It’s officially soup season and we’re here today with our Loaded Baked Potato Soup Recipe! We love this recipe so much. It’s our version of a classic baked potato in a creamy, smooth puréed soup topped with all the fixins’!
How to make our Loaded Baked Potato Soup
This is a simple soup recipe where you can add as many or as few toppings as you want, which is one of our favorite aspects of this soup!
Ingredients
- russet potatoes – these are the best baking potatoes
- unsalted butter – we almost always use unsalted butter to be able to control the salt content
- diced shallot – the sweet flavor of the shallot is really nice here, but you can also use a sweet onion
- all-purpose flour
- milk
- chicken stock – we like to use a high quality chicken stock for the flavor, but vegetable stock can also be used for a vegetarian friendly alternative
- sour cream – this adds a nice and really subtle creamy, tangy flavor to the soup
- salt and pepper
Garnishes
We have listed what we suggest as garnishes below, but feel free to add anything you love to put on your baked potato normally. Salsa is a really good addition, as is broccoli!
- shredded cheddar cheese
- crispy cooked bacon crumbled
- sliced chives – you can use green onion instead of chives
- crispy onions or crispy shallots – crispy onions are easier to find, but the crispy shallots are our favorite. They’re light and super crisp, without being batter fried
Process
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. 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 Stir in potatoes, season with salt and pepper.
- 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.
- Ladle soup into bowls and top with toppings of choice!
Microwave Baked Potato Hack
If you’re running a little short on time, you can cook the potatoes in the microwave instead of baking them in the oven. 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.
FAQs
Yes! This soup itself can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, ungarnished. 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.
Yes! This soup can frozen for up to 3 months. To freeze: Cool completely and pour into a resealable plastic bag. Lay soup flat until completely frozen. 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.
Crispy fried onions are more commonly found in most grocery stores. They typically have a crispy coating surrounding them and are commonly used to top dishes such as green bean casserole.
Crispy fried shallots can be found in most asian markets. They’re lighter and sweeter because they’re typically crispy from being cold fried without a batter or coating added to them. Both work great as a topping for this recipe!
You can also use an immersion blender for this recipe!
Variations
- 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.
- Half the amount of cream cheese or mascarpone can be added in place of the sour cream.
We love this loaded baked potato soup recipe so much! It’s rich, creamy and so cozy. It’s the perfect chilly weather soup!
If you love soup season and delicious soups of all varieties as much as we do, you’ll also love some other soups, like our Creamy Chicken and Farro Soup, our Classic Chicken Noodle Soup, our Easy Broccoli Cheddar Soup, our Spicy Chicken Laksa, and our One Pot Mulligatawny Soup Recipe!
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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