Potato Soup in the slow cooker or instant pot is the best way to make simple creamy baked potato soup, and with no milk or cream!
Potato soup is the ultimate comfort food and one of the few soups I can eat all year long – even on the hottest days of summer. Oh, who are we kidding. I eat all the soups all year long.
But this loaded potato soup made in the crock pot is on point. And even moreso when it’s a cold and wet January day like today. Which, in Florida we get very few of. Which is why I eat soup all year long. I’m not waiting for that one day of the year! Serve as a meal on it’s own or alongside our delicious meatloaf recipe and some peanut butter cookies.
Potato Soup Ingredients
Russet Potatoes – Russet potatoes are what give this soup its distinctive baked potato flavor. Any kind of diced potatoes can be used in a pinch though, including red or gold potatoes.
Yellow Onion – I love a mild sweet yellow onion.
Garlic – Fresh is great, but if you don’t have it on hand go ahead and use jarred/pre-minced garlic.
Chicken Stock or Broth – You can make your own chicken stock, purchase it at the store, or use a chicken bouillon cube or paste.
Cream Cheese – Make sure you bring the cream cheese to at least room temperature before trying to incorporate it into the soup otherwise it will not blend well.
Seasoned Salt – Lawry’s is what we typically use, but if you have a favorite, then by all means try it out!
Garnishes – Crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, green onions, sour cream or Greek yogurt. I like to cook the bacon in the oven ahead of time, but some folks actually like to cook the bacon in the soup for extra bacon flavor. Alternatively, you could add a 1/2 teaspoon of bacon grease.
How Do You Make Potato Soup
First, add potatoes, onion, garlic, seasoning, and chicken stock to slow cooker.
Then, cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours, until potatoes are tender.
Next, add the softened cream cheese and puree soup with an immersion blender or food processor.
Finally, top with your choice of garnishes, salt and pepper to taste & enjoy!
Potato Soup No Heavy Cream
Our Potato Soup is made with cream cheese instead of heavy cream, which gives a rich full and super delicious flavor. A crock pot loaded baked potato soup without heavy cream isn’t easy to find but, we’ve done it and done it well here.
This recipe is my husband’s absolute favorite and if I dare ask what he’d like for virtually any special occasion, it’s this (and a cookie cake)!
Potato Soup FAQ
WHAT SLOW COOKER DO YOU USE?
This is the slow cooker I use (and it’s a tight fit): Crock Pot 7 Quart Slow Cooker.
You could also use this super fantastic 6 quart instant pot. On pressure cooker mode (15 minutes manual), or on slow cooker mode. Just use a little bit less liquid so it all fits! Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
WHAT IMMERSION BLENDER DO YOU USE?
This is the immersion blender I use and it’s probably my favorite kitchen gadget: Cuisinart Immersion Blender.
CAN YOU MAKE POTATO SOUP ON THE STOVE-TOP?
You can make potato soup on the stove-top.
CAN I USE FAT FREE CREAM CHEESE?
You can use regular or low fat cream cheese, but not fat-free.
IS THAT TOO MUCH GARLIC?
No, I don’t think it’s too much garlic.
IS THAT TOO MUCH ONION?
No, I don’t think it’s too much onion.
DO YOU THINK I SHOULD PEEL THE POTATOES?
No, you really don’t need to peel the potatoes. A chunk of potato tastes the same with our without the skin so why add the extra work.
CAN I FREEZE THE LEFTOVERS?
Yes, you can freeze this, we always freeze half for another day! Reheat in a soup pot on medium high heat, stirring regularly. If you cook over medium heat, make sure it does not come to a hard boil or the texture may change.
Hope that helps and feel free to leave a comment below if you have other questions or concerns!
Potato Soup – Our Most Popular Recipe
This Potato Soup recipe is my most popular recipe to date (although French Dip Crescent Rolls are a very close second!). It’s also my husband’s very favorite dish.
Often times I’ll throw in some pre-cooked chicken breast at the end to make it a full meal.
Did you know you can freeze potato soup! Even with the cream cheese! True story!
When you defrost your potato soup, the cream cheese may have separated a little bit, but just heat it up slowly (don’t boil or it may scald) and every thing will come right back together. YUM.
How do I make simple potato soup?
For our simple potato soup, we use potatoes, onion, garlic, cream cheese, and chicken stock as the base. I don’t think potato soup gets a whole lot simpler than this.
How do you make creamy potato soup?
If you blend a small amount of the potatoes from your potato soup and reincorporate them, that will help make your soup creamier. We also use cream cheese at the end, but no heavy cream!
How do you make loaded potato soup?
The loaded part comes at the end when you load all your baked potato style toppings onto your bowl of soup. We suggest shredded cheese, bacon, and chives!
Is potato soup good for you?
That wholly depends on what diet you’re following. Unlike many potato soups, ours does not use flour as a thickening agent, so it’s totally grain and gluten free.
If you’re vegetarian you can sub the chicken stock for vegetable stock and skip the bacon. And if you’re strict paleo, try substituting a thick cashew cream for the cream cheese!
Potato Soup – More Like This
Corn Chowder – Corn and potato chowder is so filling and delicious! This one is a copycat Harry and David recipe, but it’s so much better than the original!
Crock Pot Tortilla Soup – My mom’s famous tortilla soup! But made better, and in the crock pot so it’s no muss, no fuss.
Cabbage Soup – This cabbage soup is great on it’s own, or use it as a base for so many other delicious and simple soup recipes.
Slow Cooker Sausage and Potato Soup – You’re going to love the hack we use for this sausage and potato soup. It makes preparation an absolute breeze!
Slow Cooker Tuscan Tortellini Soup – A little taste of Italy for dinner? Yes please. This Tuscan soup is a crowd pleaser for sure.
