It’s officially soup season and we’re here today with our recipe for Loaded Baked Potato Soup! We love this soup recipe so much, it’s pure comfort food! It’s our version of a classic baked potato in a creamy, silky smooth puréed soup and topped with ALL the fixings! This Creamy Potato Soup is a perfect family friendly recipe that you can make ahead!
How to make Our Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Ingredients
Process
- Preheat oven. Prick potatoes all over with a fork and place directly onto center oven rack. Bake potatoes until fork tender.
- Remove potatoes from oven and cool. Peel potatoes and dice.
- Melt butter in a pot. Add shallots and sauté. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add flour, stir and continue to cook.
- Stir in milk and stock and continue to simmer until mixture thickens. Stirring occasionally.
- Stir in diced potatoes, season with salt and pepper.
- Pour soup into a blender, blend soup until smooth.
- Pour soup back into pot and stir in sour cream and adjust seasonings.
- Ladle soup into bowls and top with toppings of choice!
Toppings
We have shown our go-to Baked Potato Soup toppings, which are:
- shredded cheddar cheese
- cooked bacon
- chives – green onions work great too!
- crispy shallots (store bought – you can use crispy fried onions, like the kind you put on green bean casserole)
Here are some other toppings ideas in case you want to get a little crazy:
- sour cream – We already add sour cream into the soup instead of heavy cream. This is “Baked Potato” soup after all. That is why we don’t have it listed as a topping. We will absolutely not judge you should you choose to add more on top.
- tater tots – good idea? Yes. Who doesn’t want more potato deliciousness in their soup, especially if it’s crispy! And why can’t you garnish soup with tater tots?
- Salsa – a good pico de gallo or a roasted tomato salsa would be perfect.
- Avocado – we live in southern California, so yes, we like to put avocado on everything. It’s true.
Tools You Will Need
- cutting board
- knife
- dry measuring cup
- liquid measuring cup
- large pot
- blender or immersion blender
- wooden or silicone spoon
Microwave Baked Potato Hack
If you’re running a little short on time, you can cook the potatoes in the microwave. We recommend microwaving the potatoes two at a time, which will still quicken the “bake” time.
To microwave: Prick holes throughout potatoes with a fork and wrap each potato with a damp paper towel. Place potatoes on a plate and microwave for 5 to 8 minutes. Times will vary depending on strength of individual microwave.
Make Ahead and Freezing our Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Make Ahead
This soup can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It is best is the soup is stores without garnish.
When ready to serve, pour soup into a pot and gently simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, until heated through. Stir in additional milk, 1/2 cup at a time, to adjust consistency.
Freezing
This soup can be frozen for up to 3 months. Cool soup completely and pour into a resealable plastic bag. Lay soup flat in the freezer until completely frozen.
When ready to serve, place frozen bag of soup under running water until thawed. Pour soup into pot and simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, until heated through. Stir in additional milk, 1/2 cup at a time, to adjust consistency. Add more salt and pepper as needed.
Tips and Tricks For Baked Potato Soup Success
- If you don’t have a blender, an immersion blender works really great for this recipe!
- Half the amount of softened cream cheese or mascarpone can be added in place of the sour cream.
- We think crispy fried shallots (and not crispy fried onions) are the way to go for a garnish option. They can be found in most asian markets. They’re lighter and sweeter because they’re typically cold fried, without a batter or coating added to them.
- Stick to using russet potatoes as they produce a smoother and creamier soup. A lot of other recipes call for yukon gold potatoes, which are slightly sweet and have a thicker texture than russet. We prefer the taste of russets for this recipe!
Baked Potato Soup Variations
- We prefer chicken stock for this recipe instead of chicken broth. Chicken stock has a much fuller richer flavor than broth. If broth is all you have on hand it will work just fine!
- Feel free to substitute for low sodium stock if you need to.
- Vegetable stock can be used in place of the chicken stock for a vegetarian-friendly alternative.
- Cashew milk is our favorite nondairy alternative to use in this recipe because of its creamy flavor.
- The crispy bacon topping can also be replaced with crispy cooked mushrooms for another vegetarian friendly alternative.
