Baked Potato Soup takes all of the comforting goodness of a fully loaded baked potato and turns it into a belly warming soup!
A rich and creamy soup with loaded with cheddar cheese and topped with all of our favorite toppings we add to traditional Baked Potatoes!
Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Creamy, dreamy mashed potatoes are added to a savory chicken broth base resulting in this cheesy potato soup. We top this loaded potato soup with our favourite baked potato toppings including crispy bacon, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and green onions. The result is a deliciously rich potato soup that tastes just like those fully loaded baked potatoes we all love so much!
Potatoes are one of our favorite veggies, they’re inexpensive, versatile and taste great! There are a ton of ways to prepare potatoes… french fries, Garlic Ranch Mashed Potatoes, roasted potatoes, Loaded Twice Baked Potato Casserole… you name it. One of our favorites is to enjoy it as a slurpable soup!
How to Make Baked Potato Soup
This loaded baked potato soup recipe is loaded with flavor from bacon, onions and cheese, everything is melded together to make a rich creamy soup! It’s easy to make, here’s how:
- Fry bacon until crisp (yum!).
- Cook onions in the bacon drippings until tender. Add broth and mashed potatoes and simmer.
- Add a splash of buttermilk and of course sharp cheddar cheese.
Top with your favorite toppings including green onions, sour cream, crisp bacon and cheese!
The Perfect Potatoes for Soup
While this recipe tastes like a baked potato, we actually use mashed (or smashed) potatoes. The use of mashed potatoes makes it quick & easy and creates a creamy texture (and it’s a great way to use up leftovers).
Baked Potato Soup is the perfect way to use up leftover mashed potatoes (if leftover mashed potatoes is even a thing?!). If you don’t have leftovers you can make mashed yourself (recipe below) or even whip up some easy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes. When making mashed potatoes for this recipe, I prefer to have the texture to be a little bit more smashed (or chunky) so the soup has texture.
A Delicious Staple
Mashed potatoes are a staple for good reason, they’re inexpensive, delicious and easy to make! They’re the perfect base for gravies and sauces or for topping with Salisbury Steak or creamed corn!
Mashed potatoes simply require potatoes, butter, and cream (or milk) with seasoning. Depending on what I’m serving them with, I also add in green onions, garlic or even sour cream. Add these mashed potatoes to the soup or you can use leftover mashed potatoes if you have any!
Making the Perfect Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients:
- 4 lbs russet potatoes
- 2 cloves fresh garlic (optional)
- 1/4 cup butter
- ½ to 3/4 cup whole milk (or cream), warmed
- salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
- Wash, peel & cube potatoes. Boil the potatoes (and garlic if using) and in a large pot of salted water until fork tender (about 15 minutes).
- Drain very well and place back into the warm pot.
- Mash slightly with a potato masher. Add in butter, warmed milk, salt and pepper. Mash to desired consistency.
Can You Freeze Baked Potato Soup?
This baked potato soup recipe does reheat well and can last about 5 days in the fridge.
Soups containing potatoes can have a change in texture when frozen so I prefer to make it fresh when I can. If you do decide to freeze this soup, you’ll want to reheat it over low heat to help maintaining the creamy and smooth texture!
What Can You Add to Potato Soup?
This baked potato soup recipe has bacon, cheese, sour cream, and green onions which are some of my favourite mix-ins for potatoes!
Baked Potato Soup is extremely versatile making it the perfect way to use up any leftover ingredients in your fridge.
Add in any of the following:
- Proteins: rotisserie chicken, leftover ham, cooked and drained sausage
- Vegetables: corn, red bell peppers, leftover roasted vegetables finely chopped
- Cheeses: change them up or use what you have on hand. Be sure to include at least one sharp flavored cheese such as cheddar or parmesan.
More Potato Recipes You’ll Love
- Scalloped Potatoes and Ham – Family favorite recipe!
- Crock Pot Scalloped Potatoes – Great side to serve with ham
- Potatoes Au Gratin – Cheesy perfection
- Easy Oven Roasted Potatoes – Simple, great to serve with steaks
- Twice Baked Potatoes – Make ahead and freeze!
This is honestly the best potato soup I’ve ever had, and it’s perfect for a weeknight meal.
This soup takes about 30 minutes start to finish. While it’s cooking I put together a quick tossed salad and add in some crusty bread for the perfect family meal. When I make this soup for my family, I like to serve it but leave the sour cream, green onion, and bacon on the side. I serve the toppings like I would with a normal baked potato. Everyone loves adding their own toppings!
Baked Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon chopped
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups mashed potatoes
- 1 ¼ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese divided
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ⅓ cup sour cream plus extra for garnish
- 2 green onions finely chopped
Instructions
-
Fry bacon in a large pot until crisp. Remove bacon and set aside leaving the drippings in the pot.
-
Reduce heat to medium low and add diced onion to drippings. Cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
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Add garlic and flour, cook 1 minute while stirring. Whisk in chicken broth, bring to a boil over medium high heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
-
Stir in mashed potatoes. Simmer an additional 5 minutes. Add the buttermilk and stir to combine allowing mixture to just come to a boil.
-
Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup cheese, half of the bacon, and ⅓ cup sour cream.
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Garnish with a dollop of sour cream, reamining bacon, green onion and serve hot.
Video
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Lunch, Main Course, Soup
Cuisine American
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More Recipes You’ll Love
- Loaded Mashed Potato Cakes
- Roasted Cauliflower Soup
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
I had leftover truffle mashed potatoes and decided to give them a go in this recipe. left out the garlic and oh! My! This soup is heavenly. great flavor and consistency. I will make this again.
Oh my goodness, my mouth is watering, Laura! That sounds delicious.
We are real soup lovers and this one is definitely a keeper. I tripled the recipe and used heavy cream instead of buttermilk because that’s what I had in my fridge. Rave reviews from the family. I used a dutch oven which took a long time to come to a boil so the whole process was a little time consuming…..but totally worth it in the end!!!
So happy you loved this recipe, Linda!