Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Written by Katerina

Published Feb 22, 2023

Thick and full-flavored, this Loaded Baked Potato Soup tastes like it came from your favorite bistro. It’s perfect for fall and winter, and makes a great lunch or easy dinner. Don’t forget the crusty bread!

Baked potato soup topped with bacon, cheese, and chopped green onion.

Creamy, Cheesy, Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Are you a soup person? I know some people who insist that soup isn’t a meal – it isn’t quite filling enough, it doesn’t keep them satisfied long enough, etc. But this loaded baked potato soup is hearty enough to make any soup skeptic a believer. It’s bold, creamy, and loaded with real potatoes, garlic, cheese, bacon, and more.

If a snow day is headed your way, get out your soup pot and make this! You’ll enjoy the wintry weather even more with a cozy bowl to hold on to. In fact, you might want to make a double batch – it tends to disappear quickly!

Close-up shot of bacon, green onions, and cheese sprinkled into a bowl of creamy soup.

What Is Loaded Baked Potato Soup Made Of?

So what will you need to make loaded baked potato soup? Get ready, because this is a whole lotta delicious. It’s basically made with the same ingredients as a loaded baked potato, but with added chicken broth, milk, and half-and-half to make a wonderfully creamy soup broth.

Potatoes: I like to use Yukon gold potatoes, since they are somewhat soft and starchy but still hold their shape a bit. If you don’t have those, Russet (or Idaho) potatoes are a good choice.
Butter
Onion: Chop up one small onion.
Garlic: Mince the garlic, or put it through a garlic press.
Flour: A little flour thickens the baked potato soup.
Milk and Half and Half: I use a combination of milk with half and half, but you could use just one or the other.
Broth: Chicken broth or vegetable broth, either one is fine.
Cheddar Cheese: Shredded. I recommend using cheese that you have shredded or chopped yourself. Pre-shredded cheese is often tossed with an anti-caking agent to prevent it from clumping, but that can give your soup an odd texture.
Salt and Pepper

Toppings

Cheese: Additional shredded cheese is great sprinkled on top.
Bacon: Cooked and crumbled.
Green Onions: Or chives, chopped.
Sour Cream: Or creme fraiche.

Ingredients for baked potato soup arranged on a work surface.

Step by Step Instructions

Bake and Mash the Potatoes. To get started on this recipe, you’ll need to bake the potatoes. First, preheat your oven to 400°F. While it heats, wash and dry the potatoes, and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Prick them several times with a fork, and bake for about one hour, or until tender. Take them out of the oven, cool them slightly, and then peel the skins away. Mash the potatoes.
Make a Roux with Garlic and Onion. Next, we’ll get started on the soup base. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, and let it cook for about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic, and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Finally, whisk in the flour to make a paste (AKA a roux). Turn the heat down to medium-low.

Potatoes washed, pricked with a fork, and arranged on a baking sheet.

Cooking onions and butter in a soup pot.

Add the Liquids, Salt, and Pepper. Continue whisking your roux, and at the same time, slowly pour in the milk, half and half, and chicken broth. Add the salt and pepper, and give it a stir.

Flour sprinkled into a soup pot of onions, butter, and garlic.

Add the Potatotes. Next, add in the mashed baked potatoes, and turn the heat up to high. The soup will begin to heat up, but don’t let it boil. Once it’s steamy and almost boiling, turn the heat back down, and let it simmer gently for about 10 minutes.
Blend and Add Cheese. Remove the baked potato soup from the heat, and blend it with a blender until creamy. An immersion blender is good for this. If you don’t have one, you can use a regular blender (be careful not to splash or spill the hot soup, as it could cause severe burns). When the soup is blended to your liking, stir in the shredded cheddar until fully melted.

A soup pot with mashed potatoes and creamy soup inside. An immersion blender is nearby on the work surface.

Shredded cheddar added to a pot of soup.

Enjoy! Serve the baked potato soup hot, in individual bowls, topped with plenty of additional cheese, bacon, green onions, and sour cream.

A pot of soup next to two bowls of soup.

How Do You Make Bland Potato Soup Better?

Probably the most common reason that potato soup is bland is simply that it needs more salt. Potatoes, cream, onion, and garlic are all tasty ingredients – but they are all very mild. They need enough salt to bring out their flavors. If your soup seems bland, your first course of action should be to add some more salt to a small portion and see if it helps!

After that, if you still feel like it needs something, I recommend adding a tiny amount of hot sauce or prepared mustard to bring out the flavor of the cheese. Again, try this in a small bowl to see if it helps, so that you don’t accidentally flavor the whole pot in a way that you don’t enjoy.

Helpful Recipe Tips

As simple as this recipe is, I do have a few tips to share. These pointers are super helpful, and will make sure that your soup turns out chef’s-kiss-perfect.

Potatoes: You can use any variety of baking potatoes, such as russet, Yukon gold, or white potatoes. The key is to make sure they are baked until they are very tender, so they can be mashed and added to the soup easily. Avoid waxy potatoes like fingerling potatoes, which tend to become gummy when blended.
Broth: You can use chicken or vegetable broth, depending on your preference. Chicken broth will give the soup a rich, savory flavor, while vegetable broth will make it more neutral and suitable for vegetarians.
Seasoning: This basic recipe can be dressed up with your favorite seasonings, such as dried thyme, basil, or rosemary, for extra flavor.
Toppings: You can also add other toppings such as diced jalapenos, chopped chives, or croutons for extra flavor and texture. The sky’s the limit!

A white bowl of loaded potato soup, with a spoon lifted out of the bowl toward the camera.

Side Dish Inspiration

Let’s talk side dishes, shall we? For some of us, just soup is enough for a comfy, satisfying meal. If we’re still hungry after one bowl of soup, we’ll come back for another! But a lot of us also need a side or two to feel satisfied, something more solid. These easy side dish recipes have got ya covered.

Salad: Friends, I am about to change your life. Do you want to know the perfect side dish for potato soup? It’s a big, bold Chicken Bacon Avocado Salad. Normally, I would serve this salad as a main dish, but it also makes a fantastic partner for soup – just serve each person a smaller amount on a salad plate! The flavors are out of this world.
Bread: If you’re not counting carbs, you will adore serving potato soup with some yummy bread. A crusty, toasted sourdough would be amazing, or you could grab some refrigerated dough and make these Easy Garlic Knots. Yum!
Sandwich: Make a ham sandwich, a grilled cheese, a tomato sandwich, or put some of this Chicken Salad with Grapes on a tender, buttery croissant.

Storing and Reheating

Homemade baked potato soup will keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. Cover it well or transfer it to airtight containers to keep it as fresh as possible.
To reheat the soup, place the desired amount into a saucepan or soup pot. Heat it over medium heat, but don’t let it boil. Stir it often while it heats so that the cheese and potatoes in the soup don’t stick to the bottom and scorch.

Can I Freeze Loaded Baked Potato Soup?

I don’t recommend freezing potato soup, because it tends to split once you thaw it back out and reheat it. Instead, make just as much as you think you can enjoy over a few days. If this recipe makes too much, feel free to cut the ingredients in half or in thirds to make a smaller batch!

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5 from 8 votes