Hash Brown Potato Soup is an absolute Winter MUST MAKE! The ultimate Potato Cheese soup made in minutes. This soup is loaded with cheese and made with frozen hash browns. It’s a delicious twist on a classic recipe. So cheesy and delicious. Top with sautéed carrots and bacon for extra flavor.
The Ultimate Potato Cheese Soup
Once I tasted this Hash Brown Potato Soup recipe, I knew it would be my favorite Potato Cheese Soup EVER!
I’ve been in the full swing of soup season for MONTHS! We have made so many favorites; Classic Ham and Bean, Beef Tortilla Soup, Chicken Noodle, and Meatball Parmesan Soup. So much flavor…so little time! This Hash Brown Potato Cheese Soup is one of the easiest and cheesiest of the season, and has quickly become a household favorite.
There are tons of potato cheese soup recipes out there, but this one is special. It’s made with hash browns for a great consistency and simple prep…and includes sautéed carrots AND bacon for an extra dose of flavor. You’ve got to try it to believe it. You’ll be addicted in no time!
Comfort Food Soup for Winter
This recipe is extra EASY, because it’s made with frozen hash browns! No washing, peeling, and cubing potatoes in this recipe. Winning.
You can make this easy potato soup even heartier by topping it off with crumbled bacon, more sautéed carrots, and some salty crackers. The salt from the bacon and the crackers means you don’t need to add too much extra salt to the soup. The flavors just blend together so beautifully, the perfect soup for any chilly day.
I love soups of all types and flavors, but this one is special. Easy, delicious, and packed with unique flavors. I’m telling you, those carrots are the secret weapon!
Top Tips for making Potato Soup
- We have always found its easier to cook bacon crumbles by chopping the bacon while frozen! You can cut it into strips and then dice, and then toss in the hot skillet. So easy!
- If you prefer a smoother soup, use a hand blender to blend all the ingredients quickly together. Hash Brown Potato Cheese Soup Bisque anyone??
- This Potato Cheese Soup is SO easy to customize. It’s great with added chicken, cauliflower, broccoli, or even spooned over baked potatoes. The sky is the limit.
Cheesy Potato Soup is a must make for any soup lover
I can’t wait for you to try this Potato Cheese Soup and let me know what you think! We have been eating it for days and I’m not even remotely sorry about it. Just so dang yummy! Easy comfort food?? My kind of recipe for sure. For more EASY classics check out our Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu and Easy Chicken Parmesan.
See the recipe card below to see how to make this recipe. Enjoy!
If you like this cheesy hash brown soup recipe, try these other tasty soup recipes too:
- Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
- Healthy Crockpot Potato Soup
- Bacon Corn Chowder
- Creamy Chicken Soup
- Crockpot Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Hash Brown Potato Soup (Potato Cheese Soup)
Ingredients
- 6-8 slices bacon slices cut into 1/8 inch slices
- 4 carrots peeled, shredded
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 30 ounce Frozen Shredded Hash Browns thawed
- 6 cups Unsalted Chicken Broth
- 1-2 teaspoons kosher salt start with 1 teaspoon and add more if needed after adding the cheese
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon Fines Herbes a mixture of chervil, parsley, tarragon & chives or parsley
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 cup Milk
- 2 cups Grated Cheese a mixture of Cheddar and Gruyere tastes great.
Optional Garnishes
- chopped chives
- crispy bacon
- sautéed shredded carrots
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium-high heat until crisp then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Set bacon aside and add immediately before serving.
- Remove all but 2 tablespoons bacon grease from pan.
- Return pan to heat and sauté shredded carrots and diced onions until onions are translucent and carrots soften and begin to caramelize. (If desired, set aside 3 tablespoons of the sautéed vegetables to use as garnish.)
- Sprinkle flour over sautéed onions and carrots, mix well and cook 30 seconds.
- Add chicken stock and seasonings.
See *NOTE if a smoother soup is desired. See **NOTE if you want to add broccoli or cauliflower.
- Add hash browns and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until potatoes are tender.
- Add cream and milk and cook 5-10 minutes, stirring often. Watch closely so soup doesn’t scald.
- Add cheese and stir until cheese melts.
- Taste the soup, and if needed, add more salt and other seasonings.
- Serve immediately.
- Garnishes: chopped fresh parsley, chives, sautéed carrot/onion mixture.
- Enjoy!
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
Nutrition Information
This is thr third time making this soup and it is excellent! I didnt have any milk so i used evaporated milk I had in my cupboard, turned out great.
Thanks so much for sharing, Mary!
I have made this soup twice now. My husband, who doesn’t LIKE soup, says it is the BEST soup I have ever made! He wants me to make it every week now!
Right now, I am making this to bring to an extended family visit, and I just know they will LOVE it too!
This soup is SO EASY to make and so tasty. I DO add an extra tsp of Fines Herbes and garlic powder, but other than that, I make it just as written. MOST EXCELLENT! *****
Thanks so much for sharing, Jackie! So glad your husband enjoyed it!!
The photo is the little bit left over from last night. My husband had 3 bowls!
Sorry I made a couple of changes but I totally followed your technique and instructions. I used a bag of frozen shredded white & sweet potatoes with broccoli and cauliflower. I made about 1/2 the quantity, just the two of us here.
It was amazing.
Looks delicious, Ruth! Thanks for sharing!!
I have made this soup probably 10 times! It is amazing! Thank you for this awesome recipe.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing!!
My kids loved this soup! Easy to make! I cut my onions while the bacon cooked. I also didn’t use unsalted broth. I used better than bouillon and it turned out great!
Thanks for sharing!!
Just made this and added about a half cup or so of butter! Delicious!
Thanks for sharing, Gidget!
Love potato soup, this fell short for me. Made exact and it was flavorless and not creamy. Added tons of salt, seasoning salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. This bumped up the faver a little. I hope sitting helps it.
I am sorry it didn’t work out for you!
Sweet potatoes instead of
I used
2 things! Definitely not trying to be a debbie downer as this soup was very good! 1st…it’s a lot of ingredients and a lot of prep work, I make a lot of recipes, and this one took some major time. Not a bad thing…just took about 2 hours to make…heads up. Also, my family like cheesy potato soup, so we added an extra cup of cheese and a little more salt and pepper. Turned out great!! Thank you for the recipe 😊.
Thanks for sharing, Meghan!
Mine didn’t take near that long, maybe about 45 minutes tops.