Thick potato soup needs something crisp on top. Bacon handles that, while chives and a spoonful of sour cream give each bowl a little contrast. Add cheddar and soft chunks of potato, and you have most of the good parts of a loaded baked potato in something you can eat with a spoon.
This slow cooker loaded potato soup starts with potatoes, onion, garlic, and broth. They cook together until the potatoes are tender enough to mash against the side of the pot. The milk, cheese, and sour cream go in toward the end, so there’s a little finishing to do before dinner—but most of the cooking happens without you.
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What You’ll Need
The ingredient list is short enough for a regular grocery run: potatoes, onion, garlic, broth, evaporated milk, cornstarch, cheddar, sour cream, bacon, and chives. Salt and black pepper round it out. The full amounts are in the recipe card below.
Yukon Gold potatoes: Cut them into roughly even, half-inch pieces. You don’t need perfect cubes, but keeping them close in size means you won’t be waiting on a few large chunks while everything else is ready. Scrub them well; peel them if you prefer soup without any potato skins.
Onion, garlic, and chicken broth: These cook with the potatoes from the beginning. Finely dice the onion so you don’t end up with large pieces competing with the potatoes. Low-sodium broth leaves more room to adjust the seasoning after the cheese goes in.
Evaporated milk and cornstarch: These go in near the end to finish the soup. Check the can before opening it: you want plain evaporated milk, not sweetened condensed milk.
Cheddar and sour cream: Grate the cheddar before you need it and measure out the sour cream. Once the soup is thickened, you can turn off the heat and stir them in without stopping to prep anything else.
Bacon and chives: Keep these separate until serving. The bacon brings the crunch, and the chives give you a fresh onion flavor against the creamy soup.
How to Make Slow Cooker Loaded Potato Soup
Start with the potatoes and broth
Add the potatoes, onion, garlic, chicken broth, salt, and pepper to a 6-quart slow cooker. Give everything a stir, cover, and cook on low for 6–8 hours.
Start checking around the six-hour mark. Lift out a potato piece and press it with a fork. It should crush easily, without a firm center. If it still needs some pressure, put the lid back on and give the soup more time.
Mash some, but leave plenty of pieces
Use a potato masher directly in the slow cooker. Start with a few presses, stir, and look at the texture before mashing more.
You want some of the potatoes to break down into the broth while others stay in soft chunks. A completely smooth soup is fine, but those little pieces give you something to bite into. There’s no need to transfer hot soup to a blender for this version.
Stir in the milk mixture
Whisk the evaporated milk and cornstarch together in a bowl until smooth. Mixing them before they go into the pot helps keep dry pockets of cornstarch from forming lumps.
Stir the mixture into the soup, turn the slow cooker to high, and cover for another 20–30 minutes, until thickened. This finishing step is part of the cooking time, so leave yourself that extra half hour before you plan to eat.
Finish with cheddar and optional sour cream
Turn off the heat. Add the cheddar a handful at a time, stirring until it melts before adding the next handful. Stir in the sour cream once the cheese is incorporated.
Now taste the soup. The cheese changes the seasoning, and the bacon will add more salt at the table. Add a little more salt or pepper only if it needs it.
If the finished soup is thicker than you like, stir in a splash of broth. Add it gradually—you can always loosen the soup a little more.
Keep the Bacon Crisp Until Serving
Cook the bacon until crisp, drain it, and crumble it into pieces small enough to get a little in each spoonful. Resist stirring it all into the slow cooker. It will soften in the soup, and that crisp topping is part of what makes the bowl work.
Set out the bacon, chopped chives, and extra sour cream so everyone can finish their own bowl. A little extra shredded cheddar is good here, too.
A slice of toast or a warm roll is plenty alongside this soup. If you want something fresh with it, serve a simple green salad with a sharp dressing.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
Keep leftover bacon and chives separate from the soup so you can add them after reheating.
Divide the soup into shallow containers and refrigerate promptly. Use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days and reheat to 165°F, following USDA leftover guidance.
Reheat in a saucepan, stirring frequently, or microwave individual portions in intervals, stirring between them. If the soup has become too thick, add a splash of broth or milk. Finish with the toppings after it’s hot.
A Few Questions Before You Start
Do I have to peel the potatoes?
You can leave the skins on well-scrubbed Yukon Gold potatoes if you like that texture. Peel them if you prefer a more uniform bite. Either way, cut the pieces to roughly the same size.
Can I make it without bacon?
Yes. Leave off the bacon and try crisp croutons on top instead. If you want the whole soup to be vegetarian, use vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth and choose a vegetarian cheddar.
Why isn’t my soup thick yet?
First, make sure the potatoes are completely tender and that you’ve mashed some into the broth. After adding the milk and cornstarch mixture, the soup needs the finishing time on high to thicken. Stir and check the consistency before adding anything else.
Can I add all the ingredients at the beginning?
For this recipe, save the evaporated milk mixture, cheddar, and sour cream for the finishing steps. The bacon and chives belong on the individual bowls. It’s a little work at the end, but it keeps the toppings crisp and gives you more control over the finished texture.
Loaded Potato Soup
Equipment
- 6-quart slow cooker
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 can evaporated milk, 12 ounces
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream, plus more for serving
- 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives
Instructions
- Combine the potatoes, onion, garlic, broth, salt, and pepper in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6–8 hours, until the potatoes crush easily with a fork.
- Mash some of the potatoes directly in the pot, leaving the rest in pieces.
- Whisk the evaporated milk and cornstarch together until smooth. Stir into the soup, switch to high, and cover for 20–30 minutes, until thickened.
- Turn off the heat. Add the cheddar a handful at a time, stirring until melted, then stir in the sour cream. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Add bacon, chives, and extra sour cream to the individual bowls.
Notes
Looking for another dinner you can start earlier in the day? Browse our 11 easy crock pot meals for more slow cooker soups, chicken dinners, and pot roast.