This Easy 4-Ingredient Potato Soup transforms pantry basics into a creamy, comforting bowl of goodness in the slow cooker or on the stovetop. Add bacon, cheese, and green onions to make it taste like a loaded baked potato or serve as is for a classic soup everyone will love.
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I have fond memories of my grandma making this easy 4-ingredient potato soup recipe when I was a teenager. Thanks, Grandma! 🥰 I have always been under the impression she got it from her mother who was of German heritage, but wherever she got it, it's a classic!
She made the original recipe on the stovetop, but I made it work in the crockpot (affiliate)as well. This is one of my all-time favorite soup recipes for a cold day in the fall and winter months! If you love soup, be sure to check out the soup and chili page for even more delicious recipes.
I serve this creamy soup with a simple roll or salad when I am in a time crunch or have very little on hand. However, when I want to earn real mom points I serve it with these BELT sandwiches… it’s a BLT + a fried egg. 😋
🥇 Why It’s Great!
- With only 4 ingredients it's a great way to stretch your grocery budget.
- It’s an easy, homemade soup with only 15 minutes of prep time.
- It is made without flour so it is naturally gluten-free.
- It can be made in either a crockpot or a large pot (or Dutch oven) on the stovetop.
- Awesome recipe to serve to a crowd of people! See the section below on tips for serving a crowd.
🥔 Potato soup ingredients
Potatoes: The best potatoes to use when making potato soup are russet potatoes. Yukon gold potatoes or red potatoes will work as well, but the texture will be different.
Onion: Yellow onion is the best for this although white onion will work as well. Stay away from red onions because they will turn the soup a color that isn’t very attractive.
Milk: Any milk you have on hand or half and half will work, although my favorites are 2% milk or whole milk.
Butter: Adds richness to the soup. Don’t skip this ingredient.
🥓 Best toppings for potato soup
Optional: These are my favorite toppings.
Bacon: A couple strips of cooked bacon are all that is needed to really make this soup something special. Bake the bacon in the oven, microwave it, or fry it on the stove top while you prep the potatoes. Then when it is time to serve the bacon is ready.
Cheese: Sharp cheddar cheese is my favorite but any cheddar will do.
Green onions: Just a quick slice and you have the perfect touch of freshness.
🔪 How to make potato soup
Slow cooker instructions
Begin by chopping the potatoes and yellow onions. Then add the diced potatoes and onions to the slow cooker along with the water. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
Once the potato chunks are falling apart, remove 1 cup of the cooking water. Add in the butter along with 1 cup of the milk, then carefully put in the immersion blender and blend until creamy and smooth.
For a thicker soup leave as is or for a thinner creamy texture add in additional milk if necessary to reach the desired consistency.
In our opinion the best potato soup recipe has minimal ingredients and is served with a smooth texture free of potato chunks. If you want more of a chunky soup or don't have an immersion blender on hand, feel free to use a potato masher. The texture won't be exactly the same, but it will still be a delicious bowl of soup.
Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Serve as is or with the optional toppings. If you opt for crispy bacon bits as a topping, try baking your bacon according to this recipe. No more bacon grease on the stovetop! It's life changing!
Stovetop instructions
After chopping the potatoes and onions, add the raw potatoes and onions to a large pot or large dutch oven along with the water. Turn the pot on to medium-high heat and cook until the potatoes are falling apart. Continue preparing according to the slow cooker instructions. Once the soup is smooth, continue warming over medium heat until hot.
👨👩👧👦 For a Crowd
The best way to do this for a crowd is to have several slow cookers at your disposal. When serving a crowd I like to build in a little flex time by starting the slow cookers an hour or two earlier than usual. Once the soup has been blended, then the slow cookers can be set to “warm” for a couple hours. Stir the soup occasionally or it will form a skin on the side of the crock.
Note:
A 6 qt. slow cooker should fit 1 ½ recipes and a double batch will fit in a 7 qt. slow cooker. It may take several more hours to cook a double recipe in 1 slow cooker.
🥣 Variations
- Loaded Baked Potato Soup: Use salty bacon, cheddar cheese, chives and a dollop of sour cream for a fully loaded potato flavor.
- Use up leftover ham for a protein boost.
- Play around with different seasoning. A little bit of thyme or even cajun seasoning would be a fun twist.
- For a lower calorie version use skim milk and skip the toppings.
- For a richer soup, use heavy cream in place of the milk.
