Crockpot Potato Soup (Cheesy Delicious!)
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This cheesy crockpot potato soup recipe is delicious! Packed full of tender potatoes, ham and vegetables all mixed into a creamy base, the whole family loves this recipe. Make this cozy soup to warm you up on a cold night or rainy day.
Table of Contents
Why We Love Cheesy Crockpot Potato Soup
- Cozy Soup– This delicious soup is so cozy to come home to on a cold or rainy day.
- Creamy And Hearty For Dinner – Honestly I can’t get enough of the creamy, cheesy deliciousness. This slow cooker soup is a thicker soup that is hearty enough that it can be dinner. It’s the ultimate comfort food for lunch for the whole family too.
- Great For You Budget– Soup is always a great meal to throw together when you are counting your pennies, and the slowcooker makes it even easier doing all the work!
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions below in the recipe card.
Ingredients For Crockpot Potato Soup
- potatoes diced, I prefer yukon gold potatoes so they become creamy but still maintain their texture. Russet potatoes make a nice creamy soup that tends to be extra thick. Red potatoes are delicious too and hold their shape a little more in the soup.
- ham diced, can use ham steak or leftover ham
- carrots diced, can use full carrots or baby carrots
- corn I’ve used frozen corn, but canned corn that is drained and rinsed can also be used.
- onion – diced, can use white onion, yellow onion or sweet onion
- bacon diced, turkey bacon can also be used. The bacon gives a lot of extra flavor but it can be left out if you prefer.
- chicken broth
- salt
- pepper
- cheddar cheese shredded, I prefer a sharp cheddar cheese for a good flavor, but mild cheddar can also be used.
- milk – divided. Whole milk will give a creamier soup, or you can also substitute in half heavy cream and half milk for a creamier soup.
- cornstarch
Optional Topping Ideas
These are some of my favorite toppings!
- Extra Bacon- Diced and crisped up in a pan first is best
- Parsley
- Green onions
- Extra shredded cheese
- Sour cream
- Crackers
How To Make Crockpot Potato Soup
- Dice the potatoes, ham and carrots into half inch, bite-sized pieces. Dice the raw bacon and set it to the side.
- To the crockpot add the ham, carrots, corn, onion, potatoes, bacon, chicken broth, salt and pepper.
- Cover the crock pot. Cook everything on low 5-6 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Check if it is ready by piercing a potato with a fork to see if they are tender.
- If you prefer a smoother soup, you can also use a potato masher or an immersion blender to quickly mash or blend the potatoes before moving to the next step.
- In a small bowl combine cornstarch with ¼ cup of milk. Mix well until the cornstarch is dissolved into a slurry mixture. Add the cornstarch slurry mixture to the Crockpot and mix well.
- Add 1 1/4 cup of milk to the crock pot and stir.
- Add the shredded cheddar cheese a little at a time. Mixing well each time you add the cheese.
- Cover the crockpot again. Cook the soup on high for an additional 30 minutes to allow the soup to thicken.
- Add parsley and extra bacon for garnish if desired. Enjoy!
Variations And FAQ
Swap The Corn– Our family really loves corn in potato soup, but if you prefer you can swap the corn out. You can actually add up to two cups more potatoes in the beginning of the recipe if you leave the corn out, or add in other vegetables such as celery or carrots.
Add Green Peas– Adding peas gives a pop of color and flavor to this soup. When adding peas, I usually add about a cup of frozen peas right before serving. Sometimes I also add them to each person’s bowl, and it can help to cool off the soup a little bit right before we eat.
Swap Shredded Hash Browns– Sometimes when I am short on time I’ll swap shredded hashbrowns, cup for cup from frozen in this recipe. While the soup doesn’t feel as rustic with chunks of potatoes instead of shredded, it does taste delicious! When I’m short on time before running out the door it can save me time slicing potatoes!
Shredded potatoes do tend to cook a little faster than chunks of potatoes. I’ve usually run this swap on low in my slow cooker.
What To Serve With Potato Soup
This potato soup can be a meal all on it’s own! If you are looking for a good option to serve together, try some of these ideas.
Sandwich – Turkey, ham, chicken and roast beef all are delicious with this soup, we love making up a batch of sliders. Try easy pizza sliders too!
Green Salad– This soup is on the heavier side, so a simple green salad can help to balance your meal.
Rolls – Rolls or some kind of chewy bread is perfect for dipping in this creamy soup. Try the cheddar bacon bread, the homemade garlic knots, or the cheesy pull apart garlic bread.
What Size Slowcooker Should I use?
This slow cooker potato soup recipe works best in a five or six quart crockpot.
How To Store Potato Soup
Store this hearty soup in an airtight container for three to four days. This soup does thicken with time. If the soup is too thick the next day, add a little water when reheating to thin it out.
Can I Freeze This Cheesy Potato Soup?
Sadly this cheesy soup does not freeze well, I really don’t recommend freezing it. The dairy in this soup will separate or become grainy when you reheat the soup after freezing.
