Loaded Baked Potato Soup — In this loaded baked potato soup, potatoes are baked until tender before being simmered with garlic, milk, cheese, sour cream, bacon, and green onions.
Easy Loaded Baked Potato Soup
This easy baked potato soup has everything I love about baked potatoes, but in soup form. It’s easy, loaded with so many good things, and packed with flavor. It’s creamy, cheesy, thick, rich, comforting, very filling, and hearty. I know it’ll be a favorite for years to come.
Potatoes are baked until they’re soft and tender before being simmered with garlic, milk, cheese, sour cream, bacon, and green onions.
I don’t think I missed a single baked potato topping with that lineup of ingredients and my family thanked me for it.
If you’re a cheesy baked potato person, and let’s face it most of us can go to town on a baked potato especially when it’s cold outside, you’re going to love this soup. The bacon doesn’t hurt either!
What’s in This Loaded Baked Potato Soup?
To make this loaded potato soup recipe, you’ll need:
- Potatoes
- Unsalted butter
- All-purpose flour
- Garlic
- Whole milk
- Grated cheddar cheese
- Salt and pepper
- Sour cream
- Bacon
- Green onions
How to Make Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Bake the potatoes until fork tender, then peel and mash them once they’re cool enough to handle. In a large Dutch oven, cook the butter and flour for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
Add the milk, some cheese, salt, and pepper and cook until the cheese melts. Add the potatoes, sour cream, some of the bacon, and green onions, and stir to combine. Cook until the soup is heated through.
Ladle the loaded baked potato soup into bowls and garnish with more green onions, bacon, and shredded cheese.
Can I Add Other Veggies to This Soup?
You probably can. Finely chopped broccoli, corn, or peas would work well in this soup. Just keep in mind that you might need to adjust the cook time to account for the additional vegetables.
What Type of Bacon Should I Use?
Whatever type you prefer. I used pre-cooked bacon that cooks in the microwave in about a minute to save time. Just make sure whatever bacon you’re using is unflavored.
Tips for Making Loaded Baked Potato Soup
When making this baked potato soup recipe, you want to use baking potatoes (like Russet potatoes). Avoid waxy potatoes like what you use for mashed potatoes, that’s not what you want here.
Also, it’s important that you buy a block of cheddar cheese and grate it yourself. The pre-shredded cheese that comes in bags doesn’t melt well and is prone to clumping.
Finally, I recommend enjoying this soup within a week of making it. Because this loaded baked potato soup has a dairy-rich base, it likely won’t freeze well.
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Loaded Baked Potato Soup
In this loaded baked potato soup, potatoes are baked until tender before being simmered with garlic, milk, cheese, sour cream, bacon, and green onions.
Ingredients
- about 3 1/4 pounds Russet or baking potatoes (about 4 medium/large potatoes)
- 1/4 cup (half of 1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced or finely pressed
- 6 cups 2% or whole milk
- 8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated and divided (don’t use pre-grated cheese in ziptop bags because that cheese is resistant to melting and won’t incorporate well)
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1 cup sour cream (I used reduced fat)
- about 10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (I used pre-cooked bacon that cooks in microwave in about 1 minute to save time; yields about 1 cup crumbled bacon)
- about 6 to 8 green onions, trimmed and sliced into small segments (yields about 3/4 cup)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Pierce potatoes with a fork and bake for about 1 hour directly on oven rack, or until fork tender.
- When potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel them, transfer to a large bowl, and mash the flesh. I mash coarsely so there are big potato chunks but mash as small as desired; set aside.
- To a a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add the butter, flour, and cook over medium heat for about 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until flour is thickened. You’re making a roux and it’s very important the mixture is thick or soup will never thicken properly later.
- Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute, or until fragrant; stir constantly so it doesn’t burn.
- Add the milk, 6 ounces cheese, salt, pepper, and stir until the cheese has melted.
- Add the potatoes, sour cream, 3/4 cup bacon, 1/2 cup green onions, and stir to combine.
- Simmer on low for about 5 minutes, or until soup is heated through; don’t allow it to boil.
- Taste and check for seasoning balance, adding more salt or pepper if desired, to taste.
- Ladle into bowls and evenly top with the remaining 2 ounces cheese, 1/4 cup bacon, 1/4 cup green onions, and serve immediately.
Notes
Soup will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week. Reheat very gently on the stove or micro so soup doesn’t separate. I haven’t tried freezing it and cannot speak to the results.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 565Total Fat: 35gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 105mgSodium: 1052mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 2gSugar: 15gProtein: 26g
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I have tried a lot of different potato soup recipes. And they’re usually too thin, or not creamy enough, or too bland. I never found one that I thought, “Oh, this is a good..this is my potato soup recipe from now on.” Well, this one made me say that to myself.
Followed it pretty much as written, except for the liquid amounts, as my potatoes were giant.
Really good consistency and flavor. I will be making this a lot I’m sure.
Wonderful compliments, thank you! And glad this soup is ‘the one’ that made you happy and you’ll be making again!
Cold gloomy day here. Had all of the ingredients in the house so pulled this together. YUM! Thanks for the great recipe.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
Holy cow, yes. My favorite soup!!
My favorite kind of soup. Bacon never hurts ;)
You got that right :)
I just signed up to do meal train duty for a colleague in recovery for breast cancer, and I’m making this for her!!
Wow that is so nice of you and this will be perfect for her!
I hear its still warm and beautiful in San Diego but fall is definitely here so soups (and stews)are on my mind. This looks delicious, hearty and creamy. I love the green onions for a little pop of color. My sister could eat potatoes for dessert so I’m sending her this recipe as well. She also loves a good potato soup.
Omg it was 101F today. Like dying. It felt like I was walking inside a hair dryer all day. Definitely not soup or pumpkin latte season here but I made this a few weeks ago when it actually had cooled off a bit. My family is the same as your sister when it comes to potatoes :)
I have been searching for a good baked potato soup recipe for years. There was a restaurant I used to go to as a kid in St. Louis (back in the 70’s) called Houlihan’s, which served a really great loaded baked potato soup. I’m hoping that yours is a winner and I can stop searching!
I’ll let you know.
Houlihans’ – they used to have those in Chicago and when I first moved to San Diego in about 2000 I remember seeing them but not recently. Memories.
I think they are clustered in the Midwest and New York. They should expand.
I love baked potato soup, it’s the ultimate comfort food. <3
All of my favorite toppings are in this recipe, it sounds delicious.
And it’s 90F here today. Yeah. But the soup was still great!