Road closures, 70+ mph winds, snow drifts taller than a car, and blizzards.
That’s how we do spring in Wyoming.
Yes, while the rest of the country enjoys their tulips and plants first seeds in the garden, we Wyomingites celebrate the increasing daylight hours with snow shovels in hand.
Lest you think I’m complaining, I’m not. As I’ve said before, I love living in a place with seasons (although sometimes I do get a wee bit jealous of my Arizona and Texas friends with their year-round gardens…) and I secretly enjoy the days where the snow forces us to slow down.
Plus it gives me more chances to make soup. Whether it be my favorite French onion, rustic potato and sausage, slow-cooked cheeseburger soup, or Prairie Girl’s oft-requested Creamy Tomato Garlic, nothing is better than coming in from doing chores in the freezing barn to be greeted by a hot bowl of homemade soup.
This loaded Baked Potato Soup recipe is a tried-and-true favorite around our homestead. Potatoes are one of my favorite comfort foods, especially when said-potatoes are extra cheesy and bacony (bacon-ish?) to boot.
Throw it in the slow cooker around lunchtime, and it’ll be ready for you to enjoy as a from-scratch, comforting supper (especially if you combine it with my homemade French Bread…)
Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup Recipe
- 1 pound bacon, chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 4 cups chicken broth (make your own chicken broth)
- 6-8 potatoes, peeled and cubed (I usually use russets, but have also used red potatoes or Yukon Golds and they are equally delicious)
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon sea salt (I use Redmond Salt)
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream (make your own sour cream)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Chives or green onions (for garnish, optional)
Instructions:
In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crispy, then remove it from the pan and set aside.
Cook the onion in the bacon fat until soft. Add the garlic and thyme, and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes.
Add the flour, stir and brown for several minutes, then add in 2 cups broth and gently stir until thickened.
Add this thickened gravy mixture to the slow cooker, along with the potatoes, salt & pepper, and rest of the broth.
Cook 5-6 hours on low, or until the potatoes are soft.
20 minutes before serving, add 1.5 cups cheese, the sour cream, and the heavy cream to the slow cooker. Using a potato masher or immersion blender, mash the potato chunks to make a smoother consistency. (I still like to leave some chunks in there, though)
Taste and add more salt & pepper if necessary.
Heat through, then serve. Top with bacon bits, the remaining cheese, and chives/green onions, if desired.
Baked Potato Soup Notes:
- This recipe can easily be doubled.
- I have not experimented with making this gluten-free, sorry.
- If you don’t have chicken broth, you can substitute beef broth or even pork broth instead
- Last time I made this, I used red potatoes and didn’t peel them. I just mashed up the peels with the softened potatoes, and it still turned out great. I wouldn’t recommend doing this with russets, however, as they have tougher peels. Just peel those babies.
- In the past, I’ve substituted extra sour cream if I was out of heavy cream, or even milk will work in a pinch.
Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Total Time: 6 hours
- Category: Main Dish- Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon, chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 6–8 potatoes, peeled and cubed (I usually use russets, but have also used red potatoes or Yukon Golds and they are equally delicious)
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon sea salt (I use Redmond Salt)
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Chives or green onions (for garnish, optional)
Instructions
- In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crispy, then remove it from the pan and set aside.
- Cook the onion in the bacon fat until soft. Add the garlic and thyme, and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes.
- Add the flour, stir and brown for several minutes, then add in 2 cups broth and gently stir until thickened.
- Add this thickened gravy mixture to the slow cooker, along with the potatoes and rest of the broth.
- Cook 5-6 hours on low, or until the potatoes are soft.
- minutes before serving, add 1.5 cups cheese, the sour cream, and the heavy cream to the slow cooker. Using a potato masher or immersion blender, mash the potato chunks to make a smoother consistency. (I still like to leave some chunks in there, though)
- Heat through, then serve. Top with bacon bits, the remaining cheese, and chives, if desired.
So, sounds like you are sending some snow our way. Today was 70 degrees, by Sunday it will be 33 degrees and by Monday they are predicting snow! Guess I’ll be making some soup this weekend. This recipes looks like it will fit the bill. Thanks!
Can the potato soup be frozen…for a few days? And can other soups be frozen?
Yes! This soup (and most soups in general) freeze wonderfully!
Can this recipe me cooked in a Dutch Oven instead of a crock pot?
For sure! Just adjust the cooking time accordingly.
Hi Jill!
Thank you for your Toolbox in my inbox this morning. This recipe is in my crockpot and perfect for this dreary IL weather. Thank you so much for offering it and the ability to print the recipe too! Can’t wait for dinner tonight!! God bless 🙂
You are very welcome Rosemary! Hope you loved it!
Poor Poor you! It is snowing today in Kentucky and I am about to die…. I can’t imagine spring snow being “normal.”
You are wonderful at keeping your chin up and dealing with the white stuff.
