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Crockpot Potato Soup
This decadent, comforting crockpot potato soup with cheddar and bacon makes your home smell amazing. Serve with a warm loaf of bakery bread for a cozy fall or winter dinner!
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound bacon, diced
- 1 medium onion, diced (1 1/2 cups)
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced celery
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups (1/2-inch) diced Yukon gold potatoes (about 1 1/2-2 pounds; no need to peel)
- 2 cups chicken stock (or broth)
- 2 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (it’s best if you grate your own cheese)
- Chopped green onions or chives, for serving
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Instructions
Make It Now:
- Place bacon in a large skillet, then turn on medium-high heat. Fry the diced bacon until crisp. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving 1-2 tablespoons of bacon grease in the pan. Set aside in the refrigerator.
- Saute the onions, celery, and carrots in the bacon grease until tender, about 5 minutes. Lightly season the vegetables with salt and pepper while they cook. Add garlic and cook for about 30-60 seconds more, making sure it doesn’t burn. (Freezing instructions begin here.)
- Place cooked veggies in a 6 quart slow cooker and add the potatoes, broth, thyme sprigs, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on LOW for about 8 hours, until potatoes are very tender.
- Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. If you want, use a potato masher to lightly mash until it is your preferred texture (I’d go easy on this). Doing this will help the soup thicken up. It will also thicken as it sits and cools off.
- Stir in the half and half. Then, stir in the sour cream. Lastly, stir in the cheese a little at a time until it’s melted and well combined. Taste and add more salt and pepper, to your preference. The soup will thicken as it sits and cools slightly.
- Serve bowls of soup with the cooked, crumbled bacon and green onions or chives on top.
Freeze for Later:
Method 1 (Uncooked): Place cooked bacon in a quart-sized freezer bag and seal. Place cooked and cooled veggies, broth, thyme, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and potatoes in a gallon-sized freezer bag or container. Seal and freeze. (Note: Make sure the potatoes are completely submerged in the liquid to avoid browning.) Package up the cheese in a quart-sized freezer bag and freeze along with the soup. Do not freeze the half and half, as you will add this as a fresh ingredients at the end.
Method 2 (Fully Cooked): Fully cook the soup through step 6 and let it cool. Place the soup in 1 or 2 gallon-sized freezer bags or containers and seal. Place cooked bacon in a quart-sized freezer bag and seal. Freeze together as a kit.
Prepare From Frozen:
Method 1 (Uncooked): (Note: You will need sour cream, half and half, and green onions to make this recipe.) Thaw. Follow instructions beginning with Step 3.
Method 2 (Fully Cooked): (Note: You will need the sliced green onions on hand.) Thaw using one of these safe methods. Warm over low heat in the slow cooker or on the stove top, stirring occasionally, until warmed through. Follow step 7 for serving.
Notes/Tips
- How to Make on Stovetop: Use a stock pot in Steps 1 and 2. Place the ingredients from Step 3 into the pot (use an additional 1 cup broth) and simmer, partially covered, for about 20 minutes, until veggies are very tender. Follow Steps 5-7.
- This soup will thicken as it sits and cools off. You can also thicken it a little more by using a potato masher to smash the potatoes.
- I tested stirring the cooked bacon into the soup as it cooks, but I didn’t like the texture in the end. It was chewy and had a weird mouth feel to me. So I prefer just sprinkling it on top at the end.
- If you use russet potatoes instead of Yukon golds, be sure to peel them first.
- Dairy-Free Substitutes: Here’s my best guess as to how to make this DF. Stir together 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 1/2 cup plain almond milk in place of half and half. Replace the sour cream with Kitehill Dairy-Free Cream Cheese (the plain or chive flavors would work well). Omit the shredded cheddar cheese (I don’t like the dairy-free cheese personally). If you try this, please comment and let me know how it worked!
- Try our fast and easy Instant Pot Potato Soup for a faster version. Add in bacon, if you’d like.
- While you’re going to the work, I highly suggest doubling this soup. Leftovers are great for days or it works to freeze for later.
