Baked Potato Soup

Submitted by Battle in Seattle

"I got this from a Southern Living Crock-Pot cookbook. It's so creamy and delicious, just the way it ought to taste! It's a great meal for kids and husbands alike! (The cookbook used everything full fat and a 1/2 tsp. more salt; I've chosen to lighten it up a bit where I didn't see it would change the taste or texture.) Don't worry about overcooking it if you need to leave it longer than it says. I usually throw it together in the morning before work, leave the crockpot on high, and when I come home at 5pm to finish, it's still fine. You should regard the cooking time as minimum time needed."

 

• Ready In: 6hrs 21mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Yields: 12 cups
• Serves: 8-12

ingredients

• 6 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 3/4 lbs.)
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 42 ounces organic low sodium chicken broth (5 1/4 cups)
• 1 whole garlic clove, smashed with the back of your knife
• 1⁄4 cup butter
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1⁄4 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
• 1 cup fat-free half-and-half (can substitute whipping cream)
• 1 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese (4 oz.)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives (can substitute finely chopped scallions or green onions)
• 1 cup light sour cream (optional)
• 4 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
• additional shredded cheddar cheese

directions

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in a 5-quart slow-cooker.
2. Cover and cook on high for six hours, or low for 8-10 hours--or, cook until potato is tender.
3. Mash mixture until potatoes are coarsely chopped and soup is slightly thickened.
4. Stir in half-n-half, cheese, and chives.
5. In each individual bowl, top with a dallop of sour cream, if desired, and sprinkle with bacon and cheddar cheese before eating.

Reviews

[Messy44]

We really enjoyed this soup. I made it with very few changes, just left out the butter (cholesterol watchers) and salt (have a sodium-free kid). Par-boiled the potatoes and onions and threw them in the crock pot with everything up to the pepper. Whend they were tender, I whipped it a bit with my immersion blender, then added the rest and stirred it in. Very comforting on a cold night in the north. Will make again! Thanks.

 

[sarikat]

This is fabulous. I love how easy it is to prepare. I think a lot of the richness of taste comes from using the chicken broth. I went with full-fat half-and-half and added 10 slices of bacon (we love bacon!). I also dumped the bacon and sour cream right into the soup rather than serving separately. This was perfect for a chilly fall night, thank you so much for sharing this recipe!

 

[Sydney Mike]

I really enjoy potato soups, but don't usually peel the potatoes! Didn't for this recipe either, & considering how small the potatoes were chopped, that was no problem! When it came to mashing, I only mashed about half of them, leaving the rest in small chunks! I also left out the optional sour cream & cut the amount of bacon in half! Would love to have eaten all of this myself, but instead opted to share about half of it with a couple of neighbors who enjoyed it as much as we did! Thanks for sharing the recipe! [Tagged, made & reviewed as part of my Soup's On theme in My-3-Chefs]

 

[BBT Girls]

Very delicious!

 

[DreamoBway]

This was so thick and hearty, and I didn't feel bad about eating a huge bowl because of all of the reduced-fat ingredients. I made it pretty much as written, using scallions as opposed to chives (just what I had in the house) and omitting the bacon and sour cream garnish to save those extra calories. I'll definitely be making this again. Thank you for posting! Reviewed for My-3-Chefs - November '08.