Loaded Potato Soup
The family will love this one pot Loaded Cheesy Potato Soup. It's like a creamy baked potato in soup form! Cozy, hearty and so good.
Servings: 4
Equipment
- large soup pot or dutch oven
- blender or immersion blender to blend some of the soup for thickness
Ingredients
- 6 large potatoes, peeled and diced yukon gold or russet will work
- 6-8 slices bacon, uncooked
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp all purpose flour use all purpose gluten free if needed
- ¼ cup yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp chili powder
- 4 cups chicken broth, low sodium
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup heavy cream see notes
- 1 cup milk 2%
Toppings
- crispy chopped bacon
- shredded cheddar cheese
- green onions, chopped
- sour cream
- hot sauce
Instructions
- Cook the bacon in a large Dutch Oven or soup pot over medium heat and cook until bacon is crisp and browned. Use this same pot to make the rest of the soup!
- Once the bacon is cooked to your liking, remove it and set aside, leaving drain most of the grease, but leave some for flavor. Add butter and chopped onion, cook over medium heat until onions are tender (3-4 minutes).
- Sprinkle flour and seasonings and garlic over the onions, stir it in well. This is to form a roux.
- Add diced, peeled potatoes to the pot with chicken broth, milk, heavy cream. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork (about 15-18 minutes).
- Reduce heat to simmer. Carefully remove a few cups of the potatoes and soup mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. You can also use an immersion blender, just motion it up and down a few (maybe 3-4) times and it will thicken the soup up. Don't do too much with the immersion blender, you want to leave several potatoes whole for texture.
- Let the soup come back to temperature. Serve the soup and garnish with chopped chives, chopped bacon crisps, cheddar cheese and a little dollop of sour cream. Enjoy warm!
Notes
- Try to keep the potatoes the same size throughout for the most even cook. I prefer them to be 3/4 - .5 of an inch.
- Don't overcook the potatoes. They need to be just tender with a fork, you will want some texture to the soup (at least thats what I like!)
- Taste as you go, you may want a dash of more salt or chili powder.
- You can blend the entire soup if you prefer a very creamy texture throughout.
- Keep the bacon out of the soup until just before serving so it remains crispy and delicious.
- Make it healthier! Skip the heavy cream and just use 2% milk. You can also use Turkey bacon, and skip the cheese to cut some calories. It won't be as creamy but it will still be so flavorful.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can freeze these for up to 2 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1.5 cups of soup with toppings | Calories: 753kcal | Carbohydrates: 98g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 625mg | Potassium: 2737mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 868IU | Vitamin C: 111mg | Calcium: 184mg | Iron: 5mg