In a skillet, cook onion, garlic and thyme in olive oil until onions are softened and lightly browned.
Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.
Slowly whisk in 1 cup of chicken broth, scraping up any brown bits from skillet, then transfer to slow cooker.
Stir in remaining broth and potatoes into slow cooker. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender (4-6 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high)
Using potato masher or mix-n-chop, mash potatoes until mostly smooth
Stir in cheddar cheese until melted
Stir in cream and let sit until heated (5 minutes)
Heat chopped bacon in microwave for 1 minute to crisp
Season soup with salt and pepper to taste and serve topped with cheese, bacon and scallions
Video
Notes
This recipe does great in any 6 qt slow cooker. However, since this soup has a precooking step and because it has a cream and cheese base, we recommend this stove top safe slow cooker that has a great non-stick surface. The crock can go straight from the browning step on the stove into the slow cooker unit without dirtying another dish and the non-stick surface is perfect for cream based cheesiness that tends to stick in other slow cookers.
This recipe is altered from a soup we found in America’s Test Kitchen’s Slow Cooker Revolution.
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As with any of our recipes, carb counts, calorie counts and nutritional information varies greatly. As a result, your nutritional content depends on which products you choose to use when cooking this dish. The auto-calculation is just an automated estimate and should NOT be used for specific dietary needs.
All slow cookers cook differently, so cooking times are always a basic guideline. Recipes should always be tested first in your own slow cooker and time adjusted as needed.