Crock Pot Potato Cheddar Soup

My Skinny Crock Pot Potato Cheddar Soup is the perfect healthy vegetarian “set it and forget it” meal!  Let bites of red potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, and spices simmer all day in your slow cooker, adding the cheese and milk when you get home.  This chunky potato soup is a unique and lightened-up twist on a cozy potato soup.

Love healthy potato cheddar soups? Also, try my blended Vegetarian Crock Pot Baked Potato Soup or Crock Pot Cauliflower Cheddar Soup.

Crock Pot Potato Cheddar Soup

This Skinny Crock Pot Potato Cheddar Soup is light, healthy, and delicious but still a satisfying cozy comfort.  Instead of a blended soup, my version features yummy bites of potato, carrot, and onion in a lightened-up cheddar base.   This restaurant-quality soup tastes as if you slaved over it all day, but is simple to pop in your slow cooker and forget about it for the day.

Bringing out the Crock Pot makes me happy.  It's so simple to plan ahead and put a delicious meal like this in the slow cooker early in the day to take the stress out of the dinner hour.

I love that this soup still has a creamy, cheesy base but is made with milk instead of heavy cream!  The potato soup is simple and delicious.  Using 2% milk instead of cream keeps the calories down, but still brings a lot of flavor to the table.  You can serve it with crusty whole-grain bread, a salad, or a sandwich for a complete meal.

Looking for a traditional blended baked potato soup?  Try my Crock Pot Vegetarian Baked Potato Soup or check out my entire collection of 16 Crock Pot Vegetarian Soups.

Why You'll Love this Potato Cheddar Soup...

• This potato cheddar soup is EASY to make with easy-to-find ingredients and just a few things to chop.
• The hands-on cooking time is minimal!  Set it and forget it.
• It uses yummy red potatoes and leaves chunks for a different twist on potato soup.
• It's only 250 calories a serving.
• Potatoes get a bad reputation as a health food, but they are actually really good for you! The red potatoes in this soup are low in calories and in fat but high in vitamins including vitamins C, and B vitamin, plus fiber, potassium, and iron.  Leave the skin on the potatoes to get the most nutrients.
• You can easily customize this soup to add more vegetables if you have them.
• Did I mention it tastes delicious?

Ingredients:

Here's an overview of what you'll need to make Potato Cheddar Soup, keep scrolling for the full recipe amounts.

• Red Potatoes: I like to use red potatoes for the texture, flavor, and color of this soup, especially since I leave the potatoes in chunks.  Any potato you have will work though.  To prep, the potatoes, wash them and cut them into quarter-inch bites.
• Carrots: Carrots add so much flavor and color to this soup.  Chop yours in similar size pieces to the potatoes.
• Onion: I like to use a sweet onion or Vidalia onion, but whichever type you have will work.
• Garlic: Garlic adds flavor and depth to the soup.
• Vegetable Broth: The base of this soup is vegetable broth. You can also use chicken broth if you aren't fully a vegetarian.  I recommend getting a nice quality vegetable broth because it is such a big part of the base of this soup.  If you get low sodium, you can adjust the amount of salt in your soup more.
• Thyme: Thyme is the perfect flavor addition to the soup.
• Bay Leaf: I like adding a bay leaf to my soup for more flavor.  Just remove it before serving.
• Milk: Instead of heavy cream, I use 2% milk to get the creamy flavor of this soup.  This is added AFTER you cook your vegetables in the crock pot all day.
• Cornstarch: Cornstarch thickens the milk a bit and gives you a creamier sauce without having to add cream.  Don't be afraid of this step. 🙂
• Cheddar Cheese: I like to use sharp cheddar cheese for the most flavor.  This also gets stirred in at the end of the cooking.
• Salt & Pepper

Toppings:

• Chives
• Green Onions
• Cheddar Cheese
• Fresh Black Pepper

Instructions:

Here's an overview of the instructions to make Potato Cheddar Soup.  The full printable recipe card is below.

1. Get out a large crock pot or slow cooker.  I like this one.
2. Place the red potatoes, carrots, onion, vegetable broth, thyme, garlic, bay leaf, salt, and pepper in the Crock Pot and cover.
3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours or until the vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaves.
4. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, whisk together the cornstarch with two tablespoons of milk.  Mix well until you have a slurry mixture.  Add the slurry mixture to the rest of the milk and stir it all into the crock pot.
5. Allow to cook for 30 more minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
6. Turn off the heat and stir in the cheddar cheese until melted.
7. Spoon into bowls and sprinkle with shredded cheese, chives, or green onions.
8. Serve immediately.

