Slow Cooker Potato Soup (with frozen potatoes)
This Slow Cooker Potato Soup is so fast to throw together thanks to frozen potatoes. A hearty, thick soup with incredible flavor and easy to make!
A SHORTCUT POTATO SOUP RECIPE
I love potato soup so much! It is one of my family’s favorite comfort foods. I have a Crock Pot Potato Soup recipe where I make it completely from scratch. It’s delicious but some days you just don’t feel like messing with all that, right? This recipe is my shortcut solution to potato soup. You still get fantastic flavor with a few convenience foods used to help you put a delicious meal on the table without too much effort!
This is the second time I’ve made this soup. Delicious and super easy!!!
– Judy
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Absolutely! It is easily cut in half. However, I tend to make this full batch so that I can have leftovers the next day.
You can use milk.
Cooking up the bacon probably takes the most time in this recipe. So, if you are wanting to make it even faster, feel free to use the store-bought bacon pieces (found in the salad dressing aisle of the grocery store.) They work perfectly fine in this.
This helps them melt faster and smoothly. If it goes in cold, it will stay lumpy in the soup.
Yes. It will just come out much more creamy and smooth without the chunks of potato in it like you get with the cubed.
You can just leave it out. The soup will be a littler thinner and you can add a bit more heavy cream to add more creaminess to the soup. I would also suggest perhaps you make my homemade slow cooker potato soup recipe instead. It doesn’t use any cream soups.
Nope! They go in frozen.
This soup will last in the refrigerator up to five days in a covered dish/airtight container and reheats easily on the stovetop or microwave. It can also be frozen but I caution this as sometimes creamy soups don’t always reheat well after being frozen.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- bacon – the bacon that cooks with the potato soup will soften; however, it does add a good bit of flavor. But, if you don’t like softened bacon, you do not need to add it while cooking, just use it as a topping.
- frozen hash brown cubes – I don’t know why people balk at using frozen vegetables. It’s one of the biggest complaints I receive on the website and I think it’s because a lot of people don’t know how they are processed. There is absolutely nothing added to frozen vegetables. They are frozen at the peak freshness. No preservatives or anything else is added because they are being frozen so you don’t need preservatives. If you look on the back of the packaging, you will see that potatoes are literally the only ingredient in the bag. They still have all the same nutrients as their fresh counterparts.
- onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, salt and seasoned salt – I am actually pretty conservative with the seasoning here. So I suggest after it has all cooked that you taste it and add more seasoning. Generally I like to add a bit more salt, pepper and garlic powder since that is our preference but I know that is all subjective to tastebuds so you add what you like. Or if you need to keep this low in sodium, you can use your favorite salt free seasoning blend.
- chicken broth – if you do need to cut the salt levels, try using a low or no sodium chicken broth. Or if you really want to go all out, try making a Homemade Chicken Broth.
- cream of chicken soup – again, this is another one you can get salt free or low sodium. Or you can try your hand at making your own Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup.
- cheddar cheese – a cheese blend works as well. I also like Colby Jack cheese for this.
- cream cheese – this adds flavor and additional creaminess. You can leave it out if you prefer but I really love it. Even my family members who don’t like cream cheese really love it in this because they just don’t know it’s in there – ha!
- heavy cream – don’t skip this – this really makes this so much richer and creamier. You could use milk if you must but really try to grab some heavy cream.
- green onions or chives – this is for serving.
HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER POTATO SOUP (WITH FROZEN POTATOES):
Cook the bacon. Drain excess grease on paper towels. Then crumble up bacon into pieces. Set aside. Pour the frozen hash brown cubes into the bottom of a 5-6 quart oval slow cooker.
Evenly season potatoes with seasoned salt, onion powder, garlic powder and pepper. Pour in the chicken broth, cream of chicken soup and ¾ of the cooked and crumbled bacon (reserve the rest of the bacon for serving).
Stir everything until well combined then cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. After cooking, use a fork to check the potatoes for doneness. They should be fork tender.
To the slow cooker, add 1 cup of shredded cheese (reserve the rest for topping), cubed cream cheese, heavy cream and stir. Cover slow cooker and cook on high for another 30-45 minutes or until all of the cheeses are melted. Stirring occasionally. At this point, taste for seasoning. Add additional salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
When ready, ladle into bowls and top with reserved crumbled bacon, remaining shredded cheese and sliced green onions or chives.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Originally published: December 2022
Updated and republished: January 2026
Slow Cooker Potato Soup (with frozen potatoes)
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon (divided use)
- 2 (2 pound) bags frozen hash brown cubes (they do not need to thaw first)
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt (optional)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 48 ounce container chicken broth (6 cups)
- 2 (10 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided use
- 8 ounce block cream cheese, softened to room temperature and cut into cubes
- 1 cup heavy cream
- salt, to taste
- sliced green onions or chives (for topping)
Instructions
- Cook 1 pound bacon. Drain excess grease on paper towels. Then crumble up bacon into pieces. Set aside.
