UK Modified Slowcooker Cheesy Loaded Potato Soup ~£4

I cobbled this together mainly based on this recipe on Food.com, below is my interpretation based on what I had in the house.

Soup ingredients £3.79:

8 peeled and sliced red potatoes/1.1kg pre peeling £0.64

2 chopped small onions/250g pre chopping  £0.18

1.2L chicken stock -1.2L boiling water mixed with 2x Knorr Chicken Stock Pots £0.50 

3 finely chopped/minced garlic cloves £0.10

40g salted butter £0.24

1 teaspoon pepper £0.03

150ml double cream £0.45

150g cheese, ~50g of each - the original recipe called for sharp cheddar which I didn't have

sliced gouda £0.22, grated cheddar £0.25, parmigiano reggiano £0.68

optionally - ham £0.50

Toppings I used for one big bowl of soup £0.27:

1 tablespoon sour cream £0.11

1/2 of a chopped spring onion £0.06

1 tablespoon spoon of cooked bacon £0.10

Method:

Combine potatoes, onions, chicken stock/broth, garlic, butter, pepper in the slow cooker, cover and cook on high for 5 hours or low for 8 hours.

Mash mixture until potatoes are your desired texture (my partner prefers smoother soups so I chopped the potatoes and onions quite small, I just used a silicone spoonula to stir/mash potatoes against the side of the slowcooker).

Stir in double cream and cheese, I also had 5-10 slices of ham that had been opened a few days ago so I cut up & added them at this stage, I don't think they were very impactful on flavour but you can use this recipe to get rid of some leftover ingredients too!

Dish up and top with sour cream/spring onion or chives/bacon/cheese, whatever you fancy.

Notes:

• This reheated really well for me in the microwave, I did 3 mins on 80% power, stirred and then 2 mins on 100%
• Although the original recipe says serves 6-8, I found it makes around 4 bowls like I have in my pictures (very generous serving)
• Broccoli, carrot, celery etc. can also be great additions, chopped and added in the first step
• I didn't add any salt because I used salted butter/salty cheese/chicken stock, if it wasn't salty enough I would have probably added another stock pot rather than actual salt
• You could reduce the price by using cheaper cheese (I would have if I had mature cheddar), skipping the ham and using leftover chicken carcass to make stock rather than buying stock pots
• This is not a healthy meal

Price Info:

Tesco Red Potatoes £0.58/kg 

Asda Brown Onions £0.70/kg

Knorr Chicken Stock Pots 8 for £2 on Amazon

Asda Loose Garlic £0.25 each

Tesco Salted Block Butter £5.96/kg (250g for £1.49) 

Tesco Black Peppercorns £0.14/10g (250g for £3.40) 

Tesco Creamfields Double Cream £0.30/100ml (300ml for £0.89)

ASDA Parmigiano Reggiano £13.53/kg (170g for £2.25) 

Tesco Creamfields Grated Cheddar £4.98/kg (450g for £2.24) 

Aldi Gouda Cheese Slices £4.48/kg (400g for £1.79) 

Asda Spring Onions £0.55 each

Tesco Sour Cream £0.38/100ml (£1.10 for 300ml) 

ASDA Cooking Bacon £2/kg (500g for £1) 

Tesco Cooked Ham £0.40/100g (400g for £1.59)

Calories:
Potatoes 80kcal/100g - 880 kcal

Onions (if fried in sunflower oil) 101kcal/100g, 250kcal - slight overestimate

Chicken Stock Pots (160kcal/100g unprepared) 90kcal 

Garlic 1 large clove 4 calories accoridng to myfitnesspal? - 20kcal

Butter - 74kcal per 10g-  300kcal

Pepper - 15kcal per 1/2 teaspoon- 30kcal

Double Cream 100ml is 467kcal, 700kcal

Parmigiano Reggiano 100g is 392kcal, 200kcal

Cheddar 100g is 416kcal, 208kcal

Gouda 91kcal/25g, 182kcal

Ham 2 slices 34kcal, 170kcal

=3030, 758 per bowl (4 large bowls)

_____

Spring Onion 10kcal

Sour Cream 57kcal

Bacon 70kcal 

= 137kcal, 758+137 = 895 calories per large topped bowl