Hearty and full of potatoes and cheese, Potato Soup with Hash Browns is a super quick soup recipe without a lot of fuss or mess. This potato soup with frozen hash browns made on the stove is so quick and easy (only 30 minutes!) that it is one of my favorite "crisis meals."
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Video
What you need to make Potato Soup with Hash Browns
- frozen hash browns
- cheddar cheese
- cream of chicken soup
- cream of celery soup
- chicken broth
- evaporated milk
- onion (and a little oil if you need to sauté)
Prep-Ahead Potato Soup tip
Hash Brown Potato Soup is a quick and easy "crisis meal"—meals that can be made in 20-30 minutes with shelf-stable (or freezer) ingredients that I keep on hand. I consider frozen ingredients to be shelf stable since they are not perishable in the way that produce is.
Shredded cheese can be frozen for several months (I have a huge basket in my freezer full of various shredded cheese varieties that I replenish when they are on sale).
While fresh onions are prone to getting soft, if you use our method of bulk cooking onions a bag at a time and freezing in 1 cup portions, you will always have prepared onions ready to go. The onions can be put into the soup still frozen, but doing so may increase cooking time.
If you want to stock up some sautéed onions in the freezer while making Hash Brown Potato Soup, go ahead and do all the onions in a bag and freeze the rest in portions equal to the number of onions used. It takes a little longer to chop, but you only have to sauté and wash the prep dishes once instead of 7 or 8 times.
How to make Potato Soup with Hash Browns
Start by sautéing the onion in the same pot you will cook the soup in.
Add broth and bring to a boil. Add frozen hash browns and return to a boil.
Add soups and evaporated milk and stir. Bring to a simmer.
Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until it is thickened with a few chunks of potato remaining (about 2-3 minutes). This will give you a thicker, smoother soup. Remove blender.
Add all of the cheese except the portion reserved for garnish. Heat, stirring frequently, until cheese melts. Season with salt & pepper to taste before serving garnished with remaining cheese and chopped green onion.
Serve in bowls or crocks and garnish with shredded cheddar cheese and green onion.
FAQs
How long does it take to make potato soup with hash browns on the stove?
You can have this delicious, hearty soup on the table in under 20 minutes if you have sautéed onions in the freezer. If you don't have prepared sautéed onions, it's still a quick 30 minutes from start to finish.
What kind of frozen hash browns should I buy?
Hash Brown Potato Soup uses bagged, loose frozen hash browns rather than the formed hash brown patties. Bagged hash browns come either diced or shredded. This recipe uses unseasoned diced hash browns since they are closest to chopped fresh potatoes usually used in potato soup.
If you don't care about the consistency of the potatoes, feel free to use shredded. If preferred, you can keep blending with the immersion blender until all of the potatoes are smooth and no shreds are left.
Can I make this with fresh potatoes?
While it is not as quick and easy, you can make this potato soup with fresh potatoes. One trick to cutting down on the prep time needed is to use Yukon Gold potatoes and skip peeling them. The skins are thin and light in color, so it isn't necessary to peel the Yukon Gold potatoes first.
Quarter or dice 5 pounds of clean potatoes and add them when the instructions say to add the frozen hash browns. Simmer until the potatoes are fork-tender before moving to the next step in the instructions. Continue the instructions as directed.
Can I make this in the slow cooker?
Yes! I'm a huge fan of using my crock pot, and this potato soup recipe is easily adapted to the slow cooker.
To make a crockpot potato soup, start by sautéing the onion (if you have sautéed onion in the freezer, you are a step ahead) in a skillet. Add all ingredients (reserve ½ cup cheese and the green onions for garnish) to the slow cooker and cook for about 3 hours on high or 5 hours on low.
Before serving, blend to the desired consistency with an immersion blender. Serve garnished with shredded cheese and green onions.
What kind of cheese goes in Hash Brown Potato Soup?
I like to use shredded cheddar cheese, but you can substitute a processed cheese product like Velveeta for easy, smooth melting.
I have also mixed things up by using other styles of shredded cheese based on what I have one hand. Queso cheese, Mexican-style blend, and gouda cheese are all very good in the soup.
Is Hash Brown Potato Soup vegetarian?
Although not vegetarian as written, Hash Brown Potato Soup can easily be adapted for vegetarians. Simply substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth and use another can of cream of celery soup (or cream of potato soup) instead of the cream of chicken soup.
What goes with Hash Brown Potato Soup?
Like most soups, Hash Brown Potato Soup calls out for a slice of delicious, crusty bread for dipping. We have a Lidl nearby, so I typically buy a fresh baguette from their bakery to serve with soup.
A fresh salad is really all this soup needs to add a green vegetable.
