Baked potato soup is about as good as you can get in terms of comfort food in the soup category! It’s so hearty and creamy and full of flavor. This soup has all the best parts about a loaded baked potato, in a bowl you can slurp. It’s a great recipe to use if you have leftover baked potatoes, but it’s also easy enough to whip up all on the same night. Top it with all the traditional baked potato toppings of crispy bacon, sliced green onions, melty cheddar cheese, and a dollop of sour cream if you like. This is definitely a favorite of my whole family and perfect for a cozy night in!
Ingredients and Equipment
- Butter – real butter gives the best flavor here, and also combines with the flour for the thickening agent.
- Garlic– fresh garlic adds great flavor, but if you’re out, you can definitely sub in some garlic powder to taste! If using garlic powder, add it with the salt and pepper to taste. I’d start with 1/2 teaspoon.
- Flour – flour is used as our thickener. If you’re out of flour, you could certainly try combining 1-2 tablespoons cornstarch with your cold milk before adding to the pot to help thicken the soup.
- Milk – low fat milk works just fine in this recipe, though I personally would skip skim milk. I generally use what we have at home, which is 1%.
- Chicken Broth – free free to use canned broth, or chicken bullion base + water or homemade if you have it!
- Potatoes – russet potatoes work best here with their high starch content. They crumble nicely and area able to soak up liquid in the soup. If you have another type of potato leftover, or in your kitchen, you can certainly sub out a different variety and it will still taste great. This step takes the longest in terms of prep time, but if your potatoes are already cooked, it comes together in under 30 minutes!
- Cheese – I prefer using a sharp cheddar for extra flavor, but regular mild cheddar works great as well. I would avoid using pre-shredded cheese in bags, as it doesn’t melt as well and might add a less desirable texture to your finished soup.
- Sour Cream – low fat or full fat sour cream can be used.
- Green Onions– thinly slice your green onions and use both the white and green ends!
- Bacon– bacon adds both flavor and texture to the finished soup. Though I call for the minimum amount of bacon needed for the recipe, at our house I just cook a full pound so we have plenty to add on top. The easiest way to prep bacon for this recipe (and always) is baking it in the oven! You can cook it at the same time as your potatoes, just add the pan toward the end of cooking time.
Instructions
This is a basic walkthrough of making baked potato soup so you can know what to expect! Scroll to the end of this article for the full printable recipe, including all measurements.
- Melt butter in a large stock pot and add garlic. Saute for 30-60 seconds until fragrant.
- Add flour and whisk mixture together to form a paste-like mixture.
- Drizzle in milk very slowly, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Note: This step can sometimes be problematic and even I end up with lumps sometimes! No shame in that- rouxs can be tricky and this one has less butter than normal so it’s a little harder to smooth out. I often just pull out my immersion blender at this point to smooth it all out before moving on to the next step.
- Add chicken broth and bring soup to a low simmer to thicken.
- Add in cooked baked potatoes and season with salt and pepper.
- Add in cheddar cheese and stir until melted and then add in sour cream, bacon, and green onions.
- Ladle into bowls and Serve with extra toppings!
NOTE: I mention in the ingredient notes above that I like to have extra chicken broth on hand. This is a thick and hearty soup- if I need to stretch it, or if it’s going to sit for a bit, I like to add extra broth. It’s very flexible that way!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I prep baked potato soup ahead of time? This soup will thicken quite a bit once stored, so I think it’s better made fresh. That being said, leftovers are delicious, they just need to be thinned out with additional broth.
Can any of the steps be done ahead? Yes! To save time, bake your potatoes ahead of time. They can be stored in the fridge until ready to use. This is an excellent use for leftover baked potatoes. You can also cook your bacon ahead of time and store the same way. Slice your green onions and grate your cheese. With all of those steps done ahead, this soup takes just minutes to make!
Help! My leftovers are super thick, what do I do? As mentioned above, this soup will thicken upon chilling. Just heat it up and if necessary, thin with a little extra broth until your desired consistency is reached.
Serving Suggestions
- We love serving baked potato soup with crusty bread for dipping. Because the soup itself is so hearty, it’s definitely more filling than other lighter, broth-based soups. Bread and a nice green salad work nicely!