🙋 Questions and Answers
Potato soup can be made a few hours in advance. However, it will thicken as it cools so be sure to have some extra milk on hand to thin as necessary.
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat according to the instructions below.
The best way to heat potato soup in on the stovetop thinning with a little more milk as needed. However, the microwave works as well. Just be sure to stir the bowl often of the edges of the soup will over cook. Thin with milk to the consistency you prefer.
I do not recommend freezing potato soup. Once frozen it can develop a grainy texture that is quite unpleasant.
📖 Other Great Recipes
- 🍲 For chicken stock or chicken broth based soups, this amazing Tortilla Soup and this famous White Chicken Chili are both warm and comforting additions to your winter rotation.
- 🥔 Extra potatoes to use? This freezer-friendly Twice Baked Potato Bake is busy chef's friend and the ultimate comfort side dish.
- 🥃 This Ice Tea Concentrate recipe is an easy way to serve homemade iced tea to a crowd.
- ❄ Fall Apart Roast in the crock pot is an easy recipe and the ultimate comfort food during the cooler weather.
- 🍫 Don't leave without trying this Chocolate Bundt Cake recipe. It’s chocolate comfort on a plate. Truly perfect. Every. Single. Time.
👨🏼🍳 Tips & Tricks
- Test one of the larger potato pieces before blending. When you touch it with a fork it should break apart effortlessly. It should be super soft!
- Don’t turn on the immersion blender until you have put at least 1 cup of milk or the potatoes will become gummy.
👋🏻 Connect with us!
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and star rating to let us know how it is! We’d also love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. Tag @borrowedbites or hashtag #borrowedbites to show us your food!
📋 Recipe
4-Ingredient Slow Cooker Potato Soup
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 3 lb russet potatoes peeled, chopped, and rinsed (8-9 cups cup into 1-inch pieces)
- 1 onion chopped
- 5-6 cups water
- 6 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup milk may need an additional cup to reach desired consistency
- salt & pepper to taste
Optional Toppings
- bacon cooked and crumbled
- cheddar cheese shredded
- green onions thinly sliced
Instructions
Slow Cooker
- Chop potatoes and onions. Add to slow cooker with water. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. (May take several more hours if doubling the recipe)
- Once potatoes are falling apart, remove 1 cup of water. Add butter and milk, then carefully place immersion blender in the slow cooker and blend until smooth. Alternatively, you can place contents in a blender until smooth. Add additional milk if necessary until desired consistency is reached.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve as is or with toppings.
Stovetop
- Chop potatoes and onions. Add to large pot or dutch oven along with water. Cook on medium-high heat until the potatoes are falling apart.
- Once potatoes are falling apart, remove 1 cup of water. Add butter and 1 cup of milk, then carefully place immersion blender in the slow cooker and blend until smooth. Alternatively, you can place contents in a blender until smooth. Add additional milk if necessary.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve as is or with toppings.
- We love comments! Please come back and leave us one after you’ve tried this recipe.
Notes
- Test one of the larger potato pieces before blending. When you touch it with a fork it should break apart effortlessly. It should be super soft!
- Don’t turn on the immersion blender until you have put at least 1 cup of milk or the potatoes will become gummy.
Nutrition
All nutrition information is provided by a third party and is an estimate only. Use your own nutritional calculator for more specific measurements.
Nancy says
Potato Soup sounds excellent Could I replace half or all of the water with homemade chicken broth or stock? Going to try your White chicken chili and chocolate bundt cake next.
Danielle says
I haven't tried replacing the water with stock or broth, but you could certainly give it a try. If you do, please let us know how it turned out. Both of those recipes are family favorites! Happy eating!
dakota says
what if i don't want " mashed" potatoes... potato soup is meant to be chunky, so what if i just left them as chopped potatoes instead of blending them?
Danielle says
Well this isn't mashed potatoes because it is a much looser texture. It is a velvety smooth soup, but that is just personal preference. If you want it too be a little chunky there are two options: 1 - If using an immersion blender stop blending about halfway through. 2 - Place half of the cooked soup, milk, and butter into a standup blender and blend until smooth. Add that back in and stir thoroughly. If you do not blend at all, the soup will not have the correct texture. I hope that helps you get it the way you prefer. If you have any other questions feel free to ask. Happy cooking!
