This loaded baked potato soup in the crock pot is packed with crispy bacon, cheese, chives, and tender chunky potatoes that are simmered away in a crockpot. The creamy base comes from a simple roux and cream cheese; no processed cheese in this recipe! It’s perfect any day of the week, but especially good on a cold winter day. This slow cooker potato soup recipe only takes 15 minutes to prep and is ready in 3 ½ hours!
Nothing beats a hot bowl of soup on a cold night. Sometimes we lean for tomato bisque or chicken tortilla soup, but I love a good trusty slow cooker recipe that is filling. Because creamy potato soup is pure comfort food in a bowl, we enjoy it year-round! If you have leftover potatoes that still need to be used, dice them up for a bacon cheeseburger soup!
We love eating this as our main meal, but you can always serve it with a famous grilled cheese or a side of pull apart garlic bread. As for my other favorite soups, I can never turn down a bowl of creamy chicken stew, or fix a healthy Diet Cabbage Soup Recipe.
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Why You’ll Love Crockpot Loaded Potato Soup
- It’s truly loaded with thick slices of bacon, sharp cheddar cheese, and chives – all of your favorite toppings!
- A hearty soup that is best when cold weather hits.
- Minimal prep work and cleanup are required.
- Can easily be doubled if needed.
- A great way to use up potatoes.
- Calls for simple, not processed ingredients (except for that bacon! 😬)
🥓 Ingredients:
- bacon – We start with raw bacon because we use the bacon grease to cook and flavor the onion and the roux in this recipe. It adds a unbelievable amount of flavor. However, if you want to use pre-cooked bacon or simply top the soup with a little sprinkle of bacon (or if you have vegetarians enjoying the soup!), simply use a little butter to cook up the onion and make the roux.
- medium onion – a yellow or white onion will work fine.
- Yukon Gold potatoes – yellow potatoes are creamy, slightly sweet and are so smooth in a potato soup. Russet potatoes are also great. Look for gold potatoes that are larger in size, making them easier to peel. For a rustic potato soup, scrub the skins well and cook with the skins on!
- chicken broth – adjust the amount of chicken broth for a thicker or thinner soup. If you find that your soup is too thin, add some additional (cooked) potatoes or cook off some of the liquid.
- cream cheese – cream cheese works great in a crock pot soup as it holds up with some longer heating in the crockpot.
- sour cream and heavy cream – add richness and some thickening to the soup, the sour cream gives a little tang also.
- shredded cheddar cheese – we love a good sharp cheddar to add a flavor to the soup, but you can go with ANY of your favorite cheeses.
- all-purpose flour – The flour is our thickening agent in the roux and it also adds flavor when it is browned properly.
- chives – could also top the soup with thinly sliced green onions.
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Optional Garnish:
Some of our favorite toppings include more crispy bacon bits, grated cheese, and green onions or chives. A dollop of sour cream, diced avocado, hot sauce, or grilled corn would also be delicious.
Substitutions and Variations
- Milk can be swapped for cream. The soup will be thinner; reduce the chicken broth or cook for an hour longer with the lid removed to thicken.
- Mild or medium cheddar can be used, even though we enjoy using sharp.
- Russet potatoes also work great in cheesy potato soup, but we do not recommend red potatoes. These tend to get a little mushy after cooking for 3-4 hours.
🔪 Instructions:
PREP: Summarize prep instructions here, if applicable.
Step 1: Chop the bacon into half-inch pieces. Over medium-low heat in a large skillet, sauté the bacon until crisp. Remove and set aside.
Step 2: Add the diced onion to the bacon fat and cook until translucent. Transfer the cooked onions to the crock pot. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon grease. We will use it to make the roux after the soup has cooked.
Step 3: Add the diced potatoes and chicken stock. Cook, covered, on high for 3 hours.
Step 4: Stir in the cream cheese, a cup of cheddar cheese, and sour cream. Then continue cooking for 30 more minutes until it has melted. Mash the mixture or use an immersion blender to break down some of the chunks.
Step 5: To thicken, add 2 tablespoons of flour to the reserved grease. Heat until bubbly while stirring constantly, and whisk in heavy cream until smooth paste forms.
Step 6: Stir the flour mixture into the soup and cook for 15 minutes with the lid off. Cook for longer to thicken the soup further.
Step 7: Fold half of the cooked bacon pieces into the crockpot potato soup.
Step 8: Ladle the soup into bowls.
SERVE: Top with potato toppings such as chives, lots of cheese, bacon, and even a dollop of sour cream. Season with salt and pepper if needed.
Recipe Tips for Crock Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Cooking the onions and making the roux using bacon grease adds so much flavor to this soup. If desired you can use olive oil or butter to sauté the onions and to brown the flour.
- To make the roux without bacon grease, use 2 tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons of flour, and cream.
- For a thicker soup, use just 4 cups of chicken broth and keep the other ingredients the same.
- We like adding the bacon flavor from the onions and roux versus placing the bacon strips directly in the pot. If you simmer bacon in a crockpot for a long time, it tends to get rubbery. Stirring the pieces in just before serving adds full flavor and a crunch!
- An immersion blender is easy to use to mash the potato chunks, but a potato masher also works great.
Fun Fact
Did you know that raw potatoes are made up of about 80% water? Another fun fact, an 8-ounce baked potato only contains 100 calories without toppings!
Recipe FAQs
Keep leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Because of the cream and cheese in this soup recipe, we do not recommend freezing. The consistency may change during the thawing and reheating process.
If you tried this Loaded Baked Potato Soup Crock Pot Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Loaded Baked Potato Soup (Crock Pot Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon
- 1 medium white onion diced
- 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and diced into ½” pieces
- 6 cups chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 8 oz. cream cheese cut into cubes
- ½ cup sour cream
- 3 cups grated cheddar cheese medium or sharp cheddar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup chives finely chopped
Instructions
- Chop bacon into small pieces (about ½”). In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the bacon until crisp. Remove bacon from the grease with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Add the diced onion to the bacon grease in the skillet and saute (over medium heat) until translucent. Transfer onion to the bottom of the crockpot, reserving about 2 tablespoons of bacon grease in the skillet.
- Add potatoes and chicken stock to the crockpot.
- Cook on HIGH for 3 hours.
- Add cream cheese, sour cream, and 1 cup cheddar cheese to the crockpot and continue cooking an additional 30 minutes until the cheeses have melted.
- Use a potato masher or immersion blender to break down some of the potato chunks until desired consistency is reached.
- To further thicken the soup, add the 2 tablespoons of flour to the reserved 2 tablespoons of bacon grease in the skillet. Cook over medium heat until the flour is bubbly. Whisk in heavy cream until a smooth, but thick paste forms.
- Stir the flour/cream mixture into the soup. Cook 15 more minutes.
- Stir in ½ of the bacon pieces.
- Serve soup with reserved cheese, bacon, and chives.
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Comments & Reviews
Daniel says
Absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe, followed it to a T.
J says
This recipe turned out great, it’s so good!
Al says
I added minced fresh jalapeños to this recipe and it was so divine. Thank you!!!
Lacy McKay says
easy to make (pre chop all ingredients first.
mixing every together is easy to combine and incorporate together. was extremely delicious.
Jean Vilmenay says
I did add my own twist to this recipe but it was definitely so good! Thank you so much for your post. I will make it again for sure! One tip I might add if I may be so bold, better than bouillon can just be added to your water for the potatoes. I used garlic, chicken, and vegetable, rather than using chicken bullion. Just toss some in the water to taste. Love this recipe!