This easy Loaded Potato Soup Recipe is one of my family’s favorite dinners. It’s one I could easily make once a week! Onion and garlic are sautéed in bacon drippings, infusing the creamy, savory broth with a delightfully smoky flavor. Add in the soft, tender potatoes, cheese, sour cream and crispy bacon, and get ready to taste heaven in every bite.
Reasons You’ll Love Loaded Potato Soup
People Pleaser – Flavorful broth, bacon, and lots and lots of cheese! Who wouldn’t love a bowl of this creamy potato soup?
Easy Potato Soup – For a soup, this has a minimal amount of chopping, and has ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.
Dinner Decider – When I’m in dinner decision slump, I always reach for this loaded potato soup recipe!
Picky Eater Approved – This potato soup is basically mashed potatoes, bacon and cheese. The picky eater approved foods!
Load it Up! – It isn’t called loaded potato soup for nothing. Add all the toppings your heart desires!
I am primary suspect #1 for buying a bag of potatoes, thinking I’ll use them all, and letting them go bad. However, if I can catch them before their time is up, I almost always make this loaded potato soup! It’s so simple, the potatoes can cook in the broth, you don’t have to dirty a million dishes, and everyone at my table is happy because they can load this soup up with whatever they want!
Ingredient Info
This is a discussion about the ingredients. For the actual recipe with amounts, please see the recipe below.
- Bacon – Good old fashioned bacon is perfect. Thick cut, regular cut, whatever you want. You can substitute for sausage if you’d prefer or use this sausage potato soup recipe. I wouldn’t use turkey bacon because you’ll need the fat renderings from the regular bacon.
- Onion – Sweet, yellow, white or even a few shallots will work. To save yourself chopping time, pick up one of these veggie choppers!
- Broth – You can use chicken or vegetable broth.
- Potatoes – I used russet potatoes but you can use gold or red potatoes. If you have frozen potatoes, try my crockpot potato soup recipe!
- Heavy Cream – This gets the best consistency compared to half-and-half or regular milk. I don’t recommend substituting this.
- Cheese – Shredded cheddar is my favorite, but use whatever kind of cheese you like.
How To Make Loaded Potato Soup
This is a discussion about the Loaded Potato Soup recipe. For the actual recipe with amounts, please see the recipe below.
- Cook bacon until crispy. Remove add butter then sauté onion and garlic. Whisk in the flour then whisk in the broth to combine. Add potatoes then boil.
- Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Once tender blend or mash the potatoes a few times. Add the heavy cream and cheddar cheese. Stir until fully combined and add salt and pepper as needed. Remove from heat.
- Serve in bowls, and add toppings like sour cream, crumbled bacon, more cheese and green onion. Enjoy!
Tips & Advice
Christi’s Kitchen Tips
Thick and Thin – For a thicker potato soup, you can mash/blend the potatoes into the soup for longer, add a bit more shredded cheese, or use a little less broth and cream. For a thinner broth, you can skip the blender part or add a splash more broth to the soup.
Storage – Store the leftover Loaded Potato Soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, add the soup back to a pot and gently heat over low-medium heat until warm.
You can also store this in the freezer. Store in a freezer safe container, with space to expand if needed. It should last up to a month. Thaw overnight and reheat as stated above.
Vegetarian – You can make this dish vegetarian by using veggie broth and skipping the bacon part. Use a neutral oil to sauté the onions and garlic. You can even sauté some mushrooms with paprika for a smoky “bacon” flavor.
Equipment
For this easy loaded potato soup recipe you just need a soup pot or dutch oven, an immersion blender or potato masher, and something to stir with!
FAQs
I like eating this potato soup with a side salad or side veggies, as well as a roll or bread to dip into the soup!
I don’t have carrots in this potato soup recipe, but you can absolutely add some if you’d like. If you do, I’d sprinkle a few shredded carrots in after blending the potatoes.
I find russet potatoes to be the best because of their high starch content, making this soup extra creamy!
Recipes You’ll Love
If you enjoyed this loaded potato soup I have a feeling you’re going to love a few more of these simple, savory soup dishes that will leave you wanting more and more! Check them out:
- Sausage Tortellini Soup
- Lasagna Soup
- Vegetable Stew
- Instant Pot Chicken Soup
- Easy Crockpot White Chicken Chili
- Chicken And Dumplings With Tortillas
- Homemade Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
- Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
- Green Beans and Potatoes
- Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes
- Crack Potatoes
- Air Fryer Baked Potato
- Instant Pot Cheesy Potatoes
More Recipes You’ll Love!
Loaded Potato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon (raw)
- 2 tablespoons butter (unsalted)
- 1 medium onion (finely diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- 2 russet potatoes (peeled and diced)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup cheddar cheese (freshly grated)
- salt and pepper (to taste )
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 green onions (sliced )
Instructions
- In a large pot or dutch oven, add the bacon and cook over medium heat until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pot and set aside, reserve 1-2 tablespoons of the bacon fat in the pot. Add butter, then add the onion. Sauté until translucent, then add the garlic. Sauté for one more minute.
- Sprinkle in the flour, and stir constantly for about 2 minutes until the clumps have cooked down. The more you stir, the less grainy the soup will be. While stirring, slowly pour in the broth to combine. Add the diced potatoes then bring the soup to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat and let the soup come to a simmer. Check the potatoes after 15-20 minutes of simmering. Once tender use a masher or immersion blender and pulse the soup a few times to break up the pieces of potato and make the broth creamier.
- Lower the heat again, then add the heavy cream and cheddar cheese. Stir this for 5-7 minutes or until the cream and cheese have fully combined. Try your best not to let the soup boil. Add salt and pepper as needed. Remove from heat.
- Serve in bowls, and add toppings like sour cream, crumbled bacon, more cheese and green onion. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
Meet Christi, Love From The Oven
I’m Christi I love sharing easy & delicious recipes that your family & friends will love. I’m a mom, baker, cookbook author and lover of sprinkles.