More Soup Recipes You’ll Love
Slow Cooker Chicken Tortellini Soup
Creamy Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
Super Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
Crock Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup
Crockpot Potato Soup (Cheesy!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups potatoes diced
- 1 1/2 cups ham diced
- 1 cup carrots diced
- 2 cups corn frozen
- ½ medium onion diced
- 6 strips bacon diced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 1/2 cups milk divided
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Optional Garnish
- extra crispy bacon
- cheese
- parsley
Instructions
- Dice the potatoes, ham and carrots into half inch, bite-sized pieces. Dice the raw bacon and set it to the side.
- To the crockpot add the ham, carrots, corn, onion potatoes, bacon, chicken broth, salt and pepper.
- Cover the Crockpot. Cook everything on low 5-6 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Check if it is ready by piercing a potato with a fork to see if they are tender.
- In a small bowl combine cornstarch with ¼ cup of milk. Mix well until the cornstarch is dissolved into a slurry mixture.
- Add the cornstarch slurry mixture to the Crockpot and mix well. Add 1 1/4 cup of milk to the Crockpot and stir. Add the shredded cheddar cheese a little at a time, mixing well in between.
- Cover Crockpot again. Cook the soup on high for an additional 30 minutes.
- Add parsley and extra bacon for garnish if desired. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This?
I would love to see it! Share your thoughts with me in the comments below!
love this soup
I had leftover bbq chicken thighs and used that instead of ham (my daughter also doesn’t eat ham). Sooooo good!
Love this
My soup is super thick. Can I thin it out?
Yes, you can thin it out with broth, milk or water.
This was so easy and delicious!!! Even my kids liked it! One of them said it was now his favorite soup! I did leave the corn out though, just a personal preference. Thank you for this recipe!!
You’re very welcome Chrissy, so glad your whole family loved this soup!
Love this type soup quick simple and delicoous.I could eat a lot.My son loves it.
What about when to put the onions in? And I added just a bit more brooth u think it will be okay?
I’m not sure how I missed the onions Laura (and how nobody said anything up until now, thanks!) You can put the onions in at the same time as the corn, potatoes and the bulk of the ingredients for this soup. I went ahead and adjusted the text on the recipe. Yes this recipe is flexible, you can add a little more broth but you may want to wait and add it at the end of cooking so you get your desired liquid ratio right. In a giant crockpot full of hot soup, a little more liquid added will still be hot, or you can cover it for a few more minutes. Hope that helps!
Great soup! Thank you!
So glad you loved the soup Terri! -Kristy
On the milk for the x2 and x1 recipe they both say 1/4 for the slurry and 1 1/4 for the rest of the milk bit one is using 2 cups and the other is using 3 cups a little confused on this?
Hi Nikki,
Unfortunately, the instructions don’t change when you use the 1x versus 2x option. That option only helps you to double or triple the ingredients. It’s a neat feature of my recipe card, but I currently can’t make the recipe card double the amounts in the written instructions. (Though I can suggest it to the tech developer as feedback!)
If you are doubling everything and it is getting tricky, it might be helpful to hit the print recipe button. Then you can print the recipe out to write notes on it to make it a little easier to double everything before you have your hands full of ingredients.
Hope that helps,
-Kristy
How would this convert to cooking in a pressure cooker time wise?
Hi Teri- I have not made this recipe in my pressure cooker, so these instructions are estimates based on other soups I have made. I’d cook the potato and meat mixture (without the cheese and dairy) for 10-12 minutes on high or until the potatoes are fork-tender. Then switch to the saute mode, add the dairy components and cook until all the cheese has mixed into the soup and the soup has thickened, likely 10-15 minutes but it may take a little longer depending on your machine. You could also use your instant pot as a slow cooker and follow the directions as is. Hope that helps! -Kristy
What can swap the ham with
Martha- You could double the bacon instead, or add cooked Italian sausage. -Kristy
Bologna bought in a chunk and cut up or hot dog coins or the ever popular Spam…lol….I am not a fan of spam but my husband LOVES IT!
Can I add better than bullion to 2 cups of water for my stock? And I don’t have frozen corn just canned? Should I add that at the end? One more thing.. could I boil the carrots then cut them in bit size pieces then add to crockpot at end with the corn?
Hi Dana,
Happy to help. Yes, you can substitute better than bullion to 2 cups of water for the stock, you can do that swap for any recipe that asks for broth.
You can use canned corn, but I recommend draining it and rinsing it well, as most canned corn will be packed with salt in the can and frozen corn is not packed with salt.
You can add both the carrots and the corn at the same time as the other vegetables so they will be tender when it’s time to eat. I have edited the recipe to make it more clear as to when to add the corn.
Soup is pretty forgiving overall, and I’m sure it will be delicious! Let me know how it goes! -Kristy
Could I replace the chicken broth with homemade ham bone broth?
Hi Jackie, Sure you should be able to switch chicken broth with homemade ham bone broth without a problem. If the soup is too thick because your bone broth is on the thicker side, you may need to add a little more water to the soup but that would be the only change. Hope it’s delicious! -Kristy