Recipe
Potato Soup with Hash Browns (30 Minute Recipe)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 43.5 ounces chicken broth
- 32 ounces bag frozen diced hash browns
- 10.5 ounces condensed cream of celery soup
- 10.5 ounces condensed cream of chicken soup
- 12 ounces evaporated milk
- 14 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
- chopped green onions, for garnish
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Chop 1 onion.
- Sauté chopped onion in 1 tablespoon oil in soup pot.
- Add 43.5 ounces chicken broth and bring to boil.
- Add 32 ounces bag frozen diced hash browns and bring to boil.
- Add 10.5 ounces condensed cream of celery soup, 10.5 ounces condensed cream of chicken soup, and 12 ounces evaporated milk, bring to a simmer.
- Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until it is thickened with a few potato chunks remaining (about 2-3 minutes). Remove blender. (If you do not have an immersion blender, you can mash the tender potatoes in the pot with a serving spoon.)
- Add 14 ounces shredded cheddar cheese.
- Heat, stirring frequently, until cheese melts.
- Season with salt & pepper to taste
- Serve garnished with 2 ounces shredded cheddar cheese and chopped green onions.
Notes
- If you have sautéed onions in the freezer, use the equivalent of 1 onion. If not, consider sautéing a whole bag of onions either while preparing this dish or later when you have more time and freezing them in 1 cup portions. Next time a recipe calls for a sautéed onion, you have it already prepared!
- For a vegetarian version of this soup, use vegetable stock in place of chicken broth, and use two cans of cream of celery soup and omit the cream of chicken soup.
Charlotte
I like the idea of bulk freezing the onions for this recipe and others. If I chopped the onions and freeze without cooking, could I put them in 1 freezer bag? Or would they be too stuck together when I want to scoop out 1 or 2 cups? I love your website. My grown children and their families gather every Friday at my house for dinner. I often turn to you for a great recipe that will feed 10 or more people without chaining me to the kitchen for hours. Thank you!
Mary Ann
Thank you for your kind words—I'm so happy to hear that the website has been a help to you! I generally recommend against freezing raw onions because they retain so much moisture that they can't be effectively sautéed after thawing (they basically boil instead of sauté). Sautéing first also frees up time during dinner preparations because much of the work is already done.
Regardless of which form you freeze them in, you can bag them all in one bag if you freeze them before putting them into the bag. The easiest way is to freeze them in silicone muffin tins or "souper cubes" (I found knock offs of these at a local discount store, and amazon has them as well). Once the onions are frozen, pop them out and put them in the freezer bag so you can reuse the freezer trays. You could also freeze them on a cookie sheet in 1 cup sections (I put parchment paper on the sheet first so I don't have to wash it), then bag them once frozen.
Charlotte
Great advice and explanations. Thank you!
JAN
I always wanted to make potato soup, but didn’t because of the work involved. However, I found this recipe, I made it, I loved it. Very quick. It’s a keeper!!
Mary Ann
I'm so glad you found it easy to make! I love shortcuts like this.
Carole Ingersoll
Is there a recipe for low sodium potato soup using frozen hash browns?
Mary Ann
Hi Carole - You could use our Baked Potato Soup Recipe and substitute hash browns for the potatoes and adjust the salt to your needs. I would use about 1 cup of thawed hash browns per potato in that recipe. I've successfully substituted hash browns in several potato soup recipes with good success, so if you have one you like, I would give it a go with the hash browns.
Sharon W.
Can you just leave the hash browns like they come in the package or do they have to be blended. I don’t have an immersion blender?
Mary Ann
You can just leave them, or you can use something to mash them against the side or bottom of the pot. It helps thicken the soup to a more creamy consistency.
Bernadette Richards
I don't have an immersion blender either..but I threw in a couple handfuls of instant mashed potatoes and it made a creamy sauce.
Mary Ann
Great idea—thanks for sharing.
Amy
I was looking for a potato soup that used frozen potatoes and I was so happy to find this one! No more cutting potatoes for me. This will be my go to recipe for potato soup. Thank you
Debbie F
Recipe seems great! What can be used in place of the “immersion blender”, as I do not have 1 of these items? Was hoping someone else would ask this? !! Thanks
Mary Ann
Hi Debbie - You could use a potato masher or ricer to mash the larger pieces of potato. The mashed potato thickens the soup base when mixed in.
Lori
Loved It! This is a keeper♥️
Mary Ann
I'm so glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know.
cak
Greetings! Soup looks yummy - did you use sharp or mild cheddar, please and thank you!
Mary Ann
Hi and thank you! I used sharp cheddar but recently I've been using medium and mild in recipes more often for a different flavor. I think either would be fine if your family has a preference for one over the other. Enjoy!