This 4-Ingredient Slow Cooker Potato Soup transforms pantry basics into a creamy, comforting bowl of goodness. 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 soup when I was a teenager. Thanks, Grandma! 🥰 It's a classic. She always made it on the stovetop, but I modified her recipe to work in a crockpot. Sometimes you just need those recipes that you can set and forget!
I will serve this 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 recipe with only 15 minutes of prep time.
- Awesome recipe to serve to a crowd of people! See the section below on tips for serving a crowd.
🥔 Slow Cooker Potato Soup Ingredients
Potatoes: The best potatoes to use when making potato soup in the slow cooker are russet potatoes. Yukon golds will work as well, but russets are the perfect canvas for this.
Onion: Yellow onions are the best for this although white 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.
Butter: Adds richness to the soup. Don’t skip this ingredient.
Optional toppings:
Bacon: A couple strips of bacon are all that is needed to rally make this soup something special. Bake the bacon in the oven (here is a handy dandy recipe), 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.
🔪 Instructions
Begin by chopping the potatoes and onions. Then add them to the slow cooker along with the water. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
Once the potatoes 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 smooth. Add in additional milk if necessary to reach the desired consistency.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve as is or with the optional toppings. If you opt for bacon as a topping, try baking your bacon according to this recipe. It's life changing!
👨👩👧👦 For a Crowd
This inexpensive, easy potato soup recipe makes an easy recipe for a crowd in a crockpot. 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 crockpot.
Note:
A 6 qt. slow cooker should fit 1 ½ recipes and a double batch will fit in a 7 qt. slow cooker.
🙋 Questions and Answers
Potato soup has a grainy texture when thawed. It is best served fresh although it can be reheated after being in the refrigerator but might require a little more milk to thin it out.
See the section above for how to hold for a couple hours ahead. This soup is best made fresh so I do not recommend making it too far ahead.
For this recipe the potatoes are placed in the slow cooker raw. No need to precook.
The best way to heat potato soup in on the stovetop thinning with a little more milk. 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.
📖 Other Great Recipes
- 🍲 Both this amazing Tortilla Soup and this famous White Chicken Chili are warm and comforting additions to your soup rotation.
- 🥔 Extra potatoes to use? This freezer-friendly Twice Baked Potato Bake is busy chef's friend.
- 🥃 This Ice Tea Concentrate recipe is an easy way to serve homemade iced tea to a crowd.
- ❄ Cool weather is the best time to make Fall Apart Roast in the crock pot.
- 🍫 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!
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📋 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 tbsp 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
- Chop potatoes and onions. Add to slow cooker with water. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
- 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.
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.
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!