I love potatoes, bacon, and cheese. I love my slow cooker, too! Together this is one of my favorite soups. It literally fell in my mailbox in 1993. It was in one of those magazines they send to everyone. You know one of those that they want you to subscribe to for the rest of your life. And I fall for that kind of marketing every time especially when the recipes look so good! Since 1993 this magazine has grown in popularity, but for me the premiere issue brought to me the best and easiest potato soup ever. Dotty Egge from Minnesota submitted her recipe for No Fuss Potato Soup to Taste of Home and it has been served at my table literally hundreds of times. I love coming home from work and opening the door to the aroma of this soup, especially if it is a brisk day. It just hits the spot.
Over the years I have tweaked this recipe to what I think is perfection.
No Fuss Potato Soup adapted from Taste of Home
- 6 cups cubed peeled potatoes about 6 medium potatoes
- 5 cups water I just make sure that the vegetables are covered
- 1 medium onion finely chopped I used my small food processor
- 1/2 cup sliced celery
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 2 cups half and half
- shredded cheddar cheese, bacon bits, and thinly sliced green onions
In a large slowcooker ( I use a Rival 5 quart) place a crockpot liner to save cleanup time. Dissolve 2 bouillon cubes in a cup of boiling water. Pour in slow cooker with butter. Place potatoes, water, onion, celery, carrots, and salt in the slowcooker. Cover and cook on high for about 4 -5 hours or on low for 7-8 hours. Cook until vegetables are tender. Add half and half and heat until warm about 30 minutes. Be careful with the half and half if heated too high a temperature it will curdle. The same is true when reheating the leftovers. Do not let the soup boil. Just let it start to simmer. ****A note here about thickening this soup I like to cook a couple extra potatoes in water until tender or in the microwave. Mash with a fork and add to the soup. I have used my immersion blender to blend some of the vegetables in the soup, but I don’t like the color of the soup after blending the carrots. It just doesn’t have the appearance that I think potato soup should have.
Top with your favorite toppings such as cheese, bacon bits and green onion.
Happy cooking,
The Teacher Cooks
Other Potato Soups:
- Pinch My Salt’s Potato Leek Soup
- Evil Shenanigan’s Tex Mex Potato Cheese Soup
The Teacher Cooks 
I make a baked potato soup, but this sounds better. I especially like the slow cooker idea. Bookmarked.
Yum…This soup sounds really good. I’m going to try it using reduced-fat milk instead of half and half.
I always forget about potato soup, but it is seriously one of my favorites! This looks easy and delicous!
We love this recipe! Thanks for all your wonderful and creative dishes!! We enjoy your blog very much!!!
having just eaten what was dubbed a loaded baked potato soup, i can think of nothing else–it was amazing. bacon, cheese, chives, sour cream. i can work with this. 🙂
This sounds wonderful and it is awfully pretty to look at as well. I hope you had a great day. Blessings…Mary
QUESTION: Do you melt the butter with the water/bouillon cubes or pour the hot water over the butter and it melts that way? Also, if this is going into the crockpot, could I use chicken stock (or vegetable stock) instead of water for extra flavor?
I like a thicker consistency as well, and a crock pot doesn’t always create the thick consistency I desire versus when I cook soup on the stovetop (I guess because I stir more on the stovetop). I am so forgetful (and lazy), however, that boiling extra potatoes is more than I can manage. To make my soup thick, I simply pour in a pouch of instant mashed potato flakes towards the end of cook time. Works like a charm!
Debbie, what a great idea! Instant mashed potatoes I have never thought of that! I don’t melt the butter. I just throw it in the crockpot. I don’t use stock because of the bouillon. I would use one or the other, but both may add too much sodium. You have to come to my class and demo one of your favorite foods.
I think it looks incredible. It is difficult to get a potato soup to have the right consistency in the broth, I find.
🙂
Valerie
What a super idea, Wanda. Never thought to use my slow cooker!
Looks like a delicious soup….so comforting!
Delicious soup. Just what I’m craving tonight. I might give it a go.
I adore loaded baked potatoes and have made a soup version a couple of times by mashing and adding milk and cream – this sounds perfect and much more planned, yet simple. I hope you are well!
This soup sounds delicious! But I’m a new mom (working FT on top of it all!) and trying to shed those last stubborn pounds. Since you’ve made this recipe several times do you think there are any ways to lighten it up? For example, would fat-free condensed milk be an okay replacement for the half and half? BTW, love your blog…I just stumbled upon it today via Running With Tweezers!
