some Substitutions I Can Make?

• Southern Hash Browns : These are very small cubes of potato that come frozen in a bag. There are shredded hash browns but I don’t recommend using those in this slow cooker recipe. Use the cubed or diced hash browns. Sometimes they are labeled as ‘southern hash browns’ and other times labeled as ‘diced hash browns’ – same thing. There is another option of the diced frozen hash browns with onions and peppers added in (sometimes called O’Brien potatoes) and those can be used if wanted. 
• Chicken Broth : Chicken stock, bone broth, regular salted broth, reduced-sodium broth, or water + bouillon can all be used in this recipe. If you are not using a 32 ounce container then you will need 4 cups of chicken broth. I use the regular, full-salted chicken stock when I make this easy crockpot potato soup. 
• Cheddar Cheese : Use any variety of cheddar cheese such as sharp cheddar cheese, mild cheddar, or medium cheddar. Other cheese options are white cheddar, Colby Jack cheese, Pepper Jack cheese for some spice, or use a blend of cheeses. 
• Ranch Seasoning Mix : If using homemade ranch seasoning you will need 3 tablespoons.

Serving Suggestions For Creamy Loaded Potato Soup

Ladle your soup into a bowl and top with your favorite toppings. The best way to serve potato soup is to set out different bowls of topping options, and then everyone in the family or group can make their own just how they like. Here are some topping ideas to get you started. 

• Sour Cream
• Plain Greek Yogurt for a ‘healthier’ option
• Sliced Green Onions
• Shredded Cheese
• Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
• Bacon Bits
• Fresh Chopped Chives
• Croutons
• Saltine Crackers
• Oyster Crackers
• Chicken In A Biscuit Crackers 
• Serve the soup inside bread bowls

Recipe FAQs

How Can I Make The Soup Creamier?

To make your soup creamier there are a couple options; you can add 1/2 cup heavy cream, or remove 1/2 cup of the potato soup from the slow cooker and blend it in a food processor or blender, or use a potato masher, and then add it back into the slow cooker. Blending some of the potato soup will also help thicken the soup if you feels it’s not thick enough. 

Is The Supposed To Be Chunky, Or Can I Make It Smooth?

The recipe is designed to be chunky, but you can definitely blend some or all of the soup depending on how smooth you want it. Some prefer it thicker and creamier, with chunks still intact, so you might blend only 1/2 cup to 1 cup of the soup/potatoes (or half of the potatoes) and then stir them back in. However, if you want the soup completely creamy with no chunks, then you should blend all of it. 

What Is The Best Way To Blend Potato Soup For A Smoother Texture?

There are a few ways to blend the soup. Use an immersion blender, which is something that you can stick right into the slow cooker, and blend slowly, a little bit at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. Another options is to remove 1/2 cup to 1 cup (or more) of the soup into a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth, and then stir that back into the soup. If you are using a blender, make sure to tilt the lid slightly to let the hot air escape; otherwise you will end up with exploding potato soup. The third option is to simply use a potato masher inside the slow cooker, to mash up all of the chunks or just some of them. 

Can I Use Fresh Potatoes Instead of Frozen Diced Potatoes?

Yes you can use fresh potatoes that have been peeled and diced into very small cubes. If you are doing this, you need to make sure that they are similar in size to the small frozen potato cubes that the recipe calls for. If the potatoes are too large, they will not soften in time. Potato options include Yukon gold potatoes, russet potatoes,  or red potatoes. 

Can I Make It Vegetarian?

Yes, certainly, if you have vegetarian needs or diet then this delicious soup is fairly easy to adapt to that. Make sure you are using vegetable broth or vegetable stock, and use cream of potato, cream of celery, or cream of onion soup instead. And leave the bacon bits out of the soup; if you do this, I suggest using full salt chicken broth. I don’t cook vegan or vegetarian so of course make sure you are checking the ingredients for your specific diet. I do know they sell vegan cream cheese and vegan cheese, so make sure to use those if you’re wanting a completely vegan meal. 

Does The Soup Need Salt & Pepper?

I don’t feel like the soup needs any additional salt or pepper. However, taste the soup once it’s done cooking, and add salt & pepper as needed according to your taste buds. Depending on what chicken broth or stock you used (full salt vs reduced sodium vs salt free) you may feel like the soup needs just a pinch of salt. So add and adjust accordingly. I make the recipe as is, and have never added additional salt. 

More Soup Recipes You’ll Love

• Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup
• Cream Cheese Chicken Soup
• Leftover Mashed Potato Soup
• Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
• Hamburger Soup
• Minestrone Soup