- If you’re up for making your own bread, this super easy overnight artisan loaf is a great choice. We also love homemade Buttermilk Ranch on our salad.
Baked Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 4 1/2 cups milk
- 1 14 oz can chicken broth I like to have 2 cans on hand, more in notes
- 4 medium baking potatoes about 2 1/2 pounds baked*
- 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese plus extra for topping
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 cups sour cream plus extra for topping, if desired
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions plus extra for topping
- 4-6 slices bacon cooked and crumbled for soup, plus extra for topping. *I always cook a full pound of bacon because we like to have lots for topping!
Instructions
- *don’t have time to bake potatoes in the oven? Just pierce them with a fork a few times and then pop them in the microwave. Cook in 5 minute intervals until a knife easily pierces through them. It usually takes 5-10 minutes. To bake in the oven, pierce each potato with a fork and place directly on oven rack. Bake at 400 for 45-60 minutes, until a knife or fork easily pierces potatoes.Â
Instructions:
- 1. Melt butter in a stock pot over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for 30-60 seconds until fragrant.
- 2. Add flour to pan and whisk to combine. It will be a somewhat crumbly paste. Slowly add milk a little at a time while immediately whisking constantly to eliminate lumps.  Whisk until smooth. NOTE: At this point, if you find yourself with lumps- take the time to whisk vigorously, or use an immersion blender to smooth mixture. If all else fails, you could also place the mixture in a blender. Better to use one of these steps than to have a lumpy soup!
- 3. Add chicken broth. Bring soup just to a low simmer and cook until thickened, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Because of the milk, this mixture can burn on the bottom of the pot if you aren't stirring pretty regularly.
- 4. Once soup is thickened, turn heat down to medium-low. Cut potatoes in half length-wise and use a spoon to scoop out potato flesh. I like to do this right onto a cutting board so I can lightly smash them up.
- 5. Add 1 1/2 cups grated cheese to soup, along with salt and pepper and stir until cheese is melted.
- 6. Remove pan from heat and stir in 3/4 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup green onions, and 4-6 strips of the crumbled bacon. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
- 7. Ladle into bowls and top with each serving with extra sour cream, onions, cheese, and bacon.
Questions & Reviews
I made this soup. I love it-my family loved it- highly recommended and I am willing to make it again, actually craving it right now
Kerry
pritimovThanks for the recipe when I get back from New York I am going to give it a try. We love soup in the winter. Thank Laurie….
I made this for my hubby tonight for dinner. It was very good. Thank you for the recipe.
This is a good recipe, however, it's more of a Cream of Potato soup than a Baked Potato Soup. Baked Potato soups usually are thicker & richer (because they usually have heavy cream or half & half). This is a lovely cream of potato soup. I found that I did have to transfer the liquid to a blender to get out all the lumps. But that worked wonderfully. And then after I added the potatoes to the soup, I used a potato masher right into the stockpot and mashed them to the consistency that I like – leaving still little chunks of potato. It's nice to have a lower-fat version of a potato soup.
This is THE best potato soup recipe ever! I usually have to simmer it longer than the time stated for it to thicken (I might just need to use a higher heat), but the flavor and texture is out of this world!!! One of my 8-year-old daughter's favorite Our Best Bites recipes!
I love this recipe and so does my husband. He even took the leftovers to work today for lunch…which never happens.
Kim, when I made it last night I had a bowl, my husband had a bowl and a half and I still had about a bowl and a half leftover. If your friends have hefty appetites you might want to double it or maybe make a bread to go along with it.
Maria–It doesn't freeze particularly well–it tends to curdle.
Kim–It generously serves 6-8.
How many servings would you say this recipe makes? I'm taking it to a girls weekend, there will be 7 of us and I'm not sure if I should double it?
Can you freeze this soup?
I made this soup for a party last weekend. It was a hit!! Thanks for the recipe. It is my new favorite potato soup.
Thanks so much for the recipe!!! I stumbled on it today and well my meal plan went out the door!