Fat- free condensed milk would not be a good sub. It has a lot of sugar. Just use skim milk. Thanks for stopping by!
I love potato soup and this looks really good, i didnt know you could put celery in it!! (:
Potato soup is one of my favorite out of all soups; I love potatoes, bacon, and cheese.
It’s a good idea to add mashed up potatoes to the soup to make it thicker.
I didn’t know that you could cook soups in a slow cooker but i don’t really like potato soup either.
I learned that you can use an immersion blender to blend some of the vegetables into the soup instead of having chunks.
Using a liner can help save clean up time
I love potatoe soup, its one of my favorites and probably on of the simplest since you cook it in a slow cooker and i love using it.
potatoe soup is the best!
I didn’t know that it took soooo long for this to cook.
I learned that cooking extra potatoes in water and putting them in the microwave will make it thick.
i thought you would use a chicken broth instead of water for this recipe.
This soup fell in your mailbox the year i was born? That’s incredible!
This soup looks really good. I’ve never had it before though.
I love potatoe soups but using a crockpot seems to take to long, is there a quicker way?
I learned that you can not only use a slow cooker for meat, but for vegetables also!
I didn’t know that to thicken the soup you could add extra potatoes in water in the microwave.
I learned that this takes longer to cook than i thought!
Learned that u could use a slower cooker not just for meat ut also for soup
I learned that celery was in potato soup!
I am really not a big fan of potatoes but i love soup .
I learned that you can cook the soup in a slow cooker too.
I learned that Fat- free condensed milk has a lot of sugar.
I just found out that you can put bouillon cubes in potato soup
i learned that its important to not let the soup nor leaftovers boil!.
i have never heard of potato soup as well as never had it before i may and try to make this dish this winter
i learned if you use a liner it saves time when cleaning
I didnt know that potato soup had to cook for 3-4 hours
I learned that using the half and half at a too high heated temperature will curdle.
you cook it in a slow cooker
I learned you had to make sure the half and half is heated or it will curdle.
i learned that a slow cooker could be used to cook the soup
i learned you can use a 1/4 of butter
i learned you could make potato soup with onions
I didn’t know that there was such a thing as a crockpot liner to make cleanup easier.
I learned that if you place a crockpot liner in the slow cooker to save cleanup time.
I like potato soup but i didnt know you could put celery in it.
i learned that you have to use 2 chicken bouillon cubes
I didn’t know that you could cook soups in a slow cooker !
I learned that you could put celery in potato soup.
I didn’t know you could make potatoes into a soup, but it looks so good.
I didn’t think you added carrots and celery.
i didnt know celery went in potatoe soup
I learned that its good to use mashed potatos to make the soup thicker.
This look like a fun dish to make with family and it seems simple
I learned that if you overheat the half and half it will curdle.
Me and my mom love potato soup. i didnt know you could use carrots in it. i will have to try! (:
Looks really yummy, I am salivating now!
Raymund
http://angsarap.wordpress.com
Great teacher minds must have been thinking alike…. I saw your post on FoodPress & I just had to leave you a response – check out my potato soup I made (posted much later) around the same time you made yours! http://ringr.wordpress.com/2010/12/05/loaded-potato-beer-soup/
Happy teaching & cooking 🙂
i made this soup pretty good thanks for the post!
http://easyfatlose.info
looks great, perfect for this cold winter here in the uk.
monica
http://www.spicediary.com
Potato soup is my favorite! And this recipe looks great. Thanks so much for sharing!
Kathy
http://www.KidCulture.wordpress.com
Rice noodle soup is best in Vietnam.
I love Taste of Home and potato soup. This is a new recipe for me surprisingly enough. Can’t wait to try it! Thanks.
I didn’t know that adding mashed potatoes would make the soup thicker. I also didn’t think about putting carrots and celery in it.
i learned you can use the slow cooker for veggies (:
Using a slow cooker seems quite convenient to make soup never would have thought of that! this soup looks great for a comfy day at home when you are watching good movies !
Seeing as i love potatoes, this looks like it tastes really good! i learned that you can cook soup in a slowcooker and can garnish with your favorite toppings.
I love potatoe soup! its my favorite kind of soup actually, i learned with this recipie i can make it at home (:
i learned not let the soup boil , just let it start to simmer.
i learned that adding mashed potatoes makes the soup thicker and yummy!
I learned that using a liner can help save clean up time!!
I learned that you never let your soup boil.
I learned to let the soup simmer, not boil