Loaded Baked Potato Soup

This  Loaded Baked Potato Soup is perfect for cold-weather entertaining! Hearty and delicious with toppings of bacon, sour cream and cheese will please your family and your guests.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

There’s a definite chill in the air. Ideal soup weather.  This easy recipe for a loaded baked potato soup the perfect way to warm you from the inside out. It’s darn tasty, too.

In the winter, I am the one in the family that keeps her coat on for an hour after we get home from running errands, wears multiple layers of clothing, and has an electric mattress pad. The one disadvantage of being skinny is constantly feeling cold when the temps plummet. I sip hot tea all day long.

When it gets really cold, I turn to hot, steaming dishes for dinner. Soup, like this Homemade Beef Barley Soup, is a favorite. Hubby prefers his meat and potatoes, so sprinkling this baked potato soup with a healthy amount of chopped bacon does help.

What’s the best way to bake a potato?

Though I’ve microwaved a potato in a pinch, the potato ends up more steamed than baked. Using the oven is the best way to bake a potato. Here are the easy steps:

• Wash and dry your potatoes. Use a knife or fork to pierce through the skin and into the potato in a number of spots. This prevents the potatoes from bursting open in the oven as the steam builds up inside.
• If you’re not using the baked potatoes for soup, rub each lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.
• Preheat your oven to 350º and place the potatoes directly on the oven rack.
• Bake for 1 hour or until the skin is crispy and the potatoes give when you squeeze them.
• To add to your dinner menu, cut open and top with butter, sour cream or your favorite toppings. If using for soup or twice baked potatoes, let them cool enough to handle, then scoop out the flesh as needed for the recipe.

Tips for Making an Easy Potato Soup

• Russet potatoes work well for this baked potato soup instead of a waxy yellow or red potato.
• Steak houses typically use russet potatoes when they serve a baked potato with your beef.
• You can tweak your potato soup by mixing in your favorite baked potato toppings.
• I usually go with sour cream, shredded sharp cheddar, bacon and chives or scallions.
• Feel free to saute a few cloves of garlic to make a garlicky baked potato soup.  Think of the toppings you enjoy on a baked potato or potato skins. The possibilities are endless.

Give this loaded baked potato soup a try.  My countdown to spring has begun. How about you?

More Hearty Soups You’ll Love:

• Hearty Italian Vegetable Beef Soup from Barefeet in the Kitchen
• Tomato Tortellini Soup from Crunchy Creamy Sweet
• Beef Mushroom Soup
• Chicken Jambalaya Soup
• Tuscan Sausage Soup
• Chicken Wild Rice Soup
• Chicken Gumbo
• More Soup Recipes

This post was first shared in October 2017. Photos and text were updated in 2020.

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The Recipe:

Baked Potato Soup

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Yield 6 servings

A creamy potato soup garnished like a baked potato!

Ingredients

• 4 large baking potatoes
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced onion, softened in water
• 6 cups milk
• 1/2-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Crumbled bacon, sliced scallions or chives, sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese for garnish

Instructions

1. Wash potatoes and prick with a fork. Bake at 400º for one hour or till soft. When cool enough to handle, cut in half and remove pulp.
2. Melt butter in large pan. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute. Gradually add milk while stirring; cook over medium heat till thick and bubbly.
3. Add reserved pulp, salt and pepper, onions, and cheese. Heat thoroughly, adding extra milk to thin if necessary. Recheck seasonings and add more salt and pepper if needed
4. Ladle into bowls and garnish as desired.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1 bowl
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 574Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 81mgSodium: 813mgCarbohydrates: 63gFiber: 5gSugar: 3gProtein: 20g

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