James says
Texture according to who though? I grew up on chunky potato soup with ham chunks. Never blend it. It makes for a more hearty meal. Anyway, My opinion leave the potato's in chunks add ham then top with cheese and green onions and your good. Plus you have a nice broth left over that isn't polluted by mashed up potato's.
Danielle says
Of course each person should prepare their potato soup how they prefer it. In this recipe however, if you do not blend it at all you have potato chunks floating around in watery milk. Most chunky potato soup recipes use a thickener or other "base" ingredients to thicken the soup. This recipe uses the potatoes themselves to accomplish that task. That is what I was referring to. I wouldn't want someone to think that the water the potatoes cook in is meant to be eaten without blending any potato. But if someone likes it that way they should eat it just like that, but in good conscience I can't recommend that. I hope that clears that up and that you find a potato soup recipe you enjoy! Happy eating!
Aspen says
Sooooo easy, sooooo good! I always ruin my mashed potatoes, so this is the next best thing (especially with all the toppings you suggested) but way easier. And really good with BLTs. Thank you for this recipe! I even took this to a potluck dinner, and people there loved it!
Misty says
Glad you liked it!
Mary Ann Conway says
I'm a nervous cook...always need to do "exact" measurements. How much in "teaspoons" or partial teaspoons would you add to this recipe of salt ....and pepper....to get the "right" or average amount of flavor. Sorry to ask such a silly question but I'm sooo new to cooking and would appreciate your
Danielle says
It's ok to be a nervous cook. Just keep at it and your confidence will grow. To be honest I do not measure, rather I go by taste. I would say start with a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper. Then taste it. If it doesn't taste good add more. The golden rule to remember about seasoning your food is that you can always add but you can't take out. So add less than you think and slowly add more until it is where you want it. I hope that helps!
Sara says
Awesome!!! I just made this potato soup in the crockpot. I’ve made other potato soups and they were more complicated but this is just as good if not better. We’ll be loading on the goodies. Thank you!!!
Misty says
So glad you liked it! Simple is best with potato soup 🙂
Amanda says
This is so delicious! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I enjoy cooking in the crockpot and this was a big hit with my 4 kids.
Danielle says
That is the best compliment! We really appreciate you taking the time to let us know.
Jen says
I admit my initial confusion about how much water to add for cooking the potatoes, but reading the recap at the bottom of the scroll really helped. I enjoy "easy" options, and look forward to giving this one a try this month. Thanks!
Danielle says
So glad you found what you needed. Once you try it, we would love to hear how it turned out!
Michael Brodnik says
When do you add the bacon, cheese and green onions to the crockpot ?
Danielle says
The bacon, cheese, and green onion are toppings that are added to the bowl when serving. They are not added during the cooking process.
Phyllis says
Wow, just finished eating this soup and the family gave it a 100% A rating. Easy to make and so good. Thanks
Danielle says
Happy to hear how much you enjoyed it. Thanks for taking time to let us know!
Julie says
So freaking easy and so very yummy! I followed the recipe but did have to add a few spices to make it mine. I added a few tsp. of chicken bouillon powder, about a tsp. of onion powder, about tsp of garlic powder, and a teaspoon of dried parsley flakes. After bowling it up, I added a pinch of cayenne pepper to my bowl. The bacon, cheese, and green onion just took it to the next level of goodness. We had garlic bread on the side. Yummy, yummy, yummy!
Danielle says
So happy to hear you made it your own! We love to do that.
Jennifer meeks says
Do you have to mash the potatoes?
Misty says
Hi Jennifer! Definitely make sure to mash them some because that's where all the creaminess comes from. But if you want to leave a little bit of chunky texture in the soup that's fine!
kim says
How would you prepare this on stovetop?
Misty says
You would follow the same instructions, but simmer on the stovetop for 30-45 minutes, depending on how large your potato pieces are. You want them to be super soft. If you have a chance, I would love to hear how it turns out!
Theresa D. says
So delicious and easy, my picky eater loves it too!!!
Misty says
That's awesome! So glad you liked it.
Darcy says
I am always looking for easy recipes that don’t require a lot of ingredients. This one fit the bill perfectly. I like that you really don’t need very much cheese or bacon on the top. A little bit will do.
Phyllis Miller says
Oh man, this was really terrific soup! Got to share it with our family who has been sick and we are eating again for our second night and so excited. Good job Borrowed Bites. This is a definite do again meal.
Misty says
That's wonderful, so glad you got to share it with others. Thanks for the review!