Make this Baked Potato Soup as a delicious and warming meal for any cold day. This easy-to-follow recipe is ready from start to finish in under one hour, making it a perfect weeknight meal.
If your family enjoys tasty soups, you should try this Creamy Potato Soup with Leeks and Cream of Mushroom Soup.
Table Of Contents
Baked Potato Soup Recipe Details
After a cold day, all I can think about is this easy Baked Potato Soup. It’s based on bacon fat and butter, which means tons of flavor!
- TASTE: Buttery and cheesy, with bacon adding delicious flavor, this soup is so tasty.
- TEXTURE: The creaminess of this soup comes from the milk, sour cream, and sharp cheddar, with chunks of potato giving it a hearty texture.
- TIME: This Baked Potato Soup takes less than an hour. It’s perfect for those busy winter nights.
- EASE: This simple recipe is easy to follow and can be prepared ahead of time for quick serving.
What You’ll Need
- Soup base- Potatoes, Bacon, Onion, Unsalted butter, All-purpose flour, and Chicken stock
- Creamy components- Sour cream (optional), Milk, and Sharp cheddar cheese
- Flavor boosters- Green onion, Salt, and Black pepper
How to Make Baked Potato Soup
- Cook the bacon. Cook the chopped bacon slices in a large pot over medium-high heat. Remove and set aside.
- Saute the onion. In the same pot, sauté the chopped onion in unsalted butter until it becomes translucent. Then add the flour and brown for 3 minutes.
- Add the broth and milk. Stir in the chicken broth and milk, and bring it to a boil.
- Cook the potatoes. Now peel and dice the potatoes. Add them to the pot and cook over medium heat until the potatoes are fully cooked.
Pro Tip: The best way to check if your potatoes are ready is by sticking a fork into them. If the fork slides in easily, then they are done.
- Add the green onion, sour cream, and cheese. Then add the chopped green onion and remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese.
- Season the soup. Lastly, season with salt and black pepper to taste. Then serve this Baked Potato Soup in a bowl with bacon bits and your favorite toppings.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t use pre-shredded cheese- Pre-shredded cheese will not melt as well as cheese that you shred yourself. I also think it tastes a whole lot better when the cheese is freshly grated.
- Choose a high-fat milk- While you can use non-fat milk here, this soup tastes better when you use higher-fat milks, like 2% and whole. That’s because the milk plays a major role in how creamy it is.
- Don’t leave any flour lumps- When you are making the roux, be sure to mix the flour in well so that it completely dissolves. This will be the flavorful base of the soup.
- Use russet potatoes- You want to use a potato that has low moisture content and will absorb the liquid in the soup, making it nice and thick. Russet potatoes are great in soups for this reason.
Add-ins and Substitutions
- Add toppings- Top this Baked Potato Soup with cooked bacon bites, extra shredded cheddar, sour cream, and chopped green onion.
- Leave the peels on- I made this soup with peeled potatoes, but you could leave the skin on if you prefer. Just wash it thoroughly to get off any trapped dirt, then chop.
- Substitute different cheese- Typically, cheddar cheese is used in this recipe, but you can use others. Try Swiss, Fontina, or Gruyere, all of which melt really well.
- Add vegetables- This is a great soup to sneak veggies into! Add some broccoli, corn, green beans, peas, or carrots.
FAQs
If your soup is too thin, you can use a slurry of flour and water to thicken it. Starch also works, so adding a potato starch slurry not only thickens it with authentic potato flavoring, but it also makes this soup gluten-free.
Yes, you can omit the bacon if you do not want to use meat. Also, substitute vegetable broth or water for the chicken broth. Make sure to add extra seasoning as the bacon provided a lot of flavor and also salt.
Serving Suggestions
This Baked Potato Soup is so flavorful and pairs well with everything. These are a few serving ideas to try.
- Meats: Serve this soups on the side of Garlic Butter Steak Bites, Juicy Air Fryer Pork Chops (VIDEO), or Air Fryer Chicken Legs.
- Salad: For a light dinner, pair this Baked Potato Soup with a Spinach Pomegranate Salad, Best Broccoli Cranberry Salad Recipe, or Cabbage Cucumber Salad.
- Sides: Other sides that go with it are Bacon Wrapped Asparagus, Crispy Air Fryer Broccoli, and Roasted Air Fryer Vegetables.
- Breads: Add a plate of Moist Buttermilk Cornbread Recipe, Super Soft Brioche Dinner Rolls, or Garlic Cheese Bread to a meal with this soup.
Make This Baked Potato Soup in Advance
Make ahead: You can make this soup ahead of time and leave it in the refrigerator or freezer until you’re ready to serve it. Just warm it on the stove and then add your toppings.
Storing: Store any leftover Baked Potato Soup in the fridge in an airtight container once it has cooled. It will last for about 4 days.
Freeze: You can freeze this soup in a freezer-safe container or ziplock bag, freezing flat and then storing vertically to save room. Allow it to thaw overnight and then heat it on the stovetop, stirring and adding a little milk to reincorporate the ingredients.
More Delicious Soups!
- Chicken Meatball Soup
- Chicken Noodle Soup from Scratch
- Clam Chowder Soup
- Best Mushroom Soup Recipe
- French Onion Soup with Cheese Topping
Full Recipe Instructions
Baked Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- 6 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 3 cups milk
- 6 potatoes (about 4 cups chopped)
- 3 green onions
- 1/2 cup sour cream optional
- 1 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Cook 6 chopped bacon slices in a large pot over medium-high heat. Remove and set aside for toppings later.
- In the same pot, sauté 1 chopped onion with the 6 tablespoons unsalted butter until it becomes translucent.
- Add the flour and brown for 3 minutes.
- Stir in the 4 cups chicken broth and 3 cups milk and bring it to a boil.
- Now peel and dice up 6 russet potatoes. Add the chopped potatoes into the pot and cook over medium heat until the potatoes are fully cooked and fork-tender.
- Then add the chopped green onion.
- Remove the pot from heat and stir in 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted on January 17, 2017, we’ve tweaked it a bit since then.
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Roxanna Goff says
LOVED this recipe. My only change was to just do 1/2 onion and it turned out delicious! Even the kids loved it. This is a keeper!
Dina says
Roxanna, thank you so much for taking the time to write your kind feedback! I am thrilled to hear that your whole family enjoyed the potato soup!
Janel says
This recipe was so easy to make, and very delicious! I followed the recipe almost exactly, with the addition of diced carrots and celery (simply because I had some in the refrigerator to get rid of). Not only will I make it again, it will likely become a staple in my home. Thank you so much for sharing!
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Janel, thank you so much for taking the time to write such a kind review 🙂 I’m so thrilled to hear that you enjoyed this potato soup recipe so much.
Christina Wheeler says
Followed recipe to exact measurements and it was amazing! Thanks for sharing!
simplyhomecooked says
I’m so glad you enjoyed this potato soup recipe, Christina! Thank you for the kind feedback 🙂
Irene says
Just delicious!! Thank you for recipe!:)
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Irene, thank you so much for the feedback! I hope you enjoy more recipes from my blog!
Anna says
Oh! Potato soup is my favorite and you made it look so easy.
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you Anna ☺️ it’s quite a simple soup.
JJ says
Am I supposed to purée the mutherukker?
Lindi says
Wow.. Made your soup tonight.. Was so good.. Thank you
simplyhomecooked says
Happy to hear you enjoyed this potato soup! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback 🙂