Variations

I love this Potato Cheddar Soup as written, but here are some fun ways to mix it up.

• Make it Bacon Potato Cheddar Soup:  You can easily add bacon to this soup by adding it when you are cooking the potatoes.  You could also add ham.
• Make it Blended Soup: If you want a more traditional blended soup, put this mixture into a high-speed blender or use an immersion blender in the crock pot itself.
• Add More Vegetables: You could add different vegetables to this including broccoli, peas, zucchini, celery, or corn.  This soup base is super easy to customize to your tastes.
• Make it Spicy: Add some red pepper flakes or hot sauce.

FAQ

Can I make this on the stove?

Yes, to make Stovetop Potato Cheddar Soup start with a large stockpot.  You'll need to add either 1 tablespoon of olive oil or butter to the recipe and start by melting the butter and sauteing the onion over medium heat until translucent.  Then add the garlic for 30 seconds.  Add the vegetable broth, carrots, potatoes, thyme and bay leaves to the pot.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil and then simmer 15-20 minutes until the potatoes and carrots are tender.  Make the slurry by whisking together 2 tablespoon of milk and the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.  Add that to the milk and stir it into the pot until well combined.  Simmer until the soup thickens.  Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cheddar cheese.

Can I make this in the instant pot?

Yes! To make Instant Pot Potato Cheddar Soup, start with your instant pot on saute.  Add 1 tablespoon of olive or or butter and saute the onion.  Then add the garlic for 30 seconds.  Add he vegetable broth, carrots, potatoes, thyme and bay leaves to the pot.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Put the lid on the pot and seal.  Pressure cook on high for 10 minutes and quick release the pressure.  Make the slurry by whisking together 2 tablespoon of milk and the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.  Add that to the milk and stir it into the pot until well combined.  Simmer until the soup thickens.  Turn the heat off and stir in the cheddar cheese.

How do I store leftovers?

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.

Can I freeze the soup?

I don't recommend freezing this soup because the cheese sauce can split when freezing, giving it a funny texture.

This Crock Pot Potato Cheddar Soup is Skinny & Healthy!

This Crock Pot Potato Cheddar Soup is skinny, healthy and delicious! It's a great fast weekday meal that is a family favorite of ours.  I love how customizable this recipe is and how cozy it tastes on a cold winter day.   If you've been wanting to try a fun twist on a potato soup recipe or potato cheese, this is it!  You'll love this hearty, chunky version.

Here are a few ideas to round out your meal.

Make it a Meal:

• Crusty Bread
• Green Salad
• Kale Ceasar Salad
• Pomagranate & Pear Salad
• Cranberry Apple Salad
• Chopped Kale Salad

More Healthy Vegetarian Crock Pot Soups to Try:

• Crock Pot Baked Potato Soup
• Crock Pot Cauliflower Cheddar Soup
• Crock Pot Vegetarian Taco Soup
• Crock Pot Vegetarian Chili
• Crock Pot Minestrone Soup
• Crock Pot Vegetarian Lentil Soup
• Crock Pot Vegetarian Butternut Squash Soup

If you make this Crock Pot Potato Cheddar Soup recipe, I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a comment and a star rating ★ below. Make sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook too!

Crock Pot Potato Cheddar Soup

Julie Wunder

My Skinny Crock Pot Potato Cheddar Soup is the perfect healthy vegetarian “set it and forget it” meal!  Let bites of red potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, and spices simmer all day in your slow cooker, adding the cheese and milk when you get home.  This chunky potato soup is a unique and lightened-up twist on a cozy potato soup.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 hours hrs

Total Time 8 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Calories 250 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 pounds red potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 cups 2% milk, plus 2 tablespoons
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
• Garnish: extra shredded cheese, chives or green onions.

Instructions

 

• In a large crock pot, place potatoes, carrots, onion, vegetable broth, thyme, garlic, and bay leaf. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover the slow cooker.
• Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours or until the vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaves.
• Stir in the milk and cook on high for another 15 minutes.
• During the last 30 minutes of cooking, whisk together the cornstarch with two tablespoons of milk.  Mix well until you have a slurry mixture.  Add the slurry mixture to the rest of the milk and stir it all into the crock pot.
• Allow to cook for 30 more minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
• Stir in cheese until melted.
• Spoon into bowls and serve with extra shredded cheese and chives or green onions. Serve immediatly.

Notes

Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 250kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 16gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 504mgPotassium: 919mgFiber: 4gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 3583IUVitamin C: 16mgCalcium: 279mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Crock Pot Potato Cheddar SOup, Potato Cheddar Soup

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