A fully loaded baked potato…in soup form.
Well, it happened again. That stupid groundhog saw his shadow, and now we’re in for several more weeks of winter. And depending on where you live, that could mean anything from gray skies and dull, misty drizzle to a foot of fresh snow on your doorstep every week.
Either way, it means the next several weeks are going to be a perfect time to serve soup for dinner. There’s nothing like a nice, hot bowl of soup to take off the winter chill. And as long as you’ve got your trusty slow cooker, it’s easy to have hot soup waiting for you whenever you come home.
Here’s an especially cozy soup I’ve whipped up for these last few weeks of winter. It’s like a fully loaded baked potato…cheddar cheese, bacon, the whole bit…in soup form.
The key to this recipe is Simply Potato Shredded Hash Brown Potatoes. These taters come ready-shredded in a bag, so all you have to do is toss them in the crock…along with your veggies, broth, and spices. The pre-shredded potatoes will cook up tender in three hours on the high setting, or six hours on low. Then all you have to do is thicken the soup, melt some cheese on top, and serve it up with all your favorite potato toppings.
Loaded Crockpot Hash Brown Potato Soup
INGREDIENTS:
1 (20-ounce) bag Simply Potato Shredded Hash Brown Potatoes
32 oz chicken broth
1/2 cup shredded carrots
7 slices of bacon, cooked and diced (reserve 2 sliced for toppings)
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
¼ cup onion diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoon flour
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
DIRECTIONS:
- Into a 4-5qt crockpot, add in potatoes, carrots, bacon, broth, water, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook on HIGH 3 hours. or LOW for 6 hours.
- Once cooking time is done, whisk flour and cream together until smooth. Add to slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 30 minutes. Next add cheese and stir until cheese is melted.
- Serve hot with cheese, sour cream, bacon and green onions.
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Loaded Crockpot Hash Brown Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 20-ounce bag Simply Potato Shredded Hash Brown Potatoes
- 32 oz chicken broth
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 7 slices of bacon cooked and diced (reserve 2 sliced for toppings)
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup onion diced
- 1-2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Into a 4-5qt crockpot, add in potatoes, carrots, bacon, broth, water, onion, garlic, salt and pepper
- Cook on HIGH 3 hours. or LOW for 6 hours
- Once cooking time is done, whisk flour and cream together until smooth. Add to slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 30 minutes. Add cheese and stir until cheese is melted.
- Serve hot with cheese, sour cream, bacon and green onions.
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Nutrition Information:
Nutrition Disclaimer
Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
Jan DeHaven says
Hi,
I love the way this recipe sounds, can’t wait to make it. One question, the ingredients say 7 slices of bacon reserving two for the topping. The directions do not say when to add the 5 slices of bacon to the pot.
Thanks so much
Corey says
It is in step 1 Jan 🙂
“1. Into a 4-5qt crockpot, add in potatoes, carrots, bacon, broth, water, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook on HIGH 3 hours. or LOW for 6 hours.”
Angie Simmons says
Do you add uncooked bacon?
Corey says
No Angie, you could be using cooking bacon.
Corinne says
I actually used Ready Crisp pre- cooked bacon strips, the smell of bacon cooking it’s raw state makes me physically ill 🤢🤢 I just found my grocery sells hash brown/bacon mix, even easier.
Corey says
That is a great idea 🙂
Phyllis Sabo says
Instead of “heavy cream”, could one use yogurt? Or even Greek yogurt?
Corey says
The only other thing I have used is Fat Free half and half. This also worked really well. I supposed milk would also work, but have not tried yogurts yet. If you do, please let us know how it turns out 🙂
Carrie says
I used cream cheese and added about a 1/4 cup half and half instead of the flour. Worked great. 🙂
Phyllis Sabo says
Could Yogurt or Greek Yogurt be used instead of “heavy cream”?
Susan Evans says
This recipe looks absolutely delicious!
Christina says
I just had a bowl. This soup is delicious!! So warm and comforting. I can’t wait for my daughter to get here and have hers.
I added mushrooms and red bell pepper only because they desperately needed to be used and this looked like the perfect place to get rid of them. The soup certainly didn’t need them but it didn’t hurt either.
THANKS for such a simple, great recipe.
Jane says
Could this recipe be doubled?
Corey says
Yes! And I highly recommend that because everyone will gobble this down 🙂
Carissa says
If you double the recipe, would the cook time remain the same?
Corey says
Yes, Carissa… cooking time should be about the same.
Tina says
Could you use corn starch instead of flour?
Corinne says
I do.
Debbie Rich says
Anyone know the caloric intake and fat?
Loni says
Hi, Corey!
We love your recipes and are currently making this one. At the top of the recipe, it says that it takes 6 hours of cook time. However in the recipe it says cook on high for 3 hours and low for 6 hours. And then the additional 30 minutes. Which is the accurate total?
Thanks, in advance, for any help you can offer!
Loni
Corey says
No, it is HIGH on 3 or LOW for 6. I hope that helps!
Loni says
Thank you. I appreciate the reply. I already made the soup on Sunday for lunch. Everyone loved it! And, we had leftovers tonight. I did it on low for about 7 hours and it worked out fine. Thanks for sharing such great recipes!
