Creamy Crockpot potato soup recipe with frozen hashbrowns is a cheap dinner with tons of flavor. You can add or top with bacon and cheese for a killer meal.
Crockpot Potato Soup is easy to make using a bag of frozen hashbrowns. The ideal comfort food that the entire family will devour. It only takes 10 minutes to prep and is deliciously cheesy. Using frozen potatoes saves you loads of time to create this easy Crockpot recipe. (affiliate links present)
Crockpot Frozen Hash Brown Soup Recipe
Having a good-quality easy loaded potato soup recipe is a must. On those cold nights when you want something extra warm and comforting, loaded potato soup is here to the rescue.
You don’t always have time, or want to, peel and finely dice taters though right?? Well on those nights just grab a bag of frozen hashbrowns and give this a whirl.
The best part is that your slow cooker does ALL the work for you. All you have to do is throw it all in in the morning hours, stir and enjoy when you’re home. Since you are not having to prep the potatoes yourself and just dump it out of the bag it saves a ton of time.
To make it even more fun you could load a few bowls filled with toppings and wrap them in plastic wrap to use later. Cheese, green onions, bacon bits, sour cream, the list goes on and on for this one. Yes, you can use fresh but when you’re overwhelmed like I am from time to time (ok always), I like “cheater meals”. 😉 This easy Crockpot soup hits the spot for us all.
It doesn’t matter if you are just learning to cook or are an old pro; you will love how minimal effort is needed to make it creamy. I’m not saying I am lazy, but I love a good recipe that I don’t have to spend all day in the kitchen cooking. 🙂
Ingredients
- Bag of frozen hash brown potatoes, do not defrost!
- Can of cream of chicken soup or homemade cream of mushroom soup works too
- Chicken broth, stock or beef broth works as an alternative
- Cheddar cheese – shredded is our choice + additional 1/2 cup to top bowls when done
- Heavy cream will make a creamy potato dish, dairy free alternative is okay too
- Bacon bits or leftover ham is optional but a killer add in (or croutons on top)
I don’t feel like you need much salt and pepper in this but add some at the end if you want. Whenever I’m cooking I use light seasonings when I’m cooking and amp it up at the end.
Directions
Time needed: 6 hours
Crockpot Potato Soup with Frozen Hashbrowns
- Add ingredients
Pour bag of frozen hash brown shredded potatoes into the pot with broth and can of condensed soup. Stir in diced ham or bits of cooked bacon, stir.
- Cook
Cover and cook on low most of the day (recommended), or on cook on high for half the time but it works better low and slow for sure. Stirring occasionally is suggested. Near the end you will stir in heavy cream and cheese to make creamy and thicken. (do not add before or it may curdle)
- Serve
Stir and top with more cheese and bacon, a dollop of sour cream (or cream cheese softened), small bits of chives or green onions. It will taste like a baked potato in a bowl this way.
How can I add flavor to potato soup?
You can also add in some extra ingredients to get even more flavor beyond bacon and ham like; chopped up broccoli florets for vegetables, frozen corn kernels cook to tender when you stir in the heavy cream in the last hour when cheese is melted.
Can you use raw potatoes instead?
For this recipe, you will need a bag of frozen hashbrowns, and they will cook up beautifully. If you want to swap for regular potatoes, that is more than acceptable too. Chop them up, so they are small bite-sized pieces, and they will also cook well too.
How do I thicken up my potato soup?
Overall the soup is a great consistency and texture, but if you prefer it thicker, you can use cornstarch to thicken by mixing 2 -3 tablespoons of it to the heavy cream and stirring it well. Then slowly pour it into the soup about 30 minutes before serving. This will make it thicker.
If you are out of cornstarch, you could also use flour. Add in ¼ cup of flour to the heavy cream and stir it very well. Make sure it doesn’t have any lumps, then pour it into the crock pot 30 minutes before serving.
Air fryer rolls, crusty bread, or breadsticks are also pretty tasty options. Any kind of meat like chicken, steak, or fish will go with it as well.
Naturally, salads go with almost anything. I like to stick with a basic garden salad, but you could go with something bigger and fancier if you’d rather.
Crockpot Potato Soup with Frozen Hashbrowns Recipe
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker
Ingredients
- 32 oz hashbrowns, frozen, bagged
- 1 can cream of chicken soup, 10.5 oz, or cream of mushroom
- 32 oz chicken broth, more or less depending on how thick you want it
- 6-8 slices bacon, precooked and crumbled, or use diced leftover ham
- 2 c cheese, cheddar, shredded
- 1 c heavy cream
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Pour bag of frozen hashbrowns into slow cooker with cream of chicken soup and broth. Stir in cooked bacon bits and stir together.
- Close lid and cook for 5-6 hours on low (recommended), or 3-4 hours on high.
- Stir in heavy cream and shredded 1.5 c. of cheese 30 minutes before serving to thicken and warm. Serve topped with the remaining 1/2 c. of cheese (or more), dollop of sour cream, bacon and/or chives.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
In the recipe card you can print it and keep handy for later. Of course we love “seeing you” too though so feel free to come back as often as you’d like, don’t go away friends. 😉 Other great recipes and cheap Crockpot meals you might like this one are below:
- Our slow cooker breakfast casserole using these same bagged potatoes.
- You can use these to make air fryer frozen hashbrowns with cheese on top.
- These Crockpot cheesy potatoes are another great brunch option.
I have seen a few people ask what happens if you had the cream with the other ingredients. I haven’t really seen a reply, is it still good to eat?
It may curdle so that is why it is said to add at the end so that doesn’t happen
I’ve always used diced ham instead of bacon in mine. Reduce salt in broth and omit added salt. Then add in some garlic powder. This is the first time of adding in heavy cream. I’ve noticed with shredded hashbrowns compared to southern style, the soup is thicker with shredded and soupier with diced.
Do you think 2 batches would fit in a large crockpot?
You’d have to have quite a large one but possibly?
@Kari, I made 2 batches and it was full but worked perfectly
This says 8 servings but what is the serving size? I need to figure out how much to make for a potluck.
says in recipe card nutrition the oz. that accounts for