Thick, creamy loaded potato soup topped with all the fixings! This quick and easy one-pot recipe is a cold weather staple!
It’s a classic just like our chicken noodle soup, minestrone soup and tortilla soup. With all the flavor of a loaded baked potato, this recipe has cheese, sour cream bacon and more to make it a family favorite.
Baked Potato in Soup Form
This recipe is one we’ve been making for the past 5 years, and I still LOVE it! It was one of the very first savory recipes I posted here on the blog, and it was pinned like crazy! If you’re looking for a quick, easy, filling soup, look no further.
It only requires a handful of simple ingredients and takes about an hour to make (most of that time is just waiting for the potatoes to cook).
The thing I really love about this soup is that its thick, cozy and comforting without using heavy cream. Instead, you let the potatoes cook until they’re tender and begin to break down. That way you still have chunks of potato but you also have a nice chowder-like consistency.
It has all the flavors of delicious baked potatoes but in a creamy soup form!
How to Make Potato Soup
It may take an hour to make, but don’t be fooled. It’s very easy! The majority of the time is letting the potatoes cook. Here is how you make it:
In a large pot (or Dutch oven) set over medium-low heat, add the butter. Once the butter has melted, add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Toss in the potatoes (we prefer Russet), season with salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne.
Pour in the chicken broth and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook uncovered for 25-35 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and begin to break down.
Pour in the milk and chives, cook for 5 minutes, then add the cheese. Once the cheese has fully melted, stir and remove from the heat. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Garnish with your favorite toppings.
SLOW COOKER VERSION: If you want to make this in your crock pot, just make as directed until your mixture comes to a simmer. Pour this into your slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 2 hours or LOW for 4 hours then continue the recipe by adding the milk, chives and cheese. Cook an additional hour.
Toppings + Tips
Another thing I love is all the fixings! Just like our loaded twice baked potato, this soup is topped with cheddar cheese, sour cream, bacon and chives. You can totally customize the TOPPINGS to suit personal tastes, but I’m kind of a fan of the classics.
If you want to make the recipe and KEEP WARM in a slow cooker, that is perfectly fine. Just keep on WARM (or on LOW). It works great for parties or holidays.
This recipe is CREAMY as is, but you can add whole milk or even 2% milk to this soup for added creaminess.
To STORE this soup, just place in an air-tight container in the fridge for 3 days. We reheat this on the stove and add a bit more milk if needed if the recipe is too thick. We don’t think this recipe is great when FROZEN because the potatoes get a weird texture. 😉
Our favorite SIDES to go with this soup include: cornbread, rolls or bread to go along with it, any leftovers are devoured the next day. It reheats really well!
Lastly, this soup doesn’t make a ton. I love that because it’s enough for our family of four. If you are looking to make more, DOUBLE or TRIPLE as needed.
If you’re on the hunt for a good potato soup recipe- this is it! I know we’ll be enjoying it all fall/winter long!
For more recipes, check out:
- French Onion Soup Stuffed Potatoes
- Cheesy Vegetable Chowder
- Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes
Loaded Potato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4 cloves garlic - minced
- 4 russet potatoes - peeled and cubed into 1/2-inch chunks
- 1 tsp kosher sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 tbsp chives - finely chopped
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese - grated
Toppings
- 2 tbsp chopped chives
- 5 slices chopped bacon
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup cheddar cheese - grated
Instructions
- In a large pot (or Dutch oven) set over medium-low heat, add the butter. Once the butter has melted, add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Toss in the potatoes, season with salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne.
- Pour in the chicken broth and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook uncovered for 25-35 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and begin to break down.
- Pour in the milk and chives, cook for 5 minutes, then add the cheese. Once the cheese has fully melted, stir and remove from the heat. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
- Serve with additional chives, bacon, sour cream and cheese.
OH my heck, woman. Potato soup is one of my all-time favorites, and I crave it all the time! Even in summertime! Next time I make it, I’ll definitely have to try out your recipe.
Looks and sounds delicious!
Looks amazing and this is one of my favorites!
I never met a potato I didn’t like… and this soup is calling my name!
