How to Make Loaded Baked Potato Soup in a Slow Cooker
I love my slow cooker and one of my favorite things to make in it is some type of soup or chili. This is especially true when the weather starts getting cooler here in Wisconsin. This recipe makes probably the best potato soup I have ever made and it is really easy in the slow cooker. The slow cooker is also great because even if it is warm outside or you live somewhere that it does not get cool, it won't heat up your kitchen. This batch of soup was made even better by the fact that we grew the potatoes in our garden. My husband and son harvested a bunch of potatoes the other day and I knew I had to make potato soup out of them.
My son got in on the soup action by washing the potatoes for me, then he helped shred the cheese. My daughter got to shred some cheese, too, so she was very happy. I think the kids really enjoy eating meals that they help create. At least it makes them more willing to try the food, even if they don't end up liking it. It is always fun when I can get the kids involved in the cooking process without too much mess. The soup turned out absolutely fantastic and we had so much leftover that some went into the freezer for a later date. I did use the largest slow cooker that I have because we used so many potatoes. We had bacon, sour cream and green onions for garnish and served it with crusty bread. I hope you enjoy the soup as much as we did!
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon, cooked and diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 10 large russet potatoes, shredded or cubed
- 4 cups chicken broth, 2 14 oz cans
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 cups milk
- 12 oz shredded cheddar, medium or sharp
- 8 oz sour cream
- 1 Tbsp red pepper, crushed
- 1 tsp black pepper, preferably, freshly ground
- 1 Tbsp sea salt, freshly ground
- 3 Tbsp green onion, for garnish
- Peel 10 large potatoes and cube or shred them. I shredded most of mine and then cubed some for more texture.
- Dice an onion and place that in the slow cooker.
- Pour the two cans of chicken broth/stock into the slow cooker and add the potatoes. Turn slow cooker onto high for about 20-30 minutes.
- On a baking sheet, lay out your pound of bacon. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 400°. Drain on paper towels and then chop into bits of bacon. Add this to the slow cooker. Save a little bacon for garnish.
- In a saucepan, on low heat, make a rue with the butter, flour and milk. Dissolve the flour into the butter first and slowly add the milk to make a thick gravy. Add this to the slow cooker and stir well.
- After the slow cooker has gone about 30 minutes on high, turn it down to low. Let it cook on low for about an hour and a half.
- Shred your cheddar cheese and add to the slow cooker after it has been cooking for about two hours. Add the pepper and salt. Let it cook another half hour to an hour.
- The sour cream should be added to the slow cooker for the last 15 minutes of cooking time. We also had some sour cream for garnish.
- Chop the green onions and serve as a garnish. I would recommend serving this soup with some hearty bread on the side. It makes for a very filling meal and is great as leftovers. Enjoy!
