Easy Loaded Potato Soup Recipe

Ingredients for Baked Potato Soup

Here’s a quick rundown of what you’ll need for this recipe. For the full measurements, scroll down to the recipe card.

• Bacon – Chop this before starting the recipe. You can make a vegetarian baked potato soup without the bacon, but I do have to warn you, the bacon is a key player in the flavor of this recipe as the bacon grease is used for sautéing the vegetables.
• Vegetables – Onion and celery help form the base of flavor in this potato soup.
• Potatoes – I opt for creamy, buttery Yukon Gold potatoes but russet potatoes work well.,
• Chicken Stock – Or vegetable stock to make it vegetarian. If you have Chicken Broth or vegetable broth, that works as a great substitute.
• Seasonings –  Onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.
• Half and Half – Adds creaminess without the heaviness of cream.
• Low-Fat Plain Greek Yogurt – For a tangy flavor reminiscent of sour cream. (You can substitute sour cream if you prefer.)
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese – Freshly shredded cheddar cheese will melt smoothly when stirred into the soup; store-bought shreds can sometimes be gloppy and weird.
• Scallions – For garnish.

How to Make Loaded Potato Soup

Homemade potato soup recipe is super simple to whip up and I love to enlist the help of my trusty CrockPot. It’s just minutes of hands on time and then your crock pot or slow cooker does all the work while you clean the house or binge on Netflix.

1. Prepare. Peel and chop the potatoes into bite sized pieces.
2. Cook the bacon. Saute the bacon until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel to drain.
3. Sweat the veggies. Add the onions and celery to the bacon fat. Cook over medium-high heat until softened.
4. Assemble. Place the potatoes in the slow cooker. Pour the chicken stock over the potatoes. Stir in the onions, celery, garlic powder, onion powder and dry mustard. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Cook. Cook the baked potato soup on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
6. Puree. Place 3 cups of the potato and broth mixture in a blender. Puree until smooth. Alternatively, you can puree some of the soup directly in the pot using an immersion blender.
7. Make it creamy. Pour the potato puree back into the slow cooker and stir.
8. Finish. Stir in the half and half, yogurt and cheese.
9. Serve. Garnish with shredded cheese, chopped green onions, a dollop of sour cream and reserved bacon.

Tips for Making Baked Potato Soup

Here are a few pointers to help you make sure your soup turns out perfect!

• Make it on the stovetop. You can easily make this on your stovetop in a large pot or Dutch oven. Just cover after you’ve poured all the ingredients in and simmer over medium low heat for 30-40 minutes or until your potatoes are fork tender. Follow the remaining instructions for pureeing and serving.
• Buy big potatoes. Why does it matter? Technically, it doesn’t, but I think it’s much faster and easier to peel and cut 2 or 3 big potatoes than a bunch of small ones.
• Use a high quality stock. Homemade chicken stock is best, but if you need to go with store-bought, use a brand that tastes good out of the carton. If you would sip on it when you’re under the weather, it’s worthy of making into soup.
• Don’t freeze it. Potatoes have a tendency to get mealy when frozen and thawed. It changes the texture of this baked potato soup in a bad way and I don’t recommend it.
• Get a head start. Baked potato soup can be made up to 2 days in advance. When reheating, you may need to add a little stock to the mix because the potatoes will continue to absorb the liquid when sitting.