This Crockpot Hashbrown Potato Soup is the ultimate comfort food—rich, creamy, and packed with flavor from crispy bacon, cheddar cheese, and tangy ranch seasoning.

Before You Start Cooking
- With minimal prep thanks to frozen diced potatoes, this easy slow cooker recipe is great for busy nights, cozy weekends, or serving a hungry crowd on game day!
- Condensed Soup: This recipe uses condensed Cream of Chicken Soup for convenience. You can use store-bought canned soup, but I highly recommend planning ahead and making my Homemade Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup for the best flavor. (Use the rest of the batch in other cozy recipes, like my Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole!)
- Prep Ahead Bacon: You’ll need a pound of crisp-cooked, crumbled bacon for the soup and garnish. I like to bake bacon for the easiest cleanup.
How to Make Crockpot Hashbrown Potato Soup
This potato soup couldn’t be easier to make! Simply combine the ingredients in a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker and let it cook in two stages—starting on LOW to soften the potatoes, then finishing on HIGH to make the soup creamy.
Step 1: Slow Cook the Soup
Add the following ingredients to your slow cooker insert, and stir to combine:
- Frozen Diced Hash Browns. Skip the peeling and dicing for this soup! Add your frozen potatoes straight from the bag to the crockpot—no thawing needed.
- Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup. Measure out 1-1/4 cups if making the homemade version I liked above, or one, 10.5-ounce can of store-bought soup. If you’re using canned, I recommend using reduced-sodium varieties to better control the saltiness of the soup.
- Chicken Broth or Stock. When I’m not using homemade, I like to buy a moderate-sodium stock for this soup, such as Kitchen Basics Original Chicken Stock or Kirkland Signature Organic Chicken Stock (both have 440 mg sodium per cup). Like the condensed soup, you can further control the saltiness by using a lower-sodium broth and seasoning the soup to taste.
- Bacon. Cook the bacon crisp and chop or crumble it into small pieces. You’ll add 3/4 cup of bacon pieces to the soup now and use the rest for garnishing the soup when you serve it.
- Ranch Seasoning. Use a 1-ounce packet of powdered ranch dressing mix or ranch dip mix, such as Hidden Valley Original Ranch. My family also likes the Simply Organic packets, which don’t contain artificial ingredients.
- Extra Seasonings: Onion powder, garlic powder, and freshly ground black pepper.
Once everything is mixed together, cover the slow cooker and cook the soup on LOW for 5 to 6 hours, until the potatoes are tender. (My 4-1/2 quart slow cooker, pictured, reliably takes 5 hours.)
Step 2: Finish the Soup on High
Once the potatoes are soft, uncover the slow cooker and stir in:
- Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese: For the creamiest texture, shred your own cheese from a block. Pre-shredded cheese usually contains starches to keep it from clumping in the bag, which can make the soup gritty.
- Cream Cheese: Use brick-style cream cheese, softened to room temperature, and cut into cubes for easy melting.
- Heavy Cream: Makes the soup extra rich and creamy.
Cover the slow cooker and turn the heat to HIGH. Let the soup cook for another 30–45 minutes, until the cream cheese and cheddar have completely melted.
If you notice small bits of cream cheese remaining at the end of the cooking time, use a whisk to help break them up and incorporate them.
Before You Serve
Adjust Thickness: The soup may seem thin initially, but it will thicken as it stands. Let it sit on the WARM setting for 10–15 minutes after cooking before checking the consistency. If you’d like it thicker, use a potato masher to gently mash some (not all) of the potatoes to create a creamier base.
Season to Taste: Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste before serving.
Variations
- Chicken Potato Soup: Add 2 cups of diced or shredded cooked chicken breast (such as from a rotisserie chicken, roasted chicken, or use my Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Breasts) when you add the cream cheese.
- Ham and Potato Soup: Substitute 2 cups of diced cooked ham for the bacon.
- Swap the Cheese: Try using other shredded melting cheeses in place of the cheddar, like Monterey Jack, Colby, or Gouda. Or, use a mix of your favorite cheeses.
Serving Tips
- Toppings: Serve your Crockpot Hashbrown Potato Soup topped with your favorite baked potato toppings. We like to sprinkle it with extra cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, thinly sliced scallions or snipped chives, and sometimes, a dollop of sour cream.
- Bread for Dunking: Serve the soup with warm, crusty bread, buttery garlic knots, or soft rolls, all perfect for dipping! For a fun twist, serve it in bread bowls—just slice off the tops of mini boules (such as sourdough), hollow them out, and ladle in the soup.
- Keep It Warm: Hosting a game day party or casual gathering? Keep the soup in the slow cooker on the WARM setting for up to 2 hours. It’ll stay perfectly hot and ready for guests to help themselves.
Storing and Reheating Your Potato Soup
- Storage: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
- Reheating: Warm the soup gently on the stove over medium-low heat until heated through. Avoid boiling it, which can cause the texture to become gritty.
- Adjust the Consistency: The soup will thicken as it chills. If it still seems too thick as you’re reheating it, simply stir in a splash of stock until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Freezing: This soup doesn’t freeze well. The creamy base can separate and turn grainy when thawed.
More Soup Recipes
- Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Split Pea Soup with Ham
- Creamy Turkey Wild Rice Soup
- Italian Wedding Soup
- Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- French Lentil Soup
- Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup
Crockpot Hashbrown Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 32 ounces frozen diced hashbrown potatoes
- 1-1/4 cups condensed cream of chicken soup (see note)
- 4 cups chicken broth or stock (see note)
- 1 ounce packet powdered ranch dressing mix (such as Hidden Valley Original or Simply Organic)
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
- 1 pound bacon , cooked crisp and crumbled or chopped into bits, quantity divided
- 8 ounces brick style cream cheese , softened to room temperature and cubed
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese , quantity divided (see note)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt to taste
- snipped chives or thinly-sliced scallions , for garnish
Instructions
- In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, mix together the frozen hash brown potatoes (no need to thaw), cream of chicken soup, chicken stock, ranch seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, and about 3/4 cup of the crumbled bacon.
- Cover the slow cooker and set it to LOW. Cook for 5–6 hours, or until the potatoes are tender.
- Stir in the cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, and heavy cream. Cover again, increase the heat to HIGH, and cook for an additional 30–45 minutes, until the cheeses are fully melted and the soup has thickened slightly. If small bits of cream cheese remain, whisk the soup to incorporate them into the base.
- For the best texture, turn the slow cooker to WARM and let the soup rest for 10–15 minutes. It will thicken as it stands. If you prefer your soup to be even thicker, use a potato masher to mash some of the potatoes, leaving some chunks intact for texture.
- Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the reserved crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar cheese, and snipped chives or sliced scallions. For an extra touch, add a small dollop of sour cream to each bowl, just like a loaded baked potato.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
About our recipes
Please note that our recipes have been developed using the US Customary measurement system and have not been tested for high altitude/elevation cooking and baking.