Slow Cooker Creamy Potato Soup

This easy, healthy slow cooker creamy potato soup is a simple dump-and-go recipe, requiring just a short list of simple ingredients and can be topped with just about anything for a warm, nourishing meal any night of the week.

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword creamy potato chowder, dairy free potato soup, slow cooker creamy potato soup

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 5 hrs

Total Time 5 hrs 10 mins

Servings

Calories 364

Author Robyn Downs

Equipment

Ingredients

½ cup raw cashews
8 cups chopped Yukon Gold or other waxy yellow potato
1 medium yellow onion chopped
3 whole medium garlic cloves peeled
2 quarts chicken (or vegetable stock for vegetarian)
2 teaspoons kosher salt divided
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast*

Optional Toppings

cooked, crumbled bacon
chopped green onions or chives
shredded cheese
hot sauce

Instructions

Place the cashews in a small bowl and cover with an inch of water. Set aside to soak while the soup cooks.
Add the potatoes, onion, garlic, stock and 1 teaspoon salt to a 6-quart slow cooker, stirring to combine. Cook on high for 5-6 hours or low for 7-9, or until the potatoes and onions are very tender.
Drain and rinse the cashews. Add the cashews, nutritional yeast, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt to the slow cooker, stirring to combine.
Using an immersion blender, blend until just combined, being careful not to over blend. Alternatively, carefully ladle the soup in batches into a blender and blend until creamy. Return the blended mixture back to the slow cooker.
Taste and add additional salt or freshly ground pepper if desired. Ladle into bowls and add any toppings you like.

Notes

*Nutritional yeast adds a cheesy flavor without containing any dairy. Find it on the bulk aisle of your natural foods store, or in the baking section. If you can’t find or don’t want to use it, feel free to omit, though it will be missing that “cheesy” flavor.

For a nut-free version, skip the cashews and add heavy cream along with the nutritional yeast, then proceed with the recipe as written.

Note: This recipe originally called for peeled Russet potatoes, but some readers found the soup became gummy when over blended. For that reason we've updated the recipe to use Yukon Gold waxy potatoes.

Nutrition information calculated without including the optional toppings.

For more ingredients & modifications, see the full blog post above.

Nutrition