We love this loaded baked potato soup recipe so much! It’s rich, creamy and so cozy. It’s the perfect chilly weather soup!
More Soup Recipes You Will Love
- Creamy Chicken and Farro Soup
- Classic Chicken Noodle Soup
- Easy Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Spicy Chicken Laksa
- One Pot Mulligatawny Soup Recipe
Also check out this post for our Best Soup Recipes!
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Loaded Baked Potato Soup
INGREDIENTS
- 4 russet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), scrubbed clean
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 small diced shallot
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups milk
- 1 cup chicken stock (can use vegetable stock)
- ½ cup sour cream
- salt and pepper to taste
garnishes
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 strips crispy cooked bacon crumbled
- 1 tablespoon sliced chives
- 1/2 cup crispy onions or shallots, optional
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Prick potatoes all over with a fork and place directly onto center oven rack, 2 inches apart. Bake potatoes until fork tender, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes.
- Remove potatoes from oven and cool until no longer steaming. Peel potatoes and dice.
- Place a large pot over medium heat and melt butter. Add shallots and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add flour and continue to cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Stir in milk and stock until no lumps remain and continue to simmer until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Stir in potatoes, season with salt and pepper and simmer for 5 to 6 minutes.
- Pour soup into a blender, blend soup until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Pour soup back into pot and stir in sour cream and adjust seasonings. (If soup is too thick, stir in an extra ½ cup to cup of milk).
- Ladle soup into bowls and top with a bunch of shredded cheese, crumbled bacon, sliced chives, and crispy shallots or onions, if using. Finish with more cracked black pepper and serve.
NOTES
- To Bake Potatoes in Microwave: Prick holes throughout potatoes with a fork and wrap each potato with a damp paper towel. Place potatoes on a plate and microwave for 5 to 8 minutes. Times will vary depending on strength of individual microwave.
- Make Ahead: Store in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days. To reheat: Pour soup into a pot and gently simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, until heated through. Stir in additional milk, 1/2 cup at a time, to adjust consistency.
- To Freeze: Cool completely and pour into a resealable plastic bag. Lay soup flat until completely frozen. Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw and reheat: Place frozen bag of soup under running water until thawed. Pour soup into pot and simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, until heated through. Stir in additional milk, 1/2 cup at a time, to adjust consistency. Add more salt and pepper as needed.
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This soup looks absolutely amazing! My question is about the caloric value of 439. How much soup is one serving? Thank you.
Hi! Our recipe makes about 2 quarts and a single serving is about 1 cup, including the toppings. The amounts may different slightly based on the size of the potatoes you use.
I made this soup for my boyfriend and he raved about it to his buddies at work. Now their wives and girlfriends are wanting the recipe. I turned them on to the Yummly app and you would have thought I bought them a new car!! I used the left over potato from making potato skins and the soup was amazing. Thanks for the recipe. It’s a hit in my house and evidently many others!!
I love this recipe as it has all the ingrediants that I am used to in a Potato soup. I only have one question though. Why do you add all the potatos and and make the soup creamy. Every recipe I have made or eaten has left chunks of potatoes which to me is necessary for soup. As it stands it would be a Cream of Potato soup. I usually will try a recipe as written first then if I feel it needs tweaks to my taste then change it. Btw I do love your site.
I like the baked potato soup smooth because you get a lot of nice texture contrast from the toppings, but it’s really just a matter to preference.
can this soup be frozen?
I only blended half of the potatoes to get the creamy texture and still get that bite into a piece of one
Can i steam the potatoes instead of putting them in the oven?
yes!
After completed, can this put in a crock pot to keep warm?
yes! Depending on how long it’s in the crock pot though, a little more liquid may need to be added before serving.
Needed to make this non-dairy. Used avocado oil instead of butter and tofu “sour cream”. Did NOT peel the potatoes, why would you when the nutrients are in the skin. Also used vegetable broth instead of milk. It is delicious – will top with non dairy style cheddar cheese, chives and
crispy shallots and a bacon substitute.
What temp on oven?
350F!
Just made it over the weekend