Loaded Baked Potato Soup Recipe

bowl of creamy potato soup with shredded cheese, bacon bits, and onions on top

4.94 from 29 votes

Loaded Baked Potato Soup Recipe

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!

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time35

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Author: Tiffany Azure

Ingredients

4 large russet potatoes peeled, and chopped into 1-inch pieces
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
½ yellow onion diced
6 cups chicken broth divided
2 teaspoons salt or to taste, divided
2 cups milk or 2 more cups broth
1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese more for topping (see note)
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese more for topping (see note)
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper or ¼ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
4 green onions chopped
½ cup crumbled bacon pieces (see note)
sour cream optional topping

Instructions

In a large pot over medium high heat, melt the butter. Stir in garlic 1-2 minutes til very fragrant.
Stir in onions, followed by potatoes, 2 cups of chicken broth, and 1 teaspoon salt.
Bring to a boil and cook for 12-15 minutes until potatoes are very soft. Reduce heat to medium-low.
Stir in 4 cups broth, or 2 cups of broth and 2 cups of milk.
Blend with an immersion blender (or in batches in a blender) til smooth.
Stir in shredded cheeses until melted. Taste, add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve in individual bowls and add plenty of additional cheese, bacon, and green onions. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

The cheese: I love the flavor combination of the white cheddar with sharp or even extra-sharp yellow cheddar. This method uses about half of a block of cheese for each kind - if you'd like to use only one kind I recommend sharp cheddar.

Be sure to grate the cheese yourself using a box grater, I do not recommend using pre-shredded cheese as it does not melt as well as freshly grated cheese.

The milk: I used fat free half and half. You can use any milk from 1%-heavy cream, note that the higher your fat content, the richer and creamier your soup will be (ps: that's a good thing in my book).

The bacon: You can either cook and crumble the bacon yourself, or for a time-saving (and mess-saving) tip, use real bacon bits. My favorite trick is to buy 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!

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