Crock Pot Hashbrown Potato Soup
*This post may contain affiliate links. See our affiliate policy here.
Crock Pot Hashbrown Potato Soup is the perfect answer to busy nights! Just dump in frozen hashbrowns and simple ingredients, and let your crock pot do the work all day. Creamy, filling, and budget friendly, it’s the perfect meal for both kids and adults.
Table of Contents
Why We Love Crock Pot Hashbrown Potato Soup
- Dump And Go Style Recipe – I prefer not to have a ton of prep when I’m making a crock pot meal, and this soup wins in that department! Using frozen hashbrowns allows you to get the soup cooking fast, and you can deal with finishing the soup right before dinnertime.
- Family Favorite – Creamy potato soup is a big hit on the table, and one of my daughter’s favorite soups. Plus it’s great to stretch your budget.
- Budget Friendly Meal – This meal is hearty and filling while helping keep your grocery budget lower. Plus these ingredients last a longer time in the fridge, freezer and pantry, which gives you a little longer time to make this recipe before anything spoils. This can help you stretch your time in between grocery shops.
Ingredients For Crock Pot Hashbrown Potato Soup
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions below in the recipe card.
- frozen cubed hash browns
- chicken broth low sodium
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- salt
- pepper
- cream cheese softened
- cheddar cheese shredded, plus additional for optional garnish
- bacon optional garnish – crisp and chopped (for garnish)
- stalks green onion optional garnish- sliced
How To Make Crock Pot Hashbrown Potato Soup
- Spray the base of the crock pot with cooking oil spray.
- Pour frozen hash browns, chicken broth, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper into the slow cooker. Stir all the ingredients to combine.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Potatoes should be tender when pierced with a fork. Flip the slow cooker to warm, you can leave it hear until you are about ready for dinner for up to four hours and it will keep the soup at a safe temperature.
- Uncover the slow cooker. In a medium bowl, slice the cream cheese into small pieces. Stir the cream cheese until smooth. If the cream cheese is cold it will have lumps, you want the cream cheese to be room temperature when stirring. A fork can also help to break up larger pieces.
- Remove 1 cup of liquid from the crock pot. Add a little liquid at a time, about 2 tablespoons, to the cream cheese and stir with a whisk. If you add the warm liquid too fast it can cause the cream cheese to curdle, so just use a little at a time. See notes at the bottom of the recipe card for more details. Keep repeating adding a little of the warm cooking liquid at a time and stirring until smooth and blended.
- Place the shredded cheddar cheese into the crock pot and stir until melted. Add the smooth cream cheese mixture to the crock pot, stirring until well combined with the soup.
- Serve with optional shredded cheese, crisp bacon pieces and green onion garnish on top, and enjoy!
Variation Ideas
Swap the shredded cheese – I’ve used cheddar because we always have some in our fridge, but any mild semi-soft cheese with a more mild flavor can work alright if shredded. Try colby, pepper jack, provelone, muenster, gouda or havarti. I would skip cheese that’s really stretchy like monterary jack or mozzarella as they don’t tend to melt as easily into the soup.
Add protein – Ham, bacon, cooked sausage, cooked and diced steak, precooked chicken, you can add your favorite cooked protein to this soup. Raw chicken can also be added when you add the potatoes at the beginning, but you’ll need to remove it and dice or shred the chicken before adding the cream cheese to the soup.
Try different vegetables – Soup can be a great time to clean out the fridge! Add diced carrots, celery, corn (frozen, canned or fresh.) Frozen peas are another great option, I like to add them at the end so they keep their bright green color longer. You can also add handfuls of fresh spinach at the end, letting it wilt into the soup. Mushrooms seem like they would be delicious, but I’m not sure how well they would work. They may not hold their shape in the slow cooking process. Let me know if you try it!
What To Make With Cheesy Hashbrown Potato Soup?
This soup is hearty enough to be a meal on it’s own, but you can also pair it with some other great items.
Sandwiches are an easy pick as a side Try a classic grilled cheese, or another warm sandwich like a grilled ham and cheese or a turkey melt. You can also make a bunch of minis with these ham and cheese sliders or the chicken bacon ranch sliders.
Sloppy joes or sloppy joe sliders are also an amazing option with this soup. Pizza sliders or my easy pepperoni rolls are a kid friendly favorite.
Can You Freeze Leftovers of This Cheesy Potato Soup?
Unfortunaly, most cream and cheese soups do not freeze well. The dairy in soups like this tend to separate when frozen, which then can cause the dairy to split, curdle or just seem oily. The soup will have a texture that isn’t great if you try to freeze it with the cream cheese.
How Long Will Crock Pot Hashbrown Potato Soup Last?
Expect this soup will last about 4 days if stored in a covered airtight container in the refrigerator.
More Soup Recipes
Crock Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup
Crock Pot Chicken Gnocchi Soup (Olive Garden Copycat)
Bacon Cheeseburger Soup (Easy Crockpot Recipe!)
Creamy Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
Crock Pot Hashbrown Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 32 ounces frozen cubed hash browns
- 32 ounces Chicken Broth low sodium
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded, plus additional for optional garnish
- 4 sliced bacon optional garnish – crisp and chopped (for garnish)
- 2 stalked stalks green onion optional garnish- sliced
Instructions
- Spray the base of the crock pot with cooking oil spray.
- Pour frozen hash browns, chicken broth, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper into the slow cooker. Stir all the ingredients to combine.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Potatoes should be tender when pierced with a fork. Flip the slow cooker to warm, you can leave it hear until you are about ready for dinner for up to four hours and it will keep the soup at a safe temperature.
- Uncover the slow cooker. In a medium bowl, slice the cream cheese into small pieces. Stir the cream cheese until smooth. If the cream cheese is cold it will have lumps, so you want the cream cheese to be room temperature when stirring.
- Remove 1 cup of liquid from the crock pot. Add a little liquid at a time, about 2 tablespoons, to the cream cheese and stir with a whisk. If you add the warm liquid too fast it can cause the cream cheese to curdle, so just use a little at a time. See notes below for more details. Keep repeating adding a little of the warm cooking liquid at a time and stirring until smooth and blended.
- Place the shredded cheddar cheese into the crock pot and stir until melted. Add the smooth cream cheese mixture to the crock pot, stirring until well combined with the soup.
- Serve with optional shredded cheese, crisp bacon pieces and green onion garnish on top, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This?
I would love to see it! Share your thoughts with me in the comments below!
