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Creamy Potato Soup cooks in the slow cooker all day and it’s so easy to prepare! You don’t need to peel and chop potatoes because this potato soup uses frozen hash brown potatoes. So creamy and delicious, and even better when it’s topped with shredded cheese and bacon. 

Be sure and try these other family favorite soup recipes like minestrone soup and this cream cheese chicken soup.

Close up picture of a bowl of potato soup topped with bacon and cheese.

Creamy Potato Soup Recipe

Creamy potato soup is one of my ultimate comfort foods. There is something so relaxing about a bowl of thick and creamy potato soup. It’s probably because I grew up in Idaho and we loved potatoes growing up. Baked potato bar and potato soup with homemade bread almost every week. 

I love this recipe because it cooks in the slow cooker all day and there is minimal prep work needed. The best part is that it uses frozen hash brown cubes so there is no need to peel and chop potatoes. 

A slow cooker full of potato soup with a metal soup ladle inside of it.

What You’ll Need

This recipe is simple to make with a couple prepared ingredients + some fresh stuff. 

  • Frozen Cubed Hashbrown Potatoes – You will find these in the freezer section by the other breakfast food items. No need to thaw them or anything, just dump the contents inside the bag into the slow cooker. 
  • Chicken Broth – You need a 32 oz container of chicken broth or use 4 cups water + chicken bouillon. For best flavor be sure and use full-salt chicken broth (not the reduced sodium).
  • Water
  • White Onion – Finely dice this if you don’t want large pieces of onion. 
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Cream Cheese – I prefer the taste and texture of regular, full-fat cream cheese in this potato soup.
  • Flour – This helps thicken the soup.
  • Half & Half – This is half milk and half cream. It provides the perfect richness and thickness to this recipe. 

A bowl of soup with a slow cooker in the background.

How To Make Creamy Potato Soup In The Slow Cooker

This recipe is a dump & go recipe that cooks all day in the slow cooker. Easy, 5 minute prep time is all you need and a slow cooker. 

Step 1 : Finely chop the white onion and spray the insert of the slow cooker with cooking spray. 

Step 2 : Add the frozen potato cubes, chicken broth, water, chopped onion, salt & pepper into the slow cooker. Stir and cover with the lid. Cook on LOW heat for 7 hours. I like to cook it for as long as possible because the potatoes are fall apart tender and soft. 

Step 3 : Mix together the half & half milk + flour in a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Add it to the potato soup along with the softened cream cheese. Cover with the lid and let the soup cook for an additional 30 minutes or until the cream cheese is easily incorporated and melted into the soup. 

Step 4 : Serve the creamy potato soup alongside toppings like chopped bacon, shredded cheese, and green onions. 

How to make potato soup with two pictures with ingredients shown and a slow cooker with the ingredients inside of it.

Two picture collage with a slow cooker with potato soup. One picture after it's done cooking and the other is the creamy soup with the milk and flour added to it.

Two pictures of potato soup. Once topped with cheese and bacon and the other just shows the plain potato soup inside a white bowl.

Tips For Success

Here are a few of my helpful tips for this recipe. 

  • Don’t Blend The Soup : Potato soup can get really starchy and gummy if you work it too much. Because of the long cook time, this potato soup naturally gets really soft. When you are stirring it the potatoes will fall apart and some will be left in soft chunks. Don’t use an immersion blender or transfer the soup to a blender to het it perfectly smooth. Doing this will result in a really gummy and starchy potato soup, which is no good. 
  • Softened Cream Cheese : Make sure the cream cheese is very softened before adding it to the slow cooker. I put the cream cheese in the microwave for 30 seconds before I add it. If the cream cheese is cold then it will be harder to get it to incorporate smoothly into the soup and there will be chunks of cream cheese. 
  • Chicken Broth : Because of the long cook time you need some salt which is why I recommend using full salt, regular chicken broth in this recipe. 
  • Half & Half : Use this for the best thickness and taste. Any lower fat milk will result in a thinner soup. 

Variation & Substitution Ideas

There are a few changes you can make to this recipe if wanted. 

  • Make It Spicy! : Add some cayenne red pepper or hot sauce into the slow cooker with the salt and pepper. Top the servings of potato soup with shredded pepper jack cheese. 
  • Frozen Potatoes : There are frozen potatoes called ‘O Brien’ which is potato cubes  plus pepper and onion pieces. For a little flavor boost use these. Some stores also have their own variety of these called ‘southwestern style’. 
  • Lighten It Up : If you want to cut back on calories and fat then use lite cream cheese and/or fat free half & half. I would not recommend doing this with potato soup because it will change the thickness of the soup, but you could do it if wanted. 

A ladle with potato soup inside of it.

Serving Suggestions

I love to serve this creamy potato soup with my buttery one hour rolls or inside some bread bowls. I normally buy some bread bowls at my local bakery or at the grocery store.