I have a recipe for potato and bacon soup that I really like, but I never thought to try it in the slow cooker. That is brilliant. I’m also excited to see your recipe for French bread .I’ve always wanted to try to make that myself. I’ve made regular bread, homemade rolls, and pizza dough, but I’ve never tried to do French bread. Love your site!
Oh, you’re gonna love the French bread!
Hi, I just found your website and it didn’t take long to intuit that you must be a fellow Wyoming woman: 6,000 ft., howling wind and snow in the Spring, chicken coop, etc. I think I’ll be checking in regularly, and for starters will try the baked potato soup (sounds luscious). Thanks!
Heck yes– WY all the way! 🙂 Hope to see you around the blog again soon.
This winter looks dry and cold or at best up and down in eastern plains Colorado but we’re up for good recipes and helpful advice anytime . Thanks Jill
BRRR! Jack Frost visited Denver today. I’m prepping this soup for lunch RIGHT NOW! Thank you 🙂
Stay warm!
Hi Jill;
Do you use your InstaPot for this?
I’ve made a version of it in the IP, yes!
Jill, The baked potato soup recipe is really good. I have made it several times now and I throw in some extra veges for an additional nutritional boost. My son loves it. Thank you!
So glad you like it Christine!
Hi! I grew up on a farm, but other than 1 week taking the place of the hired man and doing what he normally did (he was on vacation), like milking and feeding the cows and calves and mucking the stalls, some haying, I do not know much about farm work. In fact, I thought for the longest time there was only one kind of cows: Holsteins, because that’s what we had and everyone around me. As I write this, I’m wondering why I only worked one week, but now I realize it’s because we always had enough hired help except that one time. So, anyway, I want you to know I appreciate your blog and what I learn.
I am not a real celiac, just gluten sensitive, so someone can disagree with me, but the only way I would make this gluten free is to change the flour to cornstarch or use a gluten free flour and make sure the broth you use specifies “gluten free” on the label.
I enjoy your blog. Thank you!
Thanks for being a reader Jeanette!
Hi Jill! I just wanted to take the time to thank you…I attempted this recipe a couple of weeks ago, knowing that three of the six children currently in my home would balk and blah and ick and yuck. Hold it in their mouths for an extended period of time. Spit it on the floor. These three were raised very differently in their young lives than my biological three and their food preferences are extremely limited (though I’m such a meanie I make them eat what I know they should). But amazingly, miraculously, they LOVED this! Every single person at the table! One child, in particular, will sometimes spend a long hour or two at the table trying to finish a meal. But there were NO problems this night. It went right down into every tummy. Win for dinner that night! It was a rare occurrence. I wanted to make sure to reach out and let you know that it may seem a small thing, a pot of soup, but to our family at this time and to little ones whose early years have been shaky and insecure, a pleasant pot of soup around a table full of family who is trying hard to love them, becomes a big thing. That little unfamiliar pot of soup becomes something safe, in an early world that told them nothing was safe. It’s funny the things God uses…but He certainly does. Thank you, Jill.
Yay! This makes me so happy– I am thrilled it was a hit at your house! xoxo
We were driving from Utah to Denver through Wyoming one day after the storm and saw the aftermath. The winds were calm again and the ground was white. As we got closer to Cheyenne we thought of you and knew your homestead had been effected. Thank you for the Potato soup recipe. That is one of our favorite soups and we are always searching out new recipes.
I use unpeeled Russets in soups all the time. I love potato peels… hubby too. The trick is to cut the potatoes into 3/16″ thick slices… just a little smaller than 1/4″ thick. I cut them into triangular slices, because then I only quarter the potato. Works great. They also cook faster that way. 🙂 I’m all for faster foods.
Good morning Jill! Shannon up here in Cody. Just thought I’d drop you a quick note cuz I need someone to commiserate with. Darla, my Jersey is now due and overdue for calving. The middle of the night checkups are not so much fun….the dogs don’t even want to go out with me anymore. Hubby missed his 1:30 am turn. We are exhausted! Making too big of a deal? Absolutely! It is a big deal when a new little one is added to the farm. Goats are due to kid mid June. Just in time to get the pigs to market and free up a pen. Homesteading is the bomb! Love your blog!
Potatoes, cheese, and bacon some of my favorite things! This soup sounds so rich and hearty. True comfort food.
Hello Jill,
Thank you so much for sharing your slow cooker baked potatoe soup and your tomato garlic soup. I have four children and three of them have special needs which can mean eating certain foods and textures can be difficult but all four kids love both these soups and are asking me to make them again and again so thank you they will be come a regular part of out tea time meals
Kelly
Approximately how many servings does this make?
This is very similar to the soup I make however I bake my potatoes first (scrub, halve them, slice the middle almost to the skin, put a dab of butter and sliced onions on one half then put the potato back together, wrap in aluminum foil and bake for about 1-1 1/2 hours. Let cool then make the soup. Baking the potatoes the day before is fine and store them in the refrigerator overnight. I find it gives the soup an extra depth of flavour.
I have used instant mashed potato flakes to thicken potato soup due to gluten sensitivity. Works great. Excited to try your recipe. Have loved all your recipes.