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
- Total Time: 30
- Yield: Serves 6
Description
Creamy, hearty baked potato soup with all the toppings! Note: The cooking time assumes your potatoes are already baked.
Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
2–3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 1/2 cups milk
1 14oz 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.
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
Questions & Reviews
Soup was delish! Thanks for another awesome recipe!
This recipe was sooooo easy to make and delicious!! I’d recommend it to anyone! First time making this soup ever and it turned out great! I did have to blend it in the blender to get the lumps out though!
can i freeze this soup??
You can freeze anything… just put a date on it so it doesn’t stay too long. about 6 months is okay
This soup was perfect. I had everything I needed which was even better! Everyone loved it, even the picky eaters! Thanks!!!
We made this today, and it was delicious! I was scared that it wasn’t going to come out well because our soup took forever to thicken (we used almond milk instead of real milk, so maybe that’s why), but we just added some more flour and it was very good! 9.6/10 !
I just made this and it was fantastic! It was the warm comfort I was looking for 🙂
I have 3 children, ages 4 and under, and a husband who are very picky eaters. So it was nice to see 4 our of 5 family members eat this up– I’m not convinced the 2 year old should count here 🙂
I also added in a handful of finely chopped shoestring carrots and realized I forgot to add the sour cream and it was still a very creamy, heavy warm soup which was perfect for the chilly air outside. Thanks so much for sharing this and I cannot wait to try more recipes!!!
This is, without a doubt, the best soup ever! The flavor is amazing! Thank you so much!
So so good! Every time now when I ask my husband what he feels like eating this week, he says your baked potato soup! Love it!
I’d eat this a few times a week if my husband would let me get away with it. I’ve actually even had good luck freezing it.
If you happen to see this, wondering if I could use red potatoes instead of baking potatoes just because I have bags of them! Thanks so much 🙂 Put the calendar in my Amazon cart, just-in-case I don’t happen to win … must have it!
Ya that would probably be just fine Meredith. Red potatoes in general have a slightly different texture and aren’t quite as starchy, but for this recipe it would probably be just fine.
thanks Sara!! So excited 🙂
How many servings is this?
probably about 6-8
This soup is AWESOME! I’ve been making various potato soups for a few years now, and this one leaves them all in the dust. My husband is a HUGE potato soup fan and he was blown away. The only changes I made were to use 8 potatoes (didn’t weigh them, though) since I have a big family, and I didn’t add the sour cream or onions. Onions don’t fly around here, and I liked it SO much w/o the sour cream I thought, “Why add more fat?” Thank you so much!
Stumbled upon this on Pinterest and decided to give it a go tonight. Despite forgetting the chicken broth that I had on the counter, open, RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME *lol*, it came out AMAZING! Will definitely make again after I highlight the line “then add chicken broth!!”
i’m making this tonight! can’t wait!!
Seriously yummy! Even my soup hater husband loved it (and ate TWO bowls!). Thanks! The tortellini soup is on the menu for next week and I can’t wait!
Oh. My. Goodness. This soup is to die for amazing!! Thank you thank you for having the best cooking website ever. I am asking for your cookbook for Christmas from my hubs. I have used a meal from you guys every day this week! Thanks again. You ladies are Cooking Goddesses 😉
I mad this last night for dinner. When I asked my 3 yr old how it was her reply was “yummy”. I completely agree. I just have a quick question. Every year i host a cookie swap and I am thinking about making this soup to share while we visit. Do you recommend cooking it in batches or should I be able to double it and still get the same results?
You can definitely make a big batch amber. The only part that can get tricky sometimes is making the roux, so just be sure you get all of the lumps out and if you need to, put that part in the blender before you move on to make sure it’s nice and smooth.
GREAT! THANK YOU.
It’s a billion degrees outside, the middle of the summer, but I’m making this soup for the second time this week. I love the creaminess, and the flavors are amazing. Thanks so much for keeping our family in good food!
I’ve tried four different baked potato soup recipes, and almost gave up because I never found one I loved. This one’s a winner! Your recipe is AMAZING!!!!! Thank you, thank you!
This was totally delicious. The first time I made it I didn’t have enough regular milk, so I used non-fat powdered milk. it turned out so well that I’ve kept on making it that way.
For a gluten free version I substitute gluten free baking mix for the flour and it comes out great! I love this soup!
Just make sure the flour substitute doesn’t use beans…Yuck!
Kayla, Do you think rice flour or sweet rice flour would work as well and still taste good?
I make your Baked Potato soup for my family GF because my hubby and oldest son can’t have gluten. I start out with 4 cups of cold milk and 1/4 cup cornstarch in a cool pan, whisk them together and bring to a boil over medium heat until thick. Then I whisk in 2 cups of chicken broth and then follow the regular directions for adding the rest of the ingredients… its one of my family’s favorite meals. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Just found your web site and I am very excited to try some of your recipes but I noticed that a few did not have that great option to print it out and they did not copy over well. I’m not great with computers but do you have a suggestion? Thanks, Kim
We’re working on getting the print feature on all the recipes. For now, the easiest option is to copy and paste the the recipe into a word processing document and then deleting any extra text/pics you don’t want before printing it out.
Hope that helps!
Smiles… yes smiles, compliments and requests for seconds at our dinner table after serving this amazing flavorful and filling soup! My Husband and two sons are incredibly picky eaters and were huge fans. So glad my sister-in-law told me about Our Best Bites. It is so much more fun to cook with so many new and unique ideas to choose from. Thank you Ladies!
This was so good that ALL my children actually liked it. And thanks for the blender tip, I probably would have messed it up otherwise =)
This was delicious! I can’t wait to make it again! Mmmm, mmmm!
I LOVE this recipe!! I’m making it for the second time tonight! Thank you for sharing your cooking & baking talents with us! I’ve put in an order with my hubby to get me your cookbook for mothers day 🙂
Do you only put 3/4 C of sour cream in the soup and then put the rest from the 1 1/2 cup for the top when you serve it?
Correct!