This Loaded Baked Potato Soup is the ultimate comfort food for a chilly day. Made with tender potatoes, crispy potatoes, and melted cheddar cheese, this soup recipe is a hearty meal, packed with flavor, and perfect for lunch or dinner.
Nothing hits the spot quite like soup season. It’s the absolute perfect dish to warm you up on a cold winter day. Plus, when you enjoy homemade soups, you can use fresh, whole ingredients and customize everything to your own tastes and preferences.
If you’re a soup fanatic like myself, you can put my soup recipes on rotation all winter long. Try my other easy soups:
If you’ve been around here long, you know I absolutely love getting creative and nostalgic with my recipes, which is how this Loaded Baked Potato Soup came about! Growing up in Boston, I used to eat baked potatoes all the time. Maybe it was a cold-weather thing, but they were always so perfectly soothing during the winter.
Now at the time, I would always hear about baked potato soup, but I just envisioned a deconstructed potato sitting in some broth. Let me tell you, I could not have been more wrong!
Loaded Baked Potato Soup is a creamy soup that truly feels like a hug in every spoonful. Whether you choose to add a million toppings or simply eat it alone, this simple soup recipe is so filling and satisfying.
The best part is that in addition to tasting incredible, the soup is super easy to make. In fact, it’s so easy that I double the batch and keep leftovers in the fridge so I can enjoy it instantaneously the next time I’m craving it.
I have kept it in my fridge for up to a week and it was fine. All you need to do is simmer it on low heat in a pot, and it tastes exactly the same as you’ve made it the first day! (You could theoretically freeze it as well, but because there’s dairy in it, I’d be cautious of keeping it in there too long.)
I actually distinctly remember the first time I had Loaded Baked Potato Soup; it was premade at my local grocery store so I decided to give it a try. Halfway through, I realized that there was bacon in the soup!
You see, I don’t really care for bacon and tend to avoid it. However, it wasn’t until this soup that I learned to love the crispiness of bacon in soup, especially paired with chives. The flavors add such wonderful depth to the soup’s flavor.
I swear, once you try this baked potato soup recipe, you’ll end up making it a couple of times a week! (Guilty as charged, I made this soup three times this week alone).
How to Make the Best Loaded Baked Potato Soup
To get the best soup, I recommend using golden or red potatoes. They’re the most delicious and taste phenomenal once they’re softened. However, you can use any potatoes you have on hand, so don’t let that stop you from trying this recipe.
You can choose to keep the skin on or off for this recipe, but I find that it adds a really nice additional texture to the soup!
My favorite way to serve this soup is in a bread bowl. You can also serve it along with my Roasted Hatch Chili Garlic Bread. The two flavors combined are amazing and it’s such a great way to get a filling meal! If you want to skip the garlic bread and opt for a healthier pairing, you can make my Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich, which is super simple and healthy.
For storing and transporting this soup, I recommend using Rubbermaid’s EasyFindLids Antimicrobial Food Storage Containers. They not only help save space but also keep my kitchen super organized!
The lids and bases snap together, with nesting bases. Plus, one lid fits multiple bases, so it’s seriously a win-win! The best part is that the SilverShield® provides 24/7 antimicrobial protection so your food can resist odor-causing bacteria growth.
In a large pot, heat up butter on med heat, add in the onions and cook for 3 mins until there translucent. Season with salt, pepper and smoked paprika.
Stir in the flour and cook it for about a minute. Whisk in the milk and broth in slowly until the flour has nicely melted into it and there’s no clumps, add in the diced potatoes and garlic. Place a lid on the pot and lower the heat, bring the soup to a low boil and cook for 15 mins.
Transfer half of the soup into a blender, blend until smooth and add it back into the pot. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, cheddar cheese and chives or bacon. Enjoy!
Notes
If at any point the soup is too thick for you (especially when reheating it), add in some broth until your desired consistency is reached.
I highly recommend reheating this soup on a low heat and stirring it often.
Just an East/West coast girl living the southern life. I love sharing all my tested and perfected recipes here, along with some travel guides and a little bit of my lifestyle