- Pour 2 (2 pound) bags frozen hash brown cubes into the bottom of a 6 quart (or larger) oval slow cooker.
- Season potatoes with 1 teaspoon seasoned salt (optional), 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder and 1 teaspoon black pepper.
- Pour in 48 ounce container chicken broth, 2 (10 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup, ¾ of the cooked and crumbled bacon (reserve the rest of the bacon for serving).
- Stir everything until well combined then cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.
- After cooking, use a fork to check the potatoes for doneness. They should be fork tender.
- To the slow cooker, add 1 cup of shredded cheese (reserve the rest for topping), 8 ounce block cream cheese, softened to room temperature and cut into cubes, 1 cup heavy cream and stir.
- Cover slow cooker and cook on high for another 30-45 minutes or until all of the cheeses are melted. Stirring occasionally. At this point, taste for seasoning. Add additional salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
- When ready, ladle into bowls and top with reserved crumbled bacon, remaining shredded cheese and sliced green onions or chives.
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- This recipe can easily be cut in half.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Can I cook this in a stock pot? If so, how would I adjust the cook times?
Can I add frozen broccoli cuts to this without messing it up? Just a little 12 ounce bag?
You could but you need to thaw it and pat it dry with paper towels because it will release excess water into the soup and can thin it out (of course, if you are not worried about that then throw it in frozen lol)
if I halve the recipe, do I need a smallert slow cooker I only have a 6 quart slow cooker.
I think you should be ok. Just keep an eye that it’s not burning if you have a slow cooker that tends to run hot
After cooking bacon take some broth in same pan and bring to boil. Then empty into crockpot. You get all the flavor from the drippings
I made the soup it was delicious! I cut the recipe in half because it’s only me at home. I didn’t have any cream cheese, so I used a little of the heavy cream that you talked about in the recipe and instead of bacon I had some smoked sausage at home and I sliced that thin and threw that in. It was very very good
Can I substitute 2% milk for the heavy cream?
It won’t give the same texture because it’s much thinner & you lose a bit of that richness. You could use evaporated milk. Or if you really want to use 2%, just know it won’t be quite as thick 🙂
I am going to make this next weekend. However, we do not eat meat. Is it possible to make this without the bacon? Will it taste okay? Other family members eat bacon so I was planning on making some to crumble on top. I also like the idea of adding corn. Thoughts?
Definitely! It will still be good!
sounds so good but can I use frozen fried french fries instead of hash browns
I haven’t tried that. Let me know if you decide to experiment, I’d love to know how it turned out for you!
This is the second time I’ve made this soup. Delicious and super easy!!!
Makes my day to read that Judy! I truly appreciate you taking the time to come back and comment!!
Super easy, delicious soup! Great for potlucks—took it to school and everyone wanted the recipe!
when you leave nutrition information for your reciepes, could you please include how much 1 serving is? I don’t know for your Soups is a serving 8 oz? 16 oz? or 4 oz? thank you for your help.
Hi Karen, I will repeat what I have in my recipe card: Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used. Your nutritional calculator can help you figure out the best serving size for you.
Can leftovers be frozen and if u want to cut in half are all ingredients halved. Making for Super Bowl on sunday
Yes but it’s not the best texture when defrosted and yes cut everything in half. I mention all of this in a bit more detail above in the frequently asked questions section 🙂
I’m going to make this today, but I do not have cream cheese. Any other recommendations?
You can just leave it out. Or add a little heavy cream if you have it
this looks really good so I’m going to try it today. what I would like to know is if I can freeze leftovers?
I discuss that in a bit more detail above in the frequently asked question section but basically it’s not recommended.
This was great! I made a half batch but should have made a full batch. Delicious and easy!
I put in heavy cream right away, will it still turn out ok
I have it in this part of the process for a reason – it might curdle if you put it in right away.
Really liked this!
Added corn to it and used a hand mixer to blend the potatoes up a bit. I’ll probably use hash browns next time.
It makes a TON. Oh my gosh- soup for days !
Sometimes I try a recipe that i’ve seen on my email. I tried the potato soup. I used part of the seasonings(blood pressure). I baked the bacon and used all of the rest of your recipe and let me tell you, that was the best potato soup I ever made. I have to give it to you, my husband kept smacking his lips all night until I told him I was not going to make another pot this night. I also cooked the soup on the stove. I guess I will have to try another recipe from you. Thanks, ever so much!!!