YUM!!! This looks so nummy! I can’t wait to try it.
This soup looks so good. I have a Blog Hop, and I would love it if you would link this post. You can find it at
http://www.adornedfromabove.com/2012/06/natural-hair-gel-and-wednesdays-adorned.html
It is called Wednesdays Adorned From Above Blog Hop.
I hope to see you there. Have a great Day.
Debi Bolocofsky
Adorned From Above
this is great. I found it via the It’s Keeper link up. I have linked in a beef dish. Have a super day.
I have wanted to feature your recipes but I am finding that COM-Monday isn’t linked up in your posts. I hope that you can re-link and link back in the future. Your recipes and pictures are gorgeous. Thanks, jen
The sprinkle of bacon sold me on this soup… looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing it on foodie friday.
One of my favorites. Thanks for sharing at Church Supper. Have a blessed week and Happy 4th ~EMM
My husband saw this and said “YES!” lol. Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friday, I’ve featured you on this weeks linky http://homemaidsimple.blogspot.com/2012/07/foodie-friday-no-bake-cookies.html
The picture of your soup looks very thick and creamy, but I don’t see anything in the ingredients that would thicken it up like that. Did you add flour to your milk mixture or mash some of the potatoes to get that consistency? Looks delicious and would like to try it!
After 40 minutes or so the potatoes will begin to fall apart and will thicken the soup along with the milk and chicken broth. If you want it nice and smooth you can always use a food processor or immersion blender to purée it! Also think small cubes of potatoes, like no bigger than 1″ when your them 🙂
This looks very good. I will try it tonight. I had Chili’s baked potato soup over the weekend and it was good. It’s on their gluten/wheat free menu so I was perplexed by all the copycat recipes on the internet that had the inclusion of flour.
You can definitely omit the flour especially since there is enough starch from the potatoes to thicken the soup. It’s just that most “creamy” soups are made with a roux which calls for flour. Hope that helps- I’d love to know how you like it!
I would like to substitute red potatoes for the russet potatoes. About how many pounds do you think you used? Thanks, can’t wait to try this!
I’m not sure how many pounds, I would just say double the amount of russets since the reds tend to be a lot smaller… maybe 6-8 depending on their size.
this is a DANG good recipe…….Thank You so much it was a hit with my whole family 🙂
Glad to hear it! Thanks for giving it a try!
How many cups would you say it made? My husband likes generous portions!
Probably about 8 cups.
hey girl- this soup looks so tasty!
This is heaven in a bowl. Looks SO good- perfect for chilly fall nights! Cannot wait to try this out!
Thanks Karly!
I am making this right now!. Smells heavenly. Thank you so much for the recipe.
This is the thinnest, watery potato soup I’ve ever seen! If anyone makes this recipe double up on the potato’s! And the cheese too.
Sorry to hear that- the potatoes should break down so that they’re just small little chunks. It will create a nice thick chowder-like consistency. Try boiling your soup for an extra 5-10 minutes.
I made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious. I did have to cook my potatoes a little longer and added more cheese but it was wonderful. It does look like it will be watery at first but the potatoes will break down and thicken the stock.
Yes, letting it simmer for the full amount of time (or even longer depending on your altitude) will break down the starch and create a nice, thick soup! Glad you enjoyed it!
The perfect cold-weather soup recipe!
That looks so delicious and perfect for a crisp fall night!
This was beyond amazing! Such good comfort food… literally our favorite! Can’t wait to make it again 🙂
So perfect especially with fall coming up. This is nice and hearty.
With the cold weather today, I thought it was the perfect Soup Day! This recipe did not disappoint. So yummy and filling!
Potato soup has to be the best soup!! I love the chunks of potatoes. It is so creamy & tastes so good!
I can give this recipe 5 stars! It’s true if you want it thicker then smash the potatoes some! I used the exact liquid measurements and added more cheese. Season how you like, I like extra black pepper! Tastes great!
Thank you so much for sharing that! So happy you liked it!
your picture in the white bowl is gorgeous.. It’s also everywhere on the internet! It inspired me to take better soup pictures!
Thank you so much!