Marty says
I used the southwestern style simply potatoes hash browns which gave it a spicy kick and garnished with cheese and garlic croutons along with the cheese and bacon. My husband gave it a 500 star review
Corey says
Hahaha! Thanks a lot of stars! 🙂 So happy you loved it!!
Kala says
Hi! I’m making this recipe tonight and am so excited! Question- the bag of hash browns, does it need to be thawed? Or can they be frozen?
Corey says
I used thawed, but I think frozen would be fine too.
Julie says
Can you use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic?
Corey says
I think that would be fine if that is all you had Julie 🙂
Julie says
One last question, I brilliantly broke my crockpot. How would I make this on the stovetop?
Rebecca Johnson says
Hi were you able to make this soup on the stove? If so what did you do? Tia!
Julie Brock says
I did cook it on the stove and it came out good. I had to keep close eye on it and made sure I stirred it frequently but other than that, it came out great!
RaL says
Can you use left over spiral ham in place of bacon
Corey says
Sounds like a yummy idea to me!
Andrea smith says
How high was your stovetop on? I want to make it just don’t have a crockpot
Kayleigh says
This recipe is literally so easy and DELICIOUS!!!!! The first time I made it I did everything to the T. The second time making it i added some broccoli crowns and a bag and a half of potatoes. It was so chunky and great!! Thank you for sharing this recipe because it’s now a fav in my house for these Michigan winters!!!!
Corey says
So happy you love it Kayleigh!!
Cathi says
So yummy! I only made one change. I like my soups creamy and thick, so before I added the cheese, I blended about a third of the soup and added it back. The texture turned out perfect.
Nancy says
My family and I loved this soup! So easy to make and so full of flavor. I double the recipe so we would have plenty of leftovers! Thanks for a great easy recipe.
Sarah says
I have some leftover ham from Christmas in the freezer, could I sub that for the bacon?
Corey says
Yes, I think that would work out fine Sarah 🙂
Sandra says
I have some golden potatoes in the pantry. Could I use those instead of the simply potato hash browns? If so, how many and do they need to be cooked before I put them in the crockpot?
Kelly says
This recipe sounds great! I was just wondering, would I be able to use the Simply diced potatoes instead of the hash brown potatoes? Thanks!
Corey says
Sure! You might want to blend up a bit at the end since the potatoes will be a little larger.
Lavender says
Do you put the cheese in before or after its been cooked for the additional 30 minutes? It’s in the same step so I assume before but would just like to double check!
Corey says
After would be best. All you need is for the cheese to melt 🙂
Anne says
I made this and it is delicious! The only change I made was omitting the flour as it was very thick. My friend that came for dinner had two bowls and kept going back eating out of the pot. This will be my go to potato soup recipe from now on.
Joni Carter says
Can I use chicken in the soup along with the hash browns?
Judy Pitolay says
I have made this soup a few times – last time I had to use the diced hash brown potatoes as I could not find any store in the town I live in that had the shredded hash browns – turned out quite fine. Also, instead of cooked up bacon I used the packaged Real Bacon Bits and had no problem with those. And I NEVER use a crock pot or slow cooker – I do all my soups stove top & they always turn out great. This is one of our favorite soups.
Dawn says
Do you have instructions for an instant pot?
Corey says
I am working on that and should be posting that recipe soon!
Barb says
We had a snowstorm yesterday, so I made this soup on the stove instead of the crockpot. It is so yummy!! I used medium to low heat and it thickened without the flour. I used half and half and sour cream in place of the heavy cream and three cheese blend and mozzarella since I had those on hand. I don’t usually stray from the recipe, but this worked out great!
Nona says
I play cards each week with a group of ladies and we have a meal half way through the party. How would this soup hold up in the crock pot if it has to wait a little longer?
Corey says
It would hold up great. Just set it to a warm setting.
Lydia Wilson says
I just made this soup! Delicious. The only thing I changed was I added another cup of cheese. So 3 cups instead of 2
Karen says
I made this potato soup today. I didn’t have time for the crockpot, so I used my stovetop instead.
I used (1) 24-oz bag of Ore-Ida Steam and Mash Russet Potatoes and combined those with the chicken stock in my blender on the hot soup setting. No carrots on hand, so, oh well…
Meanwhile, I fried the bacon and set in on a paper towel to drain. I sautéd the onion and garlic in the bacon grease.
There wasn’t much fat rendered from the bacon, so I left it in and poured the potato/stock mixture into the soup/stock pot and added salt, pepper, basil and a dash of cajun seasoning.
Since I was cooking on the stovetop, I didn’t need to add water.
Cooked it on low for 40 minutes, checked it and adjusted the seasonings, then cooked it 40 minutes more.
The soup was plenty thick, so I didn’t need to add flour, just 1 cup of heavy cream (which added a silkiness to it) and then the cheese – a mix of gruyere and cheddar. I let it sit on the stove for another 10 minutes or so until the cheese was melted and incorporated.
