Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Is there anything better than Loaded Baked Potato Soup on a cold winter evening? This creamy, comforting baked potato soup is made with simple ingredients and loads of cheese and is topped with crumbled bacon, green onions, and of course, more cheese!

Looking for more delicious soups? Try my Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili, Slow Cooker Chicken Corn Chowder, and Curried butternut Squash Soup with Coconut Milk.

For more amazing soup recipes, look no further than my popular posts for Easy Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup, Sausage and White Bean Soup and Pumpkin Soup.

Guys I cannot think of a soup I’m loving more right now than this loaded baked potato soup. It’s so easy and requires nothing fancy. I used russet potatoes, store-bought broth, pre-shredded cheese, butter, some milk, garlic, an onion, and a few more easy-peasy ingredients you probably already have in your fridge or pantry. Plus, it’s kid-friendly and freezes great!

Ingredients

• Russet potatoes – I choose potatoes on the large side for this soup, but you can also use Idaho, Yukon, red, or fingerling (but you’ll need a lot of the littler potatoes).
• Garlic – Jarred, minced garlic is fine here. But you can also chop your own.
• Yellow onion –I like the flavor of yellow onions, but you can use any onion you have on hand.
• Chicken broth – Here, I also choose a well-known chicken broth brand and I tend to buy the low-sodium variety because I can always add that salt in later, if needed.
• Milk – Not pictured above. I use fat free half and half, but you can use any milk you like. The more fat the milk contains, the more creamy your soup will be.
• Shredded white cheddar and sharp cheddar cheese – I prefer to grate my own cheese from a block – it blends up much more smoothly.
• Cracked black pepper – This is to taste. I like to grind my own pepper because I find that fresh, cracked black pepper tastes best.
• Green onions – These are for garnish. I like the flavor but you can also skip these if you like.
• Bacon – Cook your own bacon and crumble it or just buy bacon bits/crumbles and save some time (and mess!).
• Sour Cream – Optional topping

Here’s How You Make It

1. First, take out a large pot and put it on a burner over medium high heat, and to it add the butter to melt. Then, add the minced garlic, stirring for about 1-2 minutes, or till very fragrant. (photo 1)
2. Next, add the onions and stir, followed by the potatoes, the chicken broth, and 1 teaspoon of salt. (photo 2)
3. Bring the veggies and broth to a boil and cook for 12-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are very soft. Then, reduce the heat to medium-low. (photo 3)
4. Now, stir in 4 more cups of broth (or 2 cups of broth and 2 cups of milk). (not pictured)
5. Blend the soup with an immersion blender (or in batches in a blender) till smooth. (photo 4)
6. Finally, stir in the shredded cheeses, until they are melted into the soup. Taste, add salt and pepper as desired. (photos 5-6)
7. Serve the soup in individual bowls and be sure to add plenty of additional cheese, bacon, and green onions. Enjoy!

Why This Recipe Works

Delicious use for potatoes – Don’t we all have a few russet potatoes lying around that we don’t know what to do with? Even potatoes that might seem to be not at their peak would work great in this soup.

Great leftovers – This loaded baked potato soup is great the next day and the next and the next! I could eat it just about every day to be honest!

So fast – Be sure to cut the potatoes into 1-inch pieces, that’s the key to getting them to cook fast. Even with chopping and blending you can still have this baked potato soup ready for dinner in under an hour!

Customizable – You can really use any potato you have on hand or even a mix of potatoes if that works best. Add your favorite cheeses, different toppings – you name it!

Frequently Asked Questions

Expert Tips and Tricks

• Personally, I love the flavor combination of the white cheddar with sharp cheese or even extra-sharp yellow cheddar. Using the cheeses as instructed will require about half of a block of cheese for each kind – if you’d like to use only one kind, I recommend sharp cheddar. 
• Did you know that pre-shredded cheese has an additive in it that keeps it from caking together in the bag? Because of this, pre-shredded cheese won’t want to cream together in your soup either. That’s why I recommend that you grate the cheese yourself using a box grater. This ensures a smooth, creamy soup.
• For milk, I prefer to use fat free half and half. However, you can use any milk you like, from 1% heavy cream, to skim. But please note that the higher the fat content in the milk, the richer and creamier your soup will be. So, while skim milk might have less fat, your soup will also be thinner.
• When it comes to bacon, you can either cook and crumble the bacon yourself, or for a timesaving (and mess-saving) tip, just use real bacon bits. I like to purchase the ones that look a little on the undercooked side (some look very well done, don’t get these ones) and microwave them for 20-30 seconds to crisp them up!

More Recipes Like This

• Carrot and Coriander Soup
• Instant Pot Pot Roast and Potatoes
• Easy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

Did you make this recipe? FANTASTIC. Please rate the recipe below and be sure to tag me on social when you share a photo on social – I love seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!