Love loaded baked potatoes? Then you will love this Baked Potato Soup! Top it with all the classic favorites like crispy bacon, sour cream, chives, and cheddar.
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Here’s a classic soup that’s perfect for potato lovers – Baked Potato Soup!
This is no ordinary potato soup. This soup is made with mashed baked potatoes, onions, celery, and broth, mashed, then topped with classic baked potato toppings like crumbled crispy bacon, shredded cheddar, sour cream, and chives. It really is a loaded baked potato soup.
My father, as a potato-hungry German and therefore completely biased, raved about this soup. Of course he did. How couldn’t he? It’s a baked potato with all the toppings in soup form.
If you’re careful how you cut and scoop the potato filling, you can even save the skins for the perfect game-day snack—baked potato skins.
The best potatoes for this soup
Use red potatoes to make this soup as they are easier to mash into a puree. (This soup is also a great way to use up leftover baked potatoes.) Red potatoes and Yukon gold are less starchy and don’t break down as easily in a soup.
How to make a thicker, heartier soup
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How to store and reheat potato soup
The baked potato soup has a shelf life of about five days and can be warmed up well either in the microwave or on the stovetop over low heat. If heating in the microwave, heat in 1-minute intervals, stirring in between to avoid hot spots in your soup (which tend to burst and spill soup in your microwave).
Potato soups generally don’t tend to freeze very well — the texture tends to get watery when reheated — so plan on eating them up the week you’re making them.
More stick-to-your-ribs soups and stews
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Homemade chicken soup with noodles
- Ham and Potato Soup
- Black Bean Soup
- Easy Tuscan Bean Soup
Baked Potato Soup
Potatoes love salt. So if you’re using homemade broth or low-sodium broth that isn’t flavorful, you’ll need to add more to this soup to make up the difference.
ingredients
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4 lb red potatoes (about 7 medium-sized potatoes)
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1/4 lb thick cut baconcut crosswise into 1/8-inch slices (bacon)
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1 big Onionfinely chopped (about 2 cups)
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2 ribs celeryfinely chopped
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6 cups chicken broth
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1 teaspoon kosher saltplus more to taste
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1/8 teaspoon floor white or black pepper
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2 to 4 tablespoon heavy creamOptional
Garnishes:
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Grated sharp cheddar cheese
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sour cream
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Chopped chives
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decay bacon (from step 2 of the method)
special equipment
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blender
method
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Bake Potatoes:
Scrub the potatoes clean and pierce them with the tines of a fork or paring knife (to avoid exploding from internal pressure build-up during cooking). Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 400°F for 1 hour or until easily cut through with a knife.
Remove and allow to cool sufficiently to touch. (To speed up cooling, cut in half lengthwise.)
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Cook bacon:
Place the bacon in a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven (about 5-6 quart pot). Heat on medium until bacon begins to brown, then reduce heat to medium.
Cook until bacon has released most of the fat and bacon cubes are browned and crispy. Remove the cooked bacon and set aside.
Remove all but 1 tablespoon of bacon grease from pan. (Don’t throw bacon grease down your sink, it will clog the drain. Pour the grease into a jar and let it cool and set. Then either scoop out and throw away or use for another purpose.)
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Cooking onion and celery in bacon fat:
Add the chopped onion and celery to the remaining bacon fat in the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat for 2 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Simmer slowly over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes.
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Scoop out the fried potatoes, add to the pot with the chicken broth:
When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, transfer the insides to a bowl. Then add it to the cooked onion and celery mixture along with 6 cups chicken broth. Add a teaspoon of kosher salt.
Bring the soup to a simmer and reduce the heat to low.
Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes into the broth.
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To puree part or all of the soup:
Cook the potato soup for about 5 minutes, then use an immersion blender to puree about half of the soup if you want a slightly chunky soup, or puree all of it if you want a smoother soup.
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Add cream:
Stir in 2 to 4 tablespoons of heavy cream if you want a creamier soup. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
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Top with grated cheddar, sour cream, chives, bacon:
Pour into bowls and garnish with shredded cheddar, sour cream, chives and crumbled crispy bacon.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 480 | calories |
| 10g | Fat |
| 76g | carbohydrates |
| 21g | protein |
