Loaded Baked Potato Soup

This loaded baked potato soup recipe is a creamy, cheesy potato soup loaded with toppings like bacon and cheese. It’s all the best flavors of a baked potato in the form of a soup!

About The Recipe

This recipe is for a classic potato soup that’s full of potatoes, cheese and bacon. It’s simple to make and super satisfying.

• Ready in 40 minutes: this is an easy, one pot recipe that’s ready from start to finish in 40 minutes.
• Classic flavors: this recipe uses all the classic baked potato flavors (bacon, sour cream, cheese) in the form of a tasty soup!
• No heavy cream: while still hearty & thick, this recipe is ‘lighter’ than other versions of the recipe that use heavy cream. This recipe uses milk, flour and broth as the base of the soup.

Potato Soup vs. Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Loaded Baked Potato soup is basically potato soup PLUS traditional ‘baked potato’ toppings: it uses bacon, cheese, and sour cream in the soup itself.

How to Make Loaded Baked Potato Soup

The full recipe is at the bottom of this page, but here’s an overview + tips for making it:

Step 1: Cook The Bacon

In the bottom of a large pot over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cut the bacon strips in half, add them to the pot and cook until crispy, about 10 minutes. While the bacon cooks, peel and chop the potatoes, dice the onion, and mince the garlic. 

Step 2: Set Aside Bacon

Once the bacon is cooked, remove it from the pot and set aside. Leave about 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease in the bacon pot and discard the rest. Crumble the bacon once cooled. 

Step 3: Cook The Onion & Garlic

Over medium-high heat, add the onion to the bacon grease. Saute for 4 – 6 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in the flour. 

Step 4: Make The Soup

Add the chicken broth, milk, potatoes, salt and pepper to the pot and stir. The liquid in the pot should barely cover the potatoes (add more milk or broth if needed).

Step 5: Simmer the Soup

Increase the heat to high and let the soup heat until it is almost at a boil (don’t let it reach a full boil). Reduce the heat, cover with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The potatoes should be tender and cooked through when pierced with a fork. Depending on the size of your potatoes, they may take a little longer to cook. 

Step 6: Add Remaining ingredients & Serve

Stir in the sour cream. Stir in the shredded cheese and crumbled bacon, reserving some to add on top of your soup. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve warm, optionally garnished with cheese, bacon, and green onions. 

Tips for Making Loaded Baked Potato Soup

• Don’t let it reach a boil: before you simmer your soup, you’ll heat it until it almost reached a boil. Keep a close eye on your soup and look for bubbles to begin forming. Turn the heat down as bubbles start to form and before it reaches a full boil.
• Add enough broth: when you pour in the chicken broth, add enough to barely cover all of the ingredients in your pot. The amount of broth you add will determine how thin or thick your soup is. Less broth will make for a very thick soup.
• How to know if your potatoes are cooked through: to see if your potatoes are cooked, pierce one with a fork. It should be tender and easy to pierce with no firmness in the middle. The size of your potato pieces will determine how quickly they cook through (for faster cooking, dice them smaller).

How to Store This Recipe

• In the fridge: let the soup cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days.
• In the freezer: it’s not recommended to freeze this recipe. Because it’s dairy based (lots of milk), it tends to change constancy & texture in the process.

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Make it in a crockpot: this recipe can also be adapted to be made in a crockpot! Here’s the full recipe: Loaded Crockpot Potato Soup.