Slow Cooker Creamy Potato Soup

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.