Slow Cooker Loaded Potato Soup (Cooking Classy)

Holy cow, this was amazing! Original recipe from Cooking Classy. This will be replacing my old potato soup recipe, which is great, but this knocked our socks off!

3-3.5# Russet potatoes, peeled, diced into .5”-.75” pieces (~7 medium potatoes, 8-9 cups)

1 medium yellow onion, finely diced (1 c)

3 (14.5oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth

1 c evaporated milk
1 tsp salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/3 c butter

1/3 c all-purpose flour

½ c sour cream

1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese (6 oz)

9 oz bacon, cooked and diced or crumbled

4 green onions, diced

Add potatoes, onion, chicken broth, evaporated milk and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover with lid and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours (poke potatoes with a fork to check make sure they’re soft). Ladle out 2 cups liquid from soup in slow cooker into a measuring cup, set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. While whisking, slowly pour 2 cups soup liquid into butter mixture (it will thicken quickly). Pour butter mixture into slow cooker and stir to blend. If desired, mash potatoes with a potato masher to break down into smaller pieces or use an emulsion blender to puree. Cover and cook on high until thickened, about 10 min. Turn heat off (or to warm), stir in sour cream. Serve warm topped with cheddar, bacon and green onions (you can just mix in those 3 remaining ingredients into slow cooker or top individual servings).