Crockpot Crack Potato Soup is creamy, cheesy, and incredibly easy to make using frozen hash browns. Just toss everything into the slow cooker for the ultimate comfort food that’s family-friendly, budget-friendly, and perfect for busy weeknights.
This Crack Potato Soup is a perfect example of an affordable, family-tested meal that works for real life — simple ingredients, easy steps, and great flavor.
This Crack Potato soup is similar to our Crockpot Potato Soup Recipe but with the bold flavors of our popular Slow Cooker Crack Chicken and Cheesy Potato Casserole – loaded with bacon, ranch, and plenty of cheese.
Every bite is rich and creamy, and it delivers far more flavor than you’d expect from a simple potato soup. It’s the perfect cozy meal for cold days, served hot in your favorite bowl. If you love easy crockpot recipes, this is one to start with. For even more inspiration, check out our 12 Fall Crockpot Soups to Keep You Cozy.
Ingredients
Most of these ingredients are pantry staples or freezer favorites, making this an affordable soup that feeds a crowd without extra grocery trips.
- Frozen Hash Browns – We used shredded hash browns
- Cream of Chicken Soup – We like using Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup
- Black Pepper – Add salt and pepper to taste
- Ranch Dressing Mix – See Ranch Dressing Mix Recipe
- Chicken Broth – See Chicken broth substitutes
- Cooked Bacon Slices – Chopped into small pieces
- Cream Cheese – Diced to small pieces
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese – I like to use sharp cheddar cheese.
Scroll to the recipe card for the full recipe details.
How to Make Crock Pot Crack Potato Soup
Step 1 – Place the hash browns in the slow cooker. Combine hash browns, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, ranch dressing mix and bacon in the crock pot.
Step 2 – Then cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 3–4 hours.
Step 3 – About an hour before serving, add the shredded cheese and the cream cheese. Put the crock pot lid on and let all of the cheese melt.
Step 4 – Then stir well so that the cheese is well combined. You are going to love the chicken broth, cheddar, bacon, ranch, and cream cheese flavors in this soup recipe.
Crock Pot Crack Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 30 oz frozen hashbrowns shredded
- 1 can cream of chicken soup (10.5 ounces)
- ½ teaspoon back pepper
- 1 package ranch seasoning mix
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 12 bacon slices cooked and chopped
- 8 oz cream cheese diced
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
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Instructions
- In a 6 quart slow cooker, add hashbrowns, cream of chicken soup, ranch mix, broth, and 8 sliced of chopped bacon.
- Cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
- One hour before serving, stir in 1 cup cheddar cheese and the cream cheese.
- Cover and allow the cheeses to melt.
- Stir thoroughly to incorporate the cheese.
- Serve with the remaining cheddar cheese and the chopped bacon.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Add Chicken – Place 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts at the bottom of the crock pot before you place the hash browns. Shred the chicken before serving. The hash browns chicken together is delicious in this soup.
- Add Ham – We love adding diced ham to the soup. Add it in the very beginning.
- Hand grate the cheese instead of buying pre-shredded. The cheese will melt smoother. Pre shredded cheese will make the soup stringy.
- Change up the Frozen Hash browns – shredded hash browns potatoes work great but you can also use diced frozen potatoes.
- Use Real Potatoes – If you want to use real potatoes, you can. Peel and diced about 3 lbs of real potatoes. You will want to then use a hand mixer right before serving to make sure your potatoes blend together for a creamy soup.
- Use a different cream soup – Cream of Chicken gives the soup a tasty and creamy base. Other types of cream soup would work in a pinch. I bet cream of celery would be good.
- Use Liners – Save time and use Crockpot liners. These make clean up even easier.
- Crock Pot Recommendation – I use this programmable crockpot when I’m going to be gone all day. It is great for busy weeks when the kids have a ton of activities.
Nutrition Facts
How to Thicken Crock Pot Potato Soup
If you find your potato soup too thin, you can easily thicken it. Turn your crock pot pot on high. Mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with ¼ cup of cold water. Whisk that together until combined.
Add this slurry to the soup, remove the lid, and allow it to thicken. Also see How to Thicken Potato Soup for more ideas.
Allow it to set for 15 minutes until it thickens. It could take up to 30 minutes. Before serving, stir to combine everything.
What to Serve with Potato Soup?
This potato soup is rich, hearty and can easily be served the way it is made. But we like to serve with additional topping for added flavor. These are some of our favorite.
- Extra Shredded cheese
- More Chopped bacon
- Green onions
- Sour Cream
- Saltine Crackers or Oyster Crackers
- See our 21 ideas on What to Serve with Potato Soup.
You may want to serve a Turkey Sandwich or a Bacon Sandwich with this slow cooker crack potato soup. The combination makes the ultimate comfort food.
Frequently Asked Questions
Refrigerate the leftover soup in an air tight container for up to 5 days. The soup will thicken as it sets so I recommend adding a little bit of broth when reheating to thin the soup back out.
Yes, you can freezer the leftovers of this soup. The cheese will separate some as it freeze but that is normal.
When reheating, stir thoroughly to combine the cheese back into the soup. See Can you Freeze potato soup for more freezer tips.