Huge, huge hit with everyone! I had so many recipe requests so I sent them your way! Thank you!!
Tasted awesome
I made this last night, and I loved how quickly it went together. I had put my crockpot on high and even after cooking it 3 hours, it wasn’t cooking it as it should. Not a problem and so I went ahead and poured it into a large pot and cooked it on the stove top. It was delicious and I’ll definitely be making it again! Thanks again for this fabulous recipe!
This was soo good! I skipped the bacon but followed everything as written. Love that it makes so many servings too so it can last you a good while. Also agree with another commenter, it’s very hearty – perfect for winter
Lovely flavor I love this recipe. So easy and great flavor….Thank you!! Will add ham next time and going to add onions and celery.
Can you add the grated cheese and cream cheese right away and cook on low for a couple hours on low? Making this for deer hunters to eat after the hunt, so just want to cook on low until hunting party done for the night to get the chill out from hunting all day.
It’s added at the end so it doesn’t curdle. Cheese loves to curdle in the crock pot. So u haven’t tested it but you can certainly try!
can you list the split recipe for this? I don’t think my crockpot is big enough for 2 2 pound bags of the potatoes. Thank you!
Just cut all ingredients in half 🙂
My family enjoyed this recipe!
I just made this today. It is delicious and a no brainer. I’m have friends over Saturday for our third annual fellowship meal. They will love this!
Love this recipe!! We also use 1lb. of small cut up ham pieces instead of bacon. Both ways are excellent!!
Thanks so much Frank! I appreciate you so much for coming back to comment!
Very hearty and worth the wait.
Thank you for the yummy recipe!
I’m a new mom and I need easy recipes like this one.
Hi, can this soup be frozen?
I actually answer this question in the frequently asked question section on how to store leftovers 🙂 You can but you have to be very careful when reheating because cream soups can separate if reheated too quickly.
I accidentally put the frozen potatoes in the refrigerator last night so they have thawed. Can I still use them or do they have to go in frozen? I don’t cook at all and this is a dry run before I have to make it for 25 women. Thank you.
You can certainly still use them. They may just cook up a bit faster
I am making this today, but what happens if you put the cream cheese in with the other ingredients?
It’ll be fine. I just put it in towards the end for this recipe because some people have slow cookers that run pretty hot and you don’t want it to curdle. But as long as you are cooking it on low, should be totally fine.
Made this for our Ladies Monthly meeting, Jan 2024. This was an absolute hit! Preacher went back to get seconds and much to my surprise, the pot was empty!
It is the perfect touch on a cold winter day. Think I’ll make another pot this weekend…cold and snow on the way!
My family has “Soup Sunday” every Sunday and we have had this soup about 5-6 times since September. My kids love this soup!
I’m hoping you see this before I need to cook this but I am making this for a dinner for after my grandfather’s funeral. Can I make it the day before and reheat? His service is at 10 on Saturday (tomorrow)? Do I need to leave anything out until the day of?
Hey, I am so sorry for the loss of your grandfather 🙁 You could technically make this ahead of timeless but keep in mind, `potatoes will continue to absorb liquid as it sits. So be prepared to have some extra chicken broth on hand to thin it out some. Hope that helps!
Do I need to leave the cream and cream cheese out until reheating? At this point I think I’m gonna make it at 6 am on high.
Great soup even with frozen potatoes!!
Absolutely the best potato soup! Love doing it in the Crock Pot! Many thanks for all these wonderful recipes. The perfect thing to take to a shutin, and perfect thing for anytime! Thank you again!
Thank you for taking the time to comment Cindy! I really appreciate it and am so glad you like it!!
I have always made your other homemade crock pot potato soup recipe with russet potatoes and decided to try this one since it’s a bit quicker for me to dump and go. I absolutely love both to be honest. This one is full of flavor and honestly, you would never know the potatoes were frozen. I’m not sure why people balk at frozen potatoes. They are literally just russet potatoes cut up and frozen at the peak of freshness. LOL Such a timesaver for this busy mama!
I made this today for 5 of us…the only thing we did different was use the cubed hash browns with peppers and onions. my whole family loves it even my 5 year old.
Thank you Amberlee! I really appreciate you taking the time to come back & comment!
I’m not a fan of cream cheese. Can it be left out?
Absolutely! If you like sour cream, you can stir in a bit of that but it’s not necessary 🙂
I am making this tonight. My husband just had brain surgery & I like how it saves a lot of time using the diced potatoes . The temperature here was the highest at midnight so it will taste really good on this chilly night.