This crock pot loaded baked potato soup recipe is comfort food at its best with hunks of potatoes nestled in a thick soup base and covered up with my favorite toppings.
What We Love About This Recipe
Cozy weeknight meal after a long day of work
Easy crock pot recipe on a busy weekend while you shuffle the kids around to activities
Endless customizable toppings to make everyone in the house happy
Fast dinner prep time made even easier by cutting the potatoes the night before you start the crock pot
‘Tis the season for all the carby things! And boy, does this Crock Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup fit the bill for one of those easy dinners for busy weeknights!
One of my favorite foods of all time is a heavily loaded baked potato with lots of ground pepper sprinkled on top. In fact, in preparing for my first weekend home from college freshman year, my mom asked me what I was craving. It was steak and a baked potato.
Really, it’s the simple things in life, isn’t it?
Soup Season Recipe
So you can imagine how insanely happy this soup makes me as the weather starts changing from humid summer air to soup season (aka fall), with its foggy, cold mornings followed by clear and crisp days that seemed to go on forever.
I first made this soup many years ago on a weekend, which is not a day I usually pull out the crock pot because I lean towards more time consuming cozy weekend meals when I have the extra time.
But we had planned a pumpkin and mums expedition in the afternoon after Kyle finished up some of his side work (say hello to life of a contractor’s wife), and I knew I wouldn’t want to cook dinner when we returned home.
And I was right. Because as we crunched through the leaves in the front yard to oh so strategically place those pumpkins and mums on the front steps, all I could think about was wrapping myself in a blanket on the couch in front of the fire with a bowl of this soup in hand.
Gather Up Your Toppings for this Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Within a few minutes of heading inside, we dunked that ladle into the crock pot and pulled out this steaming baked potato soup.
And of course, we loaded it up with some freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon, sliced scallions, tangy sour cream, and a heavy crank of fresh ground pepper.
PRO TIP!
Other baked potato soup toppings you could use to switch up the flavors:
roasted broccoli and shredded gouda cheese // sliced jalapeños, cilantro, and sharp cheddar // caramelized onions, aged cheddar, and crumbled bacon // roasted tomatoes, fresh basil, and shredded mozzarella cheese
How to Make Loaded Baked Potato Soup
With barely 20 minutes of hands-on work, this soup couldn’t be any easier to make over and over and over again during the cold months of the year.
So right off the bat, this loaded baked potato soup is quick to prep. Here’s what you’ll do (be sure to scroll down to the recipe card below for the full list of Instructions!):
Cut up your veggies
Quickly cook up some chopped bacon in a hot skillet
Saute the onions, garlic, and thyme in the bacon drippings
Make a simple sauce with flour and chicken broth
Dump everything into the crock pot with more broth.
And then you’ll let the crock pot do its magic for 4 to 6 hours on low!
When the potatoes are tender, mash some of them up to thicken the soup
Serve up the soup with your favorite toppings.
Now, go forth and pull out your slow cooker as you prep your grocery list for this fantastic loaded baked potato soup recipe!
This crock pot loaded baked potato soup recipe is comfort food at its best with hunks of potatoes nestled in a thick soup base and all the best baked potato toppings on top.
Email me this recipe
Enter your email and we'll send it right to you, plus get new recipes from us regularly!
Recipe saved! Please check your email for your saved recipe.
Ingredients
UnitsScale
8ozbacon, chopped
1 medium onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp fresh or 3/4 tsp dried thyme, minced
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
4cupslow-sodium chicken stock or broth
3lbs (about 5 or 6 medium) russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
8ozsharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 cups), plus extra for serving
1/2cupheavy cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 scallions, sliced, for serving
Instructions
Add the bacon to a 12-inch skillet and cook over medium heat until crisp. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, cool, and refrigerate until serving time.
Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat and add the onions, garlic, thyme, and ½ teaspoon salt to the fat. Cook over medium heat until the onions have softened, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the chicken stock/broth, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
Transfer the contents of the pan to a 6-quart crock pot, then stir in the remaining stock/broth and potatoes. Cook on low for 4-6 hours, until the potatoes are fork-tender.
Spoon 2 cups of potatoes from the crock pot into a bowl and mash until smooth. Stir the cheese into the soup until melted then stir in the mashed potatoes and heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn the crock pot to high for 5 minutes to allow the soup to heat through. Serve the soup topped with extra cheese, crumbled bacon, and scallions (or anything else you love your baked potato topped with!).
Notes
To speed up your day-of prep time, you can dice the potatoes the night before you need them and keep them in bowl or pot of water (both should be covered) at room temperature. The water will prevent the potatoes from turning brown. Drain the potatoes well before adding them to the crock pot.
Agreed – I think I love the crock pot the most on the weekends when I really do need the time to get things done without having to worry about cooking dinner.
YES-I love potato soups and the fact that you make this in a slow cooker is all the better!
Agreed – I think I love the crock pot the most on the weekends when I really do need the time to get things done without having to worry about cooking dinner.
Love this recipe. Thanks Tara