Yes, you can substitute peeled and diced fresh potatoes. Keep in mind they may take slightly longer to cook and won’t break down as evenly as frozen hash browns, which is why we prefer frozen for the creamiest texture.
More Potato Soup Recipes
We love hearing from you! If you make this Crockpot Crack Potato Soup, please leave a comment or star review and let us know how your family liked it — and don’t forget to share your favorite toppings.
Made this soup for dinner tonight, it was delicious! I did add half of a small diced onion, but everything else eas exactly to the recipe! My family loved it! Thank you so much!
I’m so happy it turned out great. Thank you for the kind words!
How would it work if I grate fresh potatoes? Will cooking time change? Thank you
Nancy – If you use fresh potatoes, I recommend using 3 medium shredded potatoes. Then when cooking in the crock pot use the lower end of the cooking times listed (4 hours on low or 3 hours on high) since the potatoes are not frozen they will cook quicker in the crock pot. I hope you try out the recipe and that you enjoy it!
Can you use the “shelf-steady” prepackaged cooked bacon for this – or must you cook raw bacon?
I have used cooked bacon before and it still tastes great!
The soup was great, however do NOT cook on low in the crockpot unless you have chopped the potatoes in incredibly (and I mean incredibly) small pieces. I cooked the diced potatoes on low for 7 hours and they were still crunchy. I had to turn the crock pot on high for another two hours for the potatoes to be somewhat less hard.
My family isn’t a fan of potato soup. I also have a very picky 5 year old grandson. I saw this recipe and thought I would give it a try. I followed the directions without changing anything, AND IT WAS A HIT!! My grandson even declared he loves potato soup!! Thanks for the recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Cristina – Thank you so much for the positive review!
Can you cook this on the stovetop? If so how would things differ? I’ve cooked it in the crockpot before and it was delicious. But just for an alternative way?
Yes, this recipe can be made on the stovetop. Add all the ingredients to a stock pot (except for the cheese), bring to a boil and simmer on low for 20-25 minutes until the hash browns are tender. Stir in the cheese and cook until melted. Watch it closely as you might need to add more broth since it will be hotter than in the crock pot.
This recipe was very good. My husband loved it. I served homemade garlic
Rolls with it. We ended up dipping the rolls in the soup. Delicious! I will make this soup again. Perfect for a cold evening.
The soup was very good. Only thing was the cream cheese didn’t melt completely. I had it at room temperature and cut in small pieces before putting in soup. Any suggestions??
Switch your crock pot to the high setting and cook for 15-20 minutes until the cream cheese is completely melted through.
The soup tasted delicious my only concern was the cream cheese didnt melt completely. Any suggestions?
Make sure you are shredded your cheese instead of buying premade shredded cheese. It will melt better that way.
It was pretty good and easy to make. It seemed a little salty. I don’t add any salt. I’m thinking it was the ranch packet. Maybe next time I will use half.
Thank you for commenting
Do you leave the potatoes frozen or thaw them before you put them in the crock pot?
I just throw them in frozen, but either way will work.
I can’t wait to try this; it looks delicious!!!
Could you substitute canned diced potatoes for hashbrowns? If so how would that affect cooking time?
I haven’t tried that, but I bet it would work. It wouldn’t take as long to cook.
Slow cooker crack potato soup is by far the best potato soup recipe on the planet. It’s our go to easy to make and tastier than conventional potato soup. It’s fall now so hahaha! Get er done!
Can you can this in a pressure canner????
I do not have much experience with canning. I’m sorry.
Can I substitute tater tots for the shredded hashbrowns? The grocery store was out.
I don’t think that tator tots would work in this recipe but you can use fresh diced potatoes instead.
Can i use something other than cream of chicken soup, want to do gluten free.
I haven’t tested it without the cream of chicken soup yet. However, we do have a gluten free cream of chicken soup that would work great in this recipe. You can find that recipe here. Also, so grocery stores have gluten free cream soups that would work in this recipe too.
I’m making this now but using a lb. Of Italian sausage instead of bacon. Added a 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.i can’t wait to eat it. Smells good.
Sounds delicious! I hope you enjoy it.
This may sound like a stupid question but do you cook the bacon before you put it in the crockpot?
Yes, I cooked the bacon before adding it.
Could I leave out the Ranch Seasoning mix with no issues?
Yes, you can leave it out but it will change the flavor of this soup.
Can’t wait to try! But I have a ton of potatoes I need to use up. Any idea how many russets I would need to shred and if it’s going to change the cook time since it won’t be frozen? Thank you!!
So easy and so yummmmmmy! My husband says it’s the best potato soup he’s ever had.
I just put all of the ingredients into my crockpot and it doesn’t look like there’s anywhere near enough liquid to make a soup. The hashbrowns aren’t even completely covered. Am I missing something in the directions???
No, you are not missing anything. The potatoes cook down into the soup and this is a thicker soup. You can always add more broth toward the end of the cooking time if needed as each crock pot cooks differently.
Made this with dehydrated shredded potatoes. Used two 4.2 oz boxes that I rehydrated before using. Turned out perfect and yummy!
Can this be made in less time in the Instant Pot?
Yes, you can cook this in an Instant Pot on high pressure for 5 minutes with a quick release.
Making this now…smells good..cant wait to taste it.
Making this..yum
I love this going to make for supper tomorrow.