Dust off the slow cooker and whip up this savory, creamy crock pot potato soup. It’s so easy! Just add the ingredients and press start. I’ve got suggestions on the best potatoes to use in soup – along with a couple of decadent serving variations. Rustic and comforting potato soup, filling enough to be served as a main, delicate enough to be a starter or side.
Why This Recipe Works
- Silky and velvety texture. Like a fancy French potage, minus the effort and fuss.
- Just 15 minutes of prep. The slow cooker does most of the work. Set it, forget it.
- Like a warm hug, but food. The best savory, creamy comfort food – evocative of mom’s cooking. Take a bite, get the feels.
When I was a kid, my mom used to make creamy potato potage. That’s French for soup. It was so smooth and satiny that it seemed fairly fancy. But she just let it slow cook in the crockpot and blended it afterwards. I hope you love it as much as I do.
Table of Contents
The Best Potatoes For Crock Pot Potato Soup
The best potatoes for potato soup are high in starch and low in moisture. This combination allows the potatoes to absorb liquid quickly and break down easily.
Russet potatoes and all-purpose potatoes are therefore the top choices for potato soups.
The Yukon Gold potato is medium starch but another great option for making soups since it has a natural sweetness and creamy texture.
Crock Pot Potato Soup Ingredients
Scroll to the bottom of this page for the full recipe!
- Cooking Oil: Olive oil, avocado oil and grapeseed oil are all good options.
- Garlic: Add a few minced cloves for rustic fragrance.
- Leek: I prefer using leeks over onions, especially in soups, because of their mild and sweet taste. That said, if you only have onions handy, they’ll work fine.
- Carrot: For earthiness and sweetness – and a lovely golden hue.
- Potatoes: Russet potatoes and all-purpose potatoes are preferred. But feel free to use any type of potato you might already have in your pantry or simply love to eat (such as Yukon Gold potatoes or fingerling potatoes).
- Broth: Use low sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth.
- Salt: To taste.
- Heavy Cream: Adds a silky texture and some heartiness. Vegans can use unsweetened oat milk.
Pro Tip You can use frozen hashbrowns! Seriously. Just swap the potatoes in this recipe for 2 pounds of frozen hash browns and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours. This has saved my hide a couple of times.
How To Make Potato Soup in a Crock Pot
- Chop all the vegetables and place them in the crock pot.
- Add the remaining ingredients, except for the heavy cream.
- Stir and put the lid on. Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4 hours.
- Once cooked, use an immersion blender to blend the soup until it’s smooth. Or transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. You may need to do this in batches.
- Stir in the heavy cream and season with salt and pepper if needed. Serve hot.
Pro Tip If you prefer a thicker potato soup, place 1 tablespoon of flour in a small bowl and stir in 3 to 4 tablespoons of the cooked soup. Mix well. Then add the mixture back to the crock pot and keep stirring until the soup thickens.
If you don’t have wheat flour handy, corn flour or potato starch work as well.
Crock Pot Potato Soup Variations
One of the best things about making soup at home is that most recipes are general blueprints. You can add ingredients that speak to you personally and really make it your own. Here are a couple of ideas:
- Cheesy Potato Soup: To make a cheesy crock pot potato soup, add 1 to 2 cups of shredded sharp or mild cheddar cheese after the soup has been blended. Keep stirring until the cheese melts and is fully incorporated into the soup. Add extra cheese if needed, until you reach the desired consistency and flavor.
- Loaded Baked Potato Soup: Like above, add the shredded cheddar cheese after the soup has been blended, and stir well. Place the soup in serving bowls and top with crispy bacon (or bacon bits), sour cream, and a sprinkling of green onions or chopped chives.
Storage
Cover and store leftover potato soup in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Do not leave leftovers in the crockpot or slow cooker for more than a couple hours after cooking stops – even if you plan on eating it the next day. Since there’s dairy in this recipe, you want to store leftovers cold.
- Reheat leftover soup in the microwave, or in a sauce pot on the stovetop.
In the Freezer
- Allow soup to cool slightly.
- Portion into single serving containers with a lid – or food storage bags. Squeeze excess air out of storage bags.
- Write the date on each bag or container.
Properly stored potato soup will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
That depends on the potatoes you’re using. When it comes to most the most common potatoes (like russet potatoes) I’d definitely recommend peeling them prior to making the soup. For potatoes with thin skins (like Yukon gold for example), you could theoretically leave the skins on. Just keep in mind that your soup might not be as velvety smooth as if you peeled the potatoes.
Cooking potatoes for too long and over blending them are the two most common reasons you might end up with gluey, sticky cooked potatoes. For example, when it comes to mashed potatoes, it’s always best to use a potato masher instead of a blender, since it’s fairly easy to overdo it. Mash just long enough so that the potatoes are fluffy. Same goes for the texture of this potato soup – make sure to not over-blend it as this will result in a soup that’s more gooey than silky.
It can be! Just be sure to use veggie broth instead of chicken broth – and you can sub out the heavy cream and use unsweetened oat milk instead.
Yes, it’s gluten free – but with one big caveat. If you’re using store bought vegetable or chicken broth, you’ll want to read the ingredients label carefully. Many mass produced soup stocks contain added wheat. This veggie broth is gluten free.
What to Serve With Potato Soup
You can serve this soup as a main dish or a hearty side. It pairs so well with a simple French baguette – or a cheese and veggie plate. Salads and sandwiches are obvious contenders too.
- Nicoise Salad
- Cucumber Sandwiches With Tzatziki Sauce
- Warm Asian Salmon Salad
- My Mom’s Tuna Sandwich
- Hearty Farro Salad
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Have you made this crock pot potato soup recipe? Are there changes you made that you’d like to share? Share your tips and recommendations in the comments section below!
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Crock Pot Potato Soup
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 hours
- Total Time: 5 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 bowls 1x
- Category: Crock Pot
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This comforting crock pot potato soup recipe is the best comfort food. Sweet, creamy and packed with savory goodness, it can be served as a main or a hearty side dish. Set it and forget it!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 leek, finely chopped, white part only
- 2 medium carrots, finely chopped
- 2 1/2 pounds potatoes such as Yukon gold or russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite size pieces
- 4 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable stock or chicken stock
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup heavy cream or unsweetened oat milk for vegan option
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients, except for the heavy cream, in the crockpot and close the lid.
- Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours, or on low for 5 to 6 hours.
- Blend the soup using an immersion blender until smooth. Alternatively, you can blend the soup in batches using a blender.
- Serve.
Notes
To store leftovers, put the soup in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl (serves 6)
- Calories: 224
- Sugar: 6.1g
- Sodium: 575.6mg
- Fat: 7.1g
- Saturated Fat: 2.1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.7g
- Trans Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 37.6g
- Fiber: 5.4g
- Protein: 4.3g
- Cholesterol: 7.1mg
