Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Every bowl of Loaded Baked Potato Soup has all the delicious stuff you’d put on a baked potato, and it’s ready to devour in under an hour.

Recipe ingredients:

Ingredient notes:

• Russet potatoes: Plain old “baking potatoes” are the best for this soup because they have more starch. Some cooks make the soup with frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, too.
• Sour cream: Baked potato soup tastes just as good with heavy cream or an equal amount of cream cheese.

Step-by-step instructions:

1. First, cook the bacon. To do this, add the slices to a large pot or Dutch oven and cook it over medium heat until it’s crispy. Then take it out of the pot and place the cooked bacon on a few layers of paper towels. Once the bacon cools, you can crumble it up for garnishing the soup. Above all, don’t get rid of that bacon grease! Add the butter to the fat and let the butter melt.
   
2. Next, make the roux, which will keep the soup thick and creamy. Whisk the flour into the melted butter until smooth and beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Then add the milk, whisking constantly, to incorporate the milk into the roux. Keep whisking for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture thickens.
   
3. Next, add the potatoes, scallions, and a little salt and bring the liquid to a a boil. After the soup boils, turn the heat back down to low, cover the pot, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
   
4. Once the potatoes are cooked, stir in the shredded cheese and sour cream. Then season to taste with salt and pepper. At this point, you can fine tune the consistency of the soup by adding a splash more milk, if you like.
   
5. Serve the soup piping hot, garnished with crumbled bacon, an extra sprinkle of cheese, and more chopped scallions or chives.

Recipe tips and varations:

• Keep warm in the slow cooker: Get the soup ready on the stove, then keep it warm for company in the crockpot. Turn it to LOW while the party happens.
• Leftovers: Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove over medium-low heat.
• Freezer: Soups with dairy may have a grainy texture and separate when you thaw them out. So, if you want to freeze potato soup, don’t add the dairy. Store it in a freezer-safe container, label, date, and freeze. When you reheat the soup, go ahead and add the milk, cheese, and sour cream.
• Ham: Substitute 4 ounces cooked diced ham for the bacon. Skip step 1, adding the ham with the potatoes in step 3.
• Velveeta. Substitute 4 ounces (or more) Velveeta for the shredded cheese.

More delicious potato recipes:

• Twice-baked potatoes
• Best mashed potatoes
• Garlic mashed potatoes
• Sweet potato hash

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

By Meggan Hill

Every bowl of Loaded Baked Potato Soup has all the delicious stuff you’d put on a baked potato, and it’s ready to devour in under an hour.

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Servings 6 servings

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Calories 438

5 from 15 votes

ReviewPrint

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

• ▢ 4 slices bacon
• ▢ 1/4 cup butter (½ stick)
• ▢ 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 4 cups milk plus more as needed
• ▢ 4 medium russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 pounds, see note 1)
• ▢ 2 scallions thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
• ▢ Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese plus more for garnish
• ▢ 1/2 cup sour cream (see note 2)

Instructions 

• In a Dutch oven or large stock pot over medium heat, add bacon and cook until crispy, about 6 to 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels, then crumble (use this to garnish the soup). Do not drain bacon fat.
• To the Dutch oven, add butter and stir until melted. Whisk in flour until smooth and lightly browned, about 1 minute. Whisking constantly, add milk and cook until thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add potatoes, scallions, and ½ teaspoon salt and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in cheese, sour cream, and salt and pepper to taste (I like 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper).
• Adjust the consistency of the soup with additional milk if desired. Serve hot garnished with crumbled bacon, more cheese, and more scallions if desired.

Recipe Video

Notes

1. Russet potatoes: Plain old “baking potatoes” are the best for this soup because they have more starch. Some cooks make the soup with frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, too.
2. Sour cream: Baked potato soup tastes just as good with heavy cream or an equal amount of cream cheese.
3. Keep warm in the slow cooker: Get the soup ready on the stove, then keep it warm for company in the crockpot. Turn it to LOW while the party happens.
4. Leftovers: Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove over medium-low heat.
5. Freezer: Soups with dairy may have a grainy texture and separate when you thaw them out. So, if you want to freeze potato soup, don’t add the dairy. Store it in a freezer-safe container, label, date, and freeze. When you reheat the soup, go ahead and add the milk, cheese, and sour cream.
6. Ham: Substitute 4 ounces cooked diced ham for the bacon. Skip step 1, adding the ham with the potatoes in step 3.
7. Velveeta. Substitute 4 ounces (or more) Velveeta for the shredded cheese.

Nutrition

Calories: 438kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 16gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 51mgSodium: 391mgPotassium: 890mgFiber: 2gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 950IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 365mgIron: 2mg

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Meggan Hill

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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.

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