Split Pea Soup for the Crock Pot – Looking for something to do with all that leftover holiday ham? This simple split pea soup recipe is the perfect solution.
Potato Soup Making Tools
7 quart slow cooker – this is the perfect sized slow cooker for a large family or for feeding guests!
Immersion blender – likely the most used kitchen tool in my entire home, I break our stick blender out almost every day.
Giant soup bowls – I feel like these need no introduction. I love a big bowl.
Large glass measuring/pouring cups – it took me way too long to invest in decent measuring tools!
Stainless steel measuring spoons – love that these won’t melt in the dishwasher.
Funny story. Several years ago I was on a playdate with two of my girlfriends and we had all packed lunches. One gal pulls out her tupperware of potato soup and starts raving about it. Friend Two chimes in and says “Oh is that from Mama Loves Food?” “I made it last week and we all loved it!”
I start laughing and they both look at me like I’m mad. I said, did you look at the picture of the girl on the website? “No… why? Is it scandalous?!” I told them to look when they got home later.
Needless to say, I got some funny texts later asking if I was famous. Spoiler alert: I’m not. At all. Haha!
How to make Potato Soup
Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 5 pounds russet potatoes washed but NOT peeled. Diced into 1/2 inch(ish) cubes
- 1 medium/large yellow onion diced
- 10 cloves of garlic minced
- 64 ounces 8 cups chicken stock or broth
- 16 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 tablespoon seasoned salt
- optional garnishes: crumbled bacon shredded cheese, green onions
Instructions
- Add potatoes, onion, garlic, seasoning, and chicken stock to slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours.
- Add the softened cream cheese and puree soup with an immersion blender until the cheese is incorporated and about half the soup is blended. (Alternately you could remove half the soup and the cream cheese to an upright blender, then re-incorporate).
- Stir well, top with your choice of garnishes & enjoy!
- Yields about 10-12 servings.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
inspired by: Stephanie O’Dea
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Yields about 10-12 servings.
originally published 06-2009
Nad says
Can I cut the ingredients in half and cook it in less time with the crockpot?
April says
You can cut the ingredients in half, but they won’t cook significantly faster.
Caitlyn says
If cooking on the stovetop how should I make it? And can I make ahead and warm it up again?
April says
For the stovetop, put the ingredients into a large pot on the stove instead of in the slow cooker, boil about 15 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Then follow the remaining instructions as written for the slow cooker.
Yes, you can make it ahead and warm it up again 🙂
Amber says
ARE YOU SURE THAT’S ENOUGH GARLIC lol
April says
😉
Marcia says
This the tastest potato soup ever! Cook on stove instead of crockpot. Added some of thevbrowned bacon bits & grease to chicken broth while potatoes boiled. Topped with cheddar cheese and crumbled bacon. Oh so good on a cold winter night with sour dough bread. Thanks for the recipe. Will be making again many times over.
April says
oh i’m so glad you love our potato soup!
Aliciea Trent says
I just made this for my husband. He loves potato soup & I’ve never tried it till today. He loves it. So I’ll be making this lots more now that I have this receipe. I’m not big on anything potatoes so I never learnt how to make potato soup. Easy great receipe. Thank you for sharing.
April says
so glad you liked our potato soup! we definitely think it’s the best potato soup 🙂
Kim whitton says
I’ve always made a simple potato soup on the stovetop. But now I’m in a wheelchair so I look for easy meals with little prep and this recipe fits the bill. My husband is my caretaker but he has a cold right now so I want to make this for him so he’s not having to worry about what’s for dinner or lunch. The crockpot is my best friend lately. Thank you for this awesome recipe.
Erica says
How long and at what pressure should this be made in an Instant Pot? (I’m new to it, so I don’t want to mess it up.) I LOVE this in my Crock Pot though!
April says
10 minutes on manual should be plenty 🙂
Layne says
I’m totally drooling, this looks awesome!
Sabrina says
This is seriously the best potato soup! I’ve made it in the crock pot, stove top, and instant pot and it always turns out incredible! Thanks for sharing!
Ashley says
Best potato soup EVER!!
My boyfriend and I have it at least once a month.
It’s just so warm and cozy. Our go to for any occasion.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! 🙂
Lacy says
We just made this for the first time and it was delicious but Your recipe says it equals 10 servings And has 250 thousand calories. So are you saying each serving has 25,000 calories?
April says
Hi Lacy – It’s 250 calories per serving. That said, the calories are automatically calculated so for the most accurate information you’ll want to calculate based on your exact ingredients 🙂
Suzanne says
Can I use a 2lb bag of frozen cubed potatoes and cut the other ingredients in half??
April says
I think that would work 🙂
Taylor says
If I half the recipe, how long should I put it in the crockpot for?? So delicious!!
April says
Timing will be the same. So glad you love it! <3
Cheryl says
Love this soup and so easy to make. Always loved cream of potatoes soup and tried many recipes but this is the best so far. Looks good and taste really good also.
Jessica says
I like my soup a little chunkier do I just not cook it as long. I feel like that is extremely long time.
April says
Hi Jessica – Food cooked in a slow cooker will by definition take a long time. Cooking it for less time will not make it more or less chunky, you’ll just run the risk of it being undercooked. If you’d like it chunkier, then skip the blending 🙂
ANg says
Can I use a sweet onion?
April says
ABSOLUTELY 🙂
Hillary says
I started making this without checking my refrigerator first, so I had to get creative. I substituted some green onions and onion powder because I did not have an onion. I also checked my cream cheese and because it was bad, I substituted queso dip 1:1 and it came out awesome. Definitely made it spicier with the dip, but I love the flavor.
April says
I love it when things come together! So glad you enjoyed the soup 🙂
Bee says
This was perfection!! I will definitely be making it again! Yummy soup!