Pureeing the potatoes cut down on the time needed to cook this soup, but the 90 minutes gave it time to develop a nice depth of flavor. It’s delicious.
Great recipe, thanks, Corey.
Sue B says
Does anyone know if this will freeze well??
Corinne says
I freeze all of my soup/stew left overs in ziploc screw top containers for my husband to use for lunch at work 😁
Randy Rauenzahn says
Great recipe. Make it alot now. Thanks. I added a cup of black forest ham cut really small, and a 1/4 cup grated parmesan to it.
Nicole says
I made this today, it was awesome! The whole family loved it! My 10 year old son said, “Mom, this needs to be in your rotation!” 🙂 Thank you!!!
Becca says
Would this soup be ok if cooked for 8 hours on low? Like if I started it before work and finished it when I got home?
Corey says
Sorry Becca, I have only tested the recipe as written. If you give it a try, please let us know how it turns out.
Melissa says
Do you have to wait until the end for the cream and flour? I won’t be home before my kids to do that so I was hoping to put it all in together.
Corey says
The way the recipe is written is how I have tested the recipe. I think if the cream is in that long, I am afraid it might curdle. Could you mix up a little bowl for them to stir in at the end?
Jan says
Instead of flour I used potato Flakes as a thickener for more potato flavor
Melinda Grimes says
This is a go to recipe. We love it and actually add extra bacon, because who doesn’t love bacon?! My question is the size of the servings. It is a low carb recipe (husband is diabetic) but trying to estimate carbs in a decent size bowl without measuring it out into individual bowls….Thanks for any help.
Sara says
I’m trying to use my freezer stuff to make this and I have a half bag of the shredded hash browns & a half bag of the cubes hash browns with peppers-do y’all believe I could use no the the shredded & cubed for the soup? Thank you!
Corey says
Sara that would work out just fine. The pepper addition should be super yummy too!
Billie Jo says
This recipe was delicious! The only thing I did different was use chunky hash browns rather than the shredded.
Tara says
I can only find the frozen Ore Ida hash browns. I normally wouldn’t ask this but you claim that the key to this recipe is the Simply potatoes shredded hash browns. Is the Ore Ida ok to use as well?
I Love all of your recipes!!
Corey says
I have not used the frozen kind Tara, but some of my followers have and said it works out ok. If you do end up using the frozen, can you stop by and let us know how it went?
Tara says
Thank you for your reply! And yes, I would be glad to update after using them. Prepping to cook it today!
Corey says
Awesome Thank you Tara 🙂
Tara says
UPDATE: I used the frozen Ore ida hash browns in this recipe because I could not locate any of the simply potatoes. The recipe turned out delicious!!
Corey says
Great! Thanks for coming back to let us know Tara!
Susie says
This was super easy to make. It is very creamy and flavorful also. I am definitely using this recipe again. Thank you.
Corey says
So happy you love it!
Kim Bebout says
I omitted the cream cheese and added parsley, chopped spinach and 1 cup of peas to up the nutritional value. Was very good!
Giselle Kelly says
Made it for lunch on a cold day. Everyone loved it
Corey says
It is a great soup for cold days!
A Mom says
Has anyone tried adapting this recipe using dehydrated hash browns potatoes? Have family in a remote part of Alaska who uses the dehydrated ones. I may experiment!
Brandi says
So I did like this recipe Supposed to be a crockpot recipe but I did it in the Insta pot I did some adjustments on the recipe for one I used way more bacon The simply Hashbrowns I used a half bag of southern and a half bag of regular cooked it in the Insta pot on low for 70 minutes let the pressure set for 10 minutes and then relieve the rest of the pressure added the rest of the half bags of hashbrowns did the heavy cream and flour let it cook for another 15 minutes wasn’t a lot of pressure left so I opened it an added 14 ounces of sour cream 3 cups of cheese and stirred it all came out great oh and also used unsalted chicken broth I didn’t add the onion because it’s in the southern hashbrowns and I added no salt just a little pepper loved it
DAVID MOORE says
Didn’t Add the Cheese..made a loaded crouton with Sour Cream Bacon Bits Shredded Cheddar scallions and placed on top…. scruptious!
Jessica says
This soup was yummy ! I actually made mine in the instant pot. Cooked on the soup/broth setting for 10min then quick release. My hubby liked this alot! The only thing i would change is i dont feel like it needs the cup of water added in . Delicous!
Cynthia says
Love this! Used 1 bag of frozen (320z) Potatoes O’Brien, 1 bag (12 oz) frozen green pepper, onion combination, 32 oz vegetable broth, I can cream of anything soup. Cooked 6 hours on low. Added 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese at the end of cooking. Super easy, super delish.
Judy Rae says
I don’t have the shredded hash browns, I have the diced ones. Do you think they will work ok if I cook them a litt longer???
Kelly M says
Love this recipe! How much do you consider a serving?
joe Flabeets says
My new favorite, neighbor sent down a bowl and I had to know the recipe. Made it a couple times now and still love it on a cold winter day. Shared it with some friends. thanks
Corey says
Glad you love the recipe Joe 🙂
joe Flabeets says
Excellent and easy too. Not too expensive to made. Great winter lunch.