There’s something about a gray, bone-cold afternoon that just calls for a big pot of potato soup on the stove. That’s exactly how this recipe came into my regular rotation. When you want a meal that will seriously stick to your ribs, you won’t regret making a big old pot of potato soup.
This is a loaded baked potato in soup form. Every single thing you love about a baked potato, piled up with butter, bacon pieces, softened butter, creamy sour cream, sharp cheddar cheese. It’s all right here in this decadent winter comfort food.
I actually found this hearty soup recipe in an old Cooking Light magazine while I was in the waiting room at the dentist’s office. Really, the only place anyone reads actual physical magazines now, right?
When I saw that it claimed to be a light version, I was skeptical. But it is. It’s such a rich, creamy soup you’d swear it’s made with loads of heavy cream and butter. Nope. It’s not exactly a diet food, but for creamy potato soup, it’s definitely lightened up.
My family requests this bacon cheddar soup all through the fall and winter. It’s one of those winter comfort food recipes nobody ever gets tired of.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This bacon cheddar soup has everything going for it, and then some.
- Loaded baked potato flavor: All the toppings you love are built right into the soup itself.
- Budget-friendly ingredients: You probably already have most of what you need sitting in your kitchen.
- Lighter than it tastes: This recipe originally came from Cooking Light, so it’s a creamy soup that doesn’t feel heavy after the fact.
- Fast enough for weeknights: Do a little prep ahead of time and you’re eating hearty soup in less than half an hour.
- Crowd-pleaser every time: Kids love it, adults love it, and the pot rarely has leftovers.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
This potato soup comes together with simple, everyday ingredients. Here’s what you’ll want to know before you start.
- Baking potatoes: Russets are what you want here. They break down into a fluffy mash that thickens the soup perfectly. Red or Yukon Gold can work but the texture won’t be as thick.
- All-purpose flour: Gotta have some flour to give the soup its body. It’s what makes it seem such a hearty soup. Whisk it into the milk so you can create a base that’s thick and velvety, even without cream.
- Whole milk: Full fat milk gives you the best texture. But you can use others. 2%, even fat-free. You can use 2% in a pinch, but the soup will be slightly thinner.
- Extra sharp cheddar: Go for extra sharp if you can. The stronger flavor means a little goes a long way in this bacon cheddar soup.
- Sour cream: This is the secret to that tangy, rich finish. Greek yogurt works as a substitute if that’s what you’ve got.
- Bacon: Cook it until it’s really crispy so it holds up as a topping. Turkey bacon is totally fine here too.
Tips for Success
A few things that make this potato soup come out great every time:
- Bake the potatoes the night before or that morning. It cuts down the active cook time by an hour and makes this genuinely quick on a weeknight.
- Whisk constantly when you add the milk to the flour. If you let it sit, you’ll get lumps that are hard to smooth out later.
- Don’t skip the low-and-slow simmering step after you add the sour cream. That 10 minutes on low heat brings out all the flavors.
- Shred your own cheese if at all possible. Pre-shredded cheese is coated with flour (or something) to keep it from sticking together. It doesn’t give you a good melt.
Storage and Reheating
Leftover potato soup stores well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat it gently on the stove over low to medium heat, stirring as it warms up. Add a splash of milk to thin it back out since it thickens up a lot as it cools.
Microwaving to reheat it works fine for single portions. Heat in 60-second intervals and stir between each so it heats evenly.
This creamy soup can be frozen for up to 2 months, though dairy-based soups can change texture a bit after thawing. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat low and slow on the stove, stirring in a little fresh milk to bring it back together.
Serving Suggestions
This hearty soup is a full meal on its own, but it’s great alongside a simple green salad or warm crusty bread. Pretzel rolls are a personal favorite with this one. If you like cornbread, try this Mexican cornbread recipe for some spiciness.
Another great idea is to set up a topping bar and let everyone make it the way they want. Extra bacon, sour cream, different cheese flavors, green onions. Yum!
Notes
The secret to this potato soup really is in baking the potatoes. You may never go back to boiling potatoes to make a hearty soup again! Loaded baked potato soup is truly the perfect winter comfort food.
Creamy Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 4 –5 Medium Russet potatoes peeled and chopped into uniform 1-inch pieces
- 2 Cans 14 oz each Low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 Can 10.5 oz Cheddar cheese soup
- ½ Medium yellow onion finely chopped
- 3 Closely garlic minced
- 4 tbsp. Unsalted butter
- ¼ cup All-purpose flour
- 2 cups Half-and-half Room temperature
- ½ cup Sour cream Room temperature
- 2 cups Sharp cheddar cheese freshly shredded from a block (divided)
- 8 Slices thick-cut bacon cooked crisp and crumbled
- ½ cup Fresh green onions chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Into your slow cooker insert, drop the chopped russet potatoes, chicken broth, canned cheddar cheese soup, chopped onion, minced garlic, salt, and black pepper, stirring firmly to thoroughly dissolve the cheese soup paste into the broth. Clamp the lid tight and set the slow cooker to High for 3 to 3 ½ hours or Low for 4 to 6 hours until the potato cubes are completely tender and slide effortlessly off a fork.
- Exactly 30 minutes before the slow cooker cycle ends, take off the lid and use a potato masher or the heavy back of a ladle to mash roughly 50% of the potato chunks right inside the liquid. Leaving half the potatoes intact preserves rustic chunks, while smashing the rest releases loose amylose starch molecules straight into the hot chicken broth, naturally bodying and thickening the soup liquid without straining or dulling its flavor.
- Immediately after mashing, create a stabilizing liaison roux by melting 4 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisking in the ¼ cup of flour to cook for 60 seconds to strip away the raw flour flavor, and slowly streaming in the 2 cups of half-and-half while whisking aggressively until the mixture turns into a glossy, thick, double-cream paste.
- Pour this hot half-and-half liaison straight into the bubbling slow cooker, drop in the sour cream and exactly 1 cup of your freshly shredded cheddar cheese, and stir continuously for 2 minutes until unified. Dairy fats can easily break down and curdle if subjected to hours of intense crockpot heat, so whisking the cream with a small flour-and-butter roux before adding it cushions the delicate dairy proteins, keeping your soup velvety and uniform rather than separated and watery.
- Secure the slow cooker lid back in place and let it finish cooking on low heat for the remaining 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, then ladle the hot soup into deep bowls and blanket each serving generously with the remaining 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, the crispy crumbled bacon, and a heavy scattering of fresh green onions.
