This creamy and cheesy crockpot potato soup is hearty and filling and will fill your kitchen with delicious aromas as it cooks away all day.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time3 hourshrs30 minutesmins
Total Time3 hourshrs45 minutesmins
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Crockpot Potato Soup Recipe
Servings: 8
Calories: 650kcal
Ingredients
1poundbacon
1mediumwhite onion,diced
2poundsYukon gold potatoes,peeled and diced into ½-inch pieces
6cupschicken broth
½teaspoonblack pepper
8ouncescream cheese,cut into cubes
½cupsour cream
3cupsgrated cheddar cheese,medium or sharp cheddar, divided
2tablespoonsall-purpose flour
1cupheavy cream
½cupchives,finely chopped
Instructions
Chop bacon into small pieces (about ½ inch). 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 the onion to the bottom of the crockpot, reserving about 2 tablespoons of bacon grease in the skillet.
Add the potatoes and chicken stock to the crockpot.
Cook on HIGH for 3 hours.
Add the cream cheese, sour cream, and 2 cups 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 the 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 for 15 more minutes.
Stir in half of the bacon pieces. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
Serve soup with reserved cheese, bacon, and chives.
Notes
For a thicker soup, use just 4 cups of chicken broth, keeping all other ingredients the same. This will make a smaller quantity of soup overall, and it may be thick enough that the flour/cream roux is not needed.
Cooking the onions and, later, the roux (flour and cream mixture) in the bacon grease adds a ton of flavor and depth to the soup. If you are not using bacon or do not wish to add the extra fat from the grease, you can use olive oil or just a tablespoon of butter to cook the onions. You can also make a roux to thicken the soup using 2 tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons of flour, and cream.
Some recipes add the cooked bacon to the pot to cook along with all of the other ingredients. We prefer to add the bacon flavor by cooking the onion in the bacon grease. When bacon cooks for a long time (such as in the crockpot), it can get rubbery and take on an undesirable texture. Stirring in the bacon just before serving maintains its nice, crunchy texture and full flavor.