Get ready for a comforting bowl of goodness with this loaded potato soup. Packed with creamy mashed potatoes, crispy bacon bits, and melted cheese, it's the perfect way to warm up your day.

Looking for the best loaded potato soup recipe? 

The crockpot potato soup is the ultimate comfort food, with layers of dreamy potatoes, bacon, and cheddar cheese. It's a perfect low-maintenance, hearty meal the whole family will love.The slow cooker is one of our favorite tools for making cozy soup recipes, like our slow cooker taco soup and slow cooker tomato soup. This comforting soup recipe is the perfect dump-and-go recipe for busy weeknights or chilly days when you need a warm bowl of soup to warm your soul.

What Is Loaded Potato Soup?

This creamy potato soup is like taking twice baked potatoes with bacon and adding heavy cream, chicken broth, and cheddar cheese. It's an indulgent soup that will quickly become a family favorite. 

What you'll love about this recipe:


  • EASY - This low-effort meal only takes a few minutes of prep work while the slow cooker takes care of the rest.
  • COMFORTING - This recipe uses ingredients like potatoes, cheese, and bacon, creating the ultimate comfort food.

What You Need to Make Loaded Potato Soup

  • Bacon – use your favorite bacon. 
  • Onion
  • Garlic cloves
  • Minced fresh thyme
  • All-purpose flour
  • Low-sodium chicken broth
  • Russet potatoes
  • Shredded cheddar cheese – We used regular cheddar cheese, but sharp cheddar or even a blend of shredded cheeses would work, too. 
  • Heavy cream
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Scallions

How to Make Loaded Potato Soup

  • First, cook the bacon in a large, non-stick skillet until it's crispy. Once done, transfer it to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, and remember to reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon grease in the skillet. Cover the bacon and refrigerate it until you're ready to serve.
  • Next, add the onions, garlic, and thyme to the bacon fat in the skillet. Cook over medium-high heat for about 8-10 minutes or until the onion is softened and lightly browned. Stir in the flour and cook for an additional minute. Whisk in one cup of chicken broth, making sure to scrape up any browned bits. Transfer this mixture to the slow cooker.
  • Now, stir in the remaining 3 cups of broth and the cubed potatoes into the slow cooker. Cover and cook until the potatoes are tender, which usually takes 4-6 hours on the low setting.
  • After that, transfer 2 cups of the cooked potatoes to a bowl and mash them until smooth. Stir in the cheddar cheese until evenly melted. Then, add the cream and the mashed potatoes to the slow cooker and let the soup heat through.
  • Reheat the bacon, and when ready to serve, ladle the soup into bowls, topping it with bacon, extra cheese, and scallions.

* I added shredded horseradish cheese and sour cream instead of just cheddar and heavy cream.


Expert Recipe Tips


  • If you want to cut down on the fat, you can substitute turkey bacon and whole milk for the bacon and heavy cream. 
  • For extra creamy soup, use an immersion blender. 
  • Play around with different herbs to get a unique flavor profile. We used minced thyme, but rosemary would be delicious.

How to Store Leftovers & Reheat

Store leftover loaded potato soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

To reheat, place a small pot on the stovetop on medium heat. Add your soup and let it heat up for a few minutes until warm. 

What to Serve With Creamy Potato Soup

Load up your soup with delicious toppings and a side of fluffy artisan bread to soak up the soup. 

This hearty bowl of slow-cooked loaded potato soup will bring warmth and comfort to your table with every spoonful. If you try this recipe, please rate the recipe card and leave a comment down below to help out the next reader! 

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Loaded Potato Soup

from Slow Cooker Revolution

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz bacon, chopped
  • 1 onion, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 ½ teas minced fresh thyme
  • 2 tbs flour
  • 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 3 lbs russet potatoes (about 6 medium, peeled and cut into ½" cubes
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, plus extra for topping*
  • ½ cup heavy cream*
  • salt and pepper
  • scallions sliced thin for serving

Preparation:

Cook bacon in a 12" non stick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towel lined plate to drain. Reserve 2 tbs of bacon fat in the skillet. Cover bacon and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Add onions, garlic, and thyme to fat in skillet and cook over medium high heat about 8 - 10 minutes, or until onion is softened and lightly browned. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in one cup of the chicken broth, scraping up and browned bits as needed; transfer to slow coker.

Stir remaining 3 cups broth and potatoes into slow cooker. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender, 4-6 hours on low.

Transfer 2 cups cooked potatoes to a bowl and mash until smooth with potato masher (alternatively, whip out the immersion blender and go to town). Stir in cheddar and mix until evenly melted. Stir in cream and mashed potatoes. Let soup heath through.

Reheat the bacon. Ladle soup into bowls and serve with bacon, extra cheese, and scallions.

* I added shredded horseradish cheese and sour cream instead of just cheddar and heavy cream.

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Recipe FAQs

Yes. You can make this soup a day before, store it in an airtight container, and reheat it on the stovetop to serve. 

Yes. You can use red potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes if you like. Just make sure to peel them before adding them to the soup. 

Throw in a couple tablespoons of cream cheese for extra velvety richness. 

24 Comments

  1. Belinda @zomppa says:

    With the weather finally turning, these soups are spot on!!

  2. Emily @ Life on Food says:

    A soup and scone combo that is sure to please any man and woman! Right on!

  3. Rachel Cooks says:

    This is my kind of meal! YUM!

  4. Christina @ This Woman Cooks! says:

    I might make this today!

  5. Mary at n00bcakes says:

    Definitely the kind of soup that goes well with a chilly, rainy day! How exactly did adding sour cream as opposed to heavy cream affect the flavor of the recipe? Just made it a little more...tart, I suppose? Did it have any discernible affect on the texture? Probably not, I suppose, with it only being a half cup. What do you think about plain greek yogurt as a third option (thought I'm not sure why I'd be trying to make this "healthy"...I mean, it's a potato and bacon soup for pete's sake)? O, the questions!

    1. Oh there was no attempt to make it healthy. 😉 I know better. But I felt it needed some spicing up. I think sour cream just has more of a kick then cream. Did nothing to the texture, because really 1/4 cup to everything else in there isn't much. I don't normally have plain yogurt on hand or I may have tried it.

  6. Bacon scones! Girl, you have done it with those. Perfect accompaniment to potato soup too. I'm sold on this one!

  7. Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious says:

    I have a love affair with soup (even in the summertime) so I'm definitely bookmarking this to make ASAP! I've finally dusted off the slow cooker so I totally need to take advantage of that!

  8. Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says:

    I'm not usually a fan of scones but you make me want them badly with this soup!

  9. Steph@stephsbitebybite says:

    So first I was freaking out about the soup. Then I scrolled down and saw the scones. Do you have any idea what this is doing to my pregnany belly right now?! BABY wants a bite!!

  10. Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says:

    Deeee-licious. potato soup is one of my new favorites.

  11. Vicki @ WITK says:

    What is it about men and potato soup? BF loves it over here too and hates it when I go all fancy and add things like leeks or peppers to it. There's a cool breeze blowing through my window now and I'm thinking soup this week toO!

  12. I am drooling all over my shirt...wow...yum! Hello Fall/Winter! 😀

  13. Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful! We added our crusty bread sandwiches to accompany the soup! Omgosh wonderful!

  14. Lisa-Brit Wahlberg says:

    Made this last night...the kids LOVED it!!!! My husband did too! Great for a fall evening after a busy day of soccer and fall activities!

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