Baked Potato Soup
Comforting and hearty Baked Potato Soup is loaded with potatoes, bacon, veggies, and cheese and is the perfect soup to warm the family!
Why We Love Baked Potato Soup
- Baked Potato Soup is a warm, filling dish that is perfect with a fresh loaf of French bread on a chilly night.
- Loaded baked potato soup can be topped with everyone’s favorite items, like crisp bacon, tangy sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and fresh chopped chives or green onions!
- This baked potato soup recipe is creamy and thick and makes absolutely wonderful leftovers.
- Need to save a little time? Make this delicious baked potato soup in a crock pot!
What is Baked Potato Soup Made of?
VEGETABLES: To make this soup you will need celery, shredded or matchstick carrots, and an onion. You will also need peeled, diced Russet potatoes. Russets are preferred in this recipe because they are creamy and absorb the broth well for a wonderful flavor.
BACON: Pick up a pound of your favorite bacon to use both in the soup and as a topping.
PANTRY ITEMS: You will also need chicken broth, chicken base (such as Better Than Boullion) salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and dried parsley.
DAIRY ITEMS: Grab a block of cheddar cheese to shred, along with half and half. Fat-free half-and-half is fine to use or you can substitute whole milk or heavy cream.
GARNISH: Top your soup with a mix of cooked bacon, shredded cheese, sour cream, fresh chives or green onions, and fresh cracked black pepper.
How to Make Baked Potato Soup
Jump to RecipeSTEP 1 Place the chopped bacon in a large soup pot and cook until crispy. Cook the bacon in batches until all of the bacon has been cooked. Allow the bacon to cool on a paper towel-lined plate and discard all but 2 Tablespoons of bacon grease.
STEP 2 Add the onions, celery, and carrots to the pot with the bacon grease and saute until soft. Stir in the diced potatoes, chicken broth, chicken base, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and parsley.
STEP 3 Bring the soup to a boil and then simmer the soup, lightly covered to allow steam to escape, for 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Once the potatoes are tender, take the pot off of the heat and, if you’d like, lightly mash the potato soup with a potato masher.
STEP 4 Stir in the cheddar cheese and bacon. Mix in the half and half until everything is well combined.
STEP 5 Ladle the soup into bowls and top each bowl with everyone’s favorite toppings, like bacon, cheese, sour cream, and chives, and enjoy.
Tips & Tricks
- Don’t hesitate to chop the celery leaves up and toss them in the pot too- they add to the freshness of the soup and only enhance the flavor!
- Chicken base, like Better Than Boullion’s chicken flavor, is a concentrated mix of chicken and veggies so it’s a great way to add an extra dimension of flavor. The chicken base can not be replaced with broth or stock.
- Chicken bullion can be used in place of chicken broth, just follow the directions on the package for making 4 cups of broth.
- If you want to make this soup vegetarian, swap out the chicken broth for vegetable broth, chicken base for vegetable base or “no chicken” base, omit the bacon, and use olive oil instead to cook the veggies. (I know. I know, but we support our vegetarian friends here.)
- For lower sodium options be sure to purchase low sodium chicken broth and omit the salt in this recipe.
- Mashing the potatoes once they’re tender is optional but it does make the soup creamier without having to add flour or cornstarch.
- Remember to take the soup off the burner before adding the half and half. This helps to prevent the soup from breaking once the cream is added.
- Store the soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. The soup will thicken once cooled and can be thinned by adding a little chicken broth when reheating the soup. Reheat the soup on the stovetop until warmed through or microwave for 1 minute at a time, stirring in between, until hot.
Baked Potato Soup Recipe FAQ
Are baking potatoes good for soup?
Baking potatoes are good for soups and any dish where they are mashed because they contain more starch than other potatoes. This higher starch content makes the potatoes creamier when cooked so that also means that they aren’t the best for roasting or used in potato salads. Smaller potatoes, like New Potatoes, have less starch and hold their shape better, so they are great in salads and roasted.
Should I leave potato skins on for soup?
If you love potato skins you can absolutely leave them on when you make soup! When it comes to potato skins it really is a matter of preference. Leaving potato skins on can add texture to any soup you make and the skins are also loaded with additional vitamins, minerals, and fiber. When using smaller potatoes in any dish the peels are typically so thin you don’t even notice them so peeling small potatoes is unnecessary. So, if you love the taste, texture, and rustic appeal of potato skins in your soup leave them on!
Other Recipes You May Like
- Shrimp and Corn Chowder with Potatoes
- Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Bacon Bean Soup
- Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings
Baked Potato Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon
- 1 medium yellow onion peeled and finely diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 stalks celery finely diced
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 4 pounds Russet potatoes peeled and diced (about 7 cups)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon chicken base (see note)
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 ½ cups half-and-half
Garnish
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Chives or green onion sliced
- Sour cream
Instructions
- Cut the bacon into ½-inch pieces. Add enough bacon to cover the bottom of a large pot or Dutch oven. Cook the bacon until it's crispy, and then remove it to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Repeat until all the bacon is cooked.
- Drain all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease from the pot. (Keep that extra grease for frying up yummy things later.)
- Add the onion, celery, and carrots to the pot. Cook the vegetables until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add potatoes, chicken broth, chicken base, dried parsley, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to the pot. Stir to combine.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot leaving room for the steam to escape, and simmer for 45 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender. Turn off the heat.
- Mash some of the potatoes with a potato masher. (This will help thicken the soup.) Add the cheese and stir until melted into the soup. Add ⅔ of the cooked bacon and stir to combine. Add the half-n-half and stir until mixed.
- Ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish with the remaining bacon, some cheese, sour cream, and chives before serving warm.
Notes
- We use chicken base in this recipe for the extra flavor it imparts. Our favorite is the chicken-flavored “Better than Boullion.” If you are sensitive to salt, use low-sodium chicken broth and omit the additional salt listed in the ingredients.
- Store the soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. The soup will thicken once cooled and can be thinned by adding a little chicken broth when reheating the soup. Reheat the soup on the stovetop until warmed through or microwave for 1 minute at a time, stirring in between, until hot.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.