Topping this potato soup with chopped cooked bacon, shredded cheese, and green onions is a must. 

You can also serve it with saltine crackers or Oyster crackers. 

Close up shot of potato soup topped with cheese, bacon and green onions.

How To Store Leftovers

Leftovers of creamy potato soup will keep well, in an air-tight container, in the fridge for up to 5 days. 

You can either reheat a serving in the microwave or inside a soup pot over the stove top. You may need to add additional water or chicken broth when reheating. It will thicken up as it sits in the fridge. 

Can I Freeze Creamy Potato Soup?

My answer to this is yes and no. I don’t freeze potato soup because of all the dairy in it. Dairy tends to curdle and separate once frozen and then thawed. 

With that said, there are lots of people, who are better at freezing than I am, that freeze potato soup just fine. Be sure and add some additional water or chicken broth if needed when reheating the soup. You can throw the frozen soup into the slow cooker and let it cook and thaw that way or warm it up on the stove top. 

Potato soup can freeze for up to 1 month in a freezer safe container or Ziploc bag. 

Potato soup inside a white bowl with a spoon inside of it.

Supplies Needed For This Potato Soup Recipe

Here are a few supplies that you will need to make this recipe for creamy potato soup. These are an affiliate link, meaning that if you purchase, I will make a very small percentage from the sale. As always, I appreciate the support for the free recipes I post ? I only will recommend things that I personally own and love! Promise.

Slow Cooker : I have a few different slow cookers and this is one of them. It’s large enough for any crock pot recipe and it works well. 

Soup Ladle : I love using a soup ladle when serving soup. 

 

Close up picture of a bowl of potato soup topped with bacon and cheese.
Together As Family Logo

Slow Cooker Creamy Potato Soup


Author Jessica
Course Soup
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 7 hours
Total Time 7 hours 5 minutes
Servings 8
Creamy Potato Soup cooks in the slow cooker all day and it's so easy to prepare! You don't need to peel and chop potatoes because this potato soup uses frozen hash brown potatoes. So creamy and delicious, and even better when it's topped with shredded cheese and bacon. 

Ingredients
  

  • 1 bag (32 oz) frozen cubed hashbrown potatoes
  • 1 carton (32 oz) chicken broth
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 small white onion finely diced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 cup half & half milk
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 bar (8 oz) cream cheese very softened (see notes)

Instructions

  • Spray slow cooker with cooking spray.
    Add the frozen cubed potatoes, chicken broth, water, diced onion, salt, and pepper. Stir together. 
  • Cover with the lid and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours. The soup is done when the potatoes are fall apart tender and really soft.
    Mine is usually done right at 6.5 hours.
  • When done cooking, mix together half & half milk and flour in a small bowl. Pour into the soup and add the softened cream cheese.
    Cover with lid and let cook and additional 30 minutes or until the cream cheese is easily incorporated and smooth.
  • Serve with bacon pieces, shredded cheese, and green onions. 

Notes

Serving Tip : This soup does really well on the 'warm' setting of the slow cooker. Simply add the milk + flour and cream cheese and let it cook until smooth. Then turn the slow cooker to warm for up to 2 hours until you're ready to eat. 
Chicken Broth : You can use a 32 oz container of chicken broth or 4 cups of water + bouillon. Be sure and use full salt chicken broth for the best flavor. The slow cooker tends to mute flavors so you want that salt to hold up to the cook time. 
Make It Spicy! : Add some cayenne red pepper, red pepper flakes, or hot sauce into the slow cooker. You can also top the serving of soup with shredded pepper jack cheese. 
Cream Cheese : Make sure this is very soft to avoid lumps in the soup. I place the cream cheese in the microwave for 30-45 seconds before I add it into the slow cooker. 
Tip : Because of the long cook time the potatoes get really soft and tender. To the point that as you stir it, the potatoes will naturally fall apart or there may be some soft chunks of potatoes. Don't use an immersion blender or transfer the soup to a blender to get it perfectly smooth. Doing this will cause the potatoes to turn gummy and starchy. Just gently stir the potato soup once it's all done cooking and the milk and cream cheese has been added. 
Nutrition Information : Information is for one serving of the potato soup and does not include any additional toppings. One serving is equal to about 1.25 cups of soup. 

Nutrition

Calories: 228kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 836mg | Potassium: 511mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 432IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 2mg

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4.84 from 6 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




5 Comments

  1. 4 stars
    Super good. 2nd time making this. But definitely takes longer then 30 minutes for the cream cheese to dissolve. Been going on an hour and still chunks and I cut my cream cheese super small this time.

    1. Together As Family says:

      I will update the recipe to include this but you can also soften the cream cheese in the microwave before adding it into the soup. This will help it melt much faster. Sorry, this is an older recipe that I just have not been able to go back and update with best tips for making it at home. Hope that helps.

  2. 5 stars
    This was great. I added some celery and carrots just be I had them. Definitely will make again.