Oh I also forgot to say – I used just 3 cups of whole milk along with the can of broth and it was JUST the right amount of liquid. I think any more and I'd have to add more flour (ew) or add more potatoes which would kind of be overkill since I had about 3 cups of baked potato anyhow.
Oh Cruuuud! I was making this from memory and thought it was just a Tbs. of flour…good thing I checked! I was able to take some of the hot milk (even after I added the potatoes), wisk it with some flour, and thicken up the soup. WHEW.
Enjoying a bowl NOW at midnight. It just came off the stove.
I cheated on the bacon, though. Mom purchased a huge bag of bacon crumbles at Costco, so I just put a honkin handful in the soup. I also used some yellow onion with the garlic, set it aside, did the milk/flour thing, then added the onions back in when I added the potatoes.
And I left the sour cream out because EVERYTIME I add it to hot soup, it curdles. Freaks me out, so it's just a topping on this FANTASTIC soup. Yum. Yum!
Stephanie–It definitely doesn't freeze very well; it tends to curdle. Bummer, right?!
This looks so yummy, has anyone tried freezing it?
Holy cow! This soup was amazing! I ended up taking some over to my neighbor and she was in love as well. Thank you for all of the great recipes! So tasty!
I just made this tonight and it is SO GOOD!!!! Thank You for sharing, now we have a new family favorite recipe to use. YUMMY!
Thanks for this recipe! I made this soup for dinner last night and it was a big hit. I have to say that your trick with cooking the bacon in the oven is amazing! My husband said that was the best bacon he ever tasted!!! Can't wait for the Our Best Bites Cookbook!
I made this yesterday and it is so yummy! thanks for the recipe! you're totally going to win that contest, by the way! you deserve it.
I just found out about you, I voted for you and can't wait for your recipe book to be here in march!
My husband hates (with a capital H) anything soup or stew related, so for the last 6 years I have not made anything like them. However, we just moved back to Utah (from AZ, so I really had no problem not ever making soup…too HOT!) and it is cold out and the leaves have turned color. I promptly informed my husband that fall is my favorite season, and this time I was GOING to make some stews because they are my favorite part of fall. After much gnashing of teeth, I told him I would only make one a week. Knowing that he is a huge loaded baked potato fan, I figured this recipe would be failproof. I was right. He ate two bowls. And finished off the children's. Thanks for starting me off on the right foot and convincing my husband that not all soups are weak!
I absolutely adore baked potato soup. I can't wait to try this recipe out! Thank you!
I made this last evening for a church supper. I quadrupled the recipe, which made A LOT OF SOUP, but the huge stockpot that was full when I arrived was scraped down to the last drop when I left. I received so many compliments, even the children in attendance were coming up to me to tell me how good the soup was. Thank you so much for this recipe. It truly is the ultimate comfort food, even for a crowd. And you've certainly got my vote. Again and again and again.
I tried this last week and my family totally loved it. I added some carrots and celery to make it feel a little healthier. It was awesome. Thanks for the recipe!
My husband LOVED this, super easy and very yummy. THANKS!!
Love your blog, and can't wait to try this recipe!
BTW, bacon candles really do exist… http://www.veryfunnygifts.com/products/manterns-candle-bacon
I don't know about the butter and garlic though – they should get on that 🙂
Natalie- something definitely went wrong because it should be nice and thick and the only lumps are the potatoes! I'm actually not sure how you'd get lumpy sour cream, lol. You might not of simmered it long enough if it turned out thin because it has plenty of thickening agents. Hopefully you can try it again and have it turn out like it should 🙂
I'm a first time commenter, but I wanted to rave a little– in a good way. I love potato soup and so was excited to give this one a try. With all others I've made, you boil the potatoes, then do the blending. But baking them, which I did in the oven, gave SUCH a different (better) texture and flavor. This is truly the best potato soup I've ever had. I made it with the breadsticks from this site. Fabulous meal. Fabulous blog.
Followed all directions but the soup is watery and the sour cream is lumpy. Tastes good but doesn't look good:( and I was hoping for a creamy texture.
I had the same problem!
Woooow this looks awesome! Every Tuesday when I lived in the dorms they would have baked potato soup… and that's all I would eat that day. I'm going to have to try this!