Loaded Potato Soup

This is the BEST Loaded Potato Soup recipe you are going to find! It’s creamy perfection in a comforting bowl, loaded with sour cream, bacon, cheese and chives. Bonus: it only takes 30 minutes to make!

Easy Loaded Potato Soup Recipe

When dreaming of comforting dishes, our minds always go to soup – especially this particular potato soup recipe. Why? It’s got the key ingredients for a cozy, filling bowl of cheesy and carb-y goodness! After all, how could anyone go wrong with cheese, bacon, and sour cream?

This potato soup is perfect for when it’s nice and chilly outside, or you’re sick, or any other time you need a little extra love. Once you make it though, we’re sure you’ll be finding all kinds of reasons to whip up a pot of this seriously satisfying soup.

One of the best things about this easy soup is that it’s craved by everyone. All of the ingredients are simple and picky-eater friendly. We haven’t met a single person who doesn’t love it, and that’s including a very picky six-year-old!

Is Potato Soup Healthy?

Potato soup might not be the most diet-friendly since potatoes are carb-heavy, but there are ways to lighten it up if you are watching your diet.

• Replace the pork bacon with turkey bacon. Turkey bacon contains less fat and fewer calories than traditional pork bacon.
• Use olive oil in place of the bacon grease.
• Add some extra vegetables! Broccoli or cauliflower are great additions to this soup. I recommend roasting them first, then adding them to the soup when you serve it.
• Swap the sour cream for full-fat plain greek yogurt.

Another thing that makes this potato soup healthier is the fact that it uses evaporated milk instead of heavy cream. Evaporated milk has half the calories and a fifth of the fat found in heavy cream.

Ingredients

You will need a handful of ingredients to make this easy potato soup recipe. Here’s a quick overview. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for specific amounts.

• Bacon – You can also use turkey bacon if you prefer.
• Yellow onion – Yellow onion works best because of its sweetness, but you can also white onions in a pinch.
• Shallots – If you can’t find these, you can replace them with an equal amount of yellow onion.
• Fresh garlic
• All purpose flour
• Chicken broth – You can also use vegetable broth.
• Evaporated milk
• Potatoes
• Salt and ground black pepper
• Sour cream (or full fat plain greek yogurt)
• Sharp cheddar cheese

Why use evaporated milk?

::secret ingredient alert:: Evaporated milk is shelf-stable milk from which about 60 percent of the water has been removed. If you substitute evaporated milk for regular milk in a recipe, it will be richer and creamier. So, by using evaporated milk in your baked potato soup, it will be much creamier!

Can I use heavy cream instead of evaporated milk?

Absolutely! You can use heavy cream in place of evaporated milk and the final dish will be about the same flavor-wise!

However, heavy cream has more than twice the calories and five times the fat content of evaporated milk. So by using evaporated milk, you are getting the same final taste with much less calories and fat.

How to Make Potato Soup

Step 1: Add the bacon to a large dutch oven or stock pot and cook over medium-high heat until the bacon is crispy. Remove the bacon to a plate lined with a paper towels and set aside, leaving the grease in the pot.

Step 2: Add the onion and shallot to pot and cook until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds.

Step 3: Stir in the flour and cook for about 2-3 minutes, until a light golden color.

Step 4: Slowly pour in the chicken stock, stirring to combine with the flour mixture.

Step 5: Add the evaporated milk, potatoes, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Step 6: Bring the pot to a low boil, lower to a simmer and place lid onto pot. Cook, stirring occasionally until the potatoes are softened and fork tender. If potatoes are finely diced, the potatoes should be tender in about 10 to 15 minutes.

Step 7: Once potatoes are soft, remove pot from heat and use an immersion blender to puree most of the soup. I like to leave some chunks of potatoes, but you can also puree it completely smooth.

If you do not have an immersion blender, then carefully pour portions of the soup into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Return pureed soup to the pot after blending.

Step 8: Once the soup blended is to the desired texture, add in the shredded cheese and sour cream and stir to combine.

Step 9: Serve soup warm with bacon on top and any additional toppings of your choice!

FAQs

Tips for Success

How do I make this soup in 30 minutes? The key to making this soup quickly is to dice your potatoes into small chunks. The smaller the potatoes are diced, the faster the soup will cook! The longest part of making this potato soup is boiling the potatoes until soft.

Use evaporated milk or heavy cream. You do not want to use regular milk as your soup will not be as creamy. I highly recommend using evaporated milk or substituting it with heavy cream or even half and half.

Don’t forget the toppings! The freshly chopped green onions or chives, crispy bacon and cheddar cheese take a good bowl of potato soup to an amazing bowl of potato soup. Don’t skip them!

Serving Suggestions

When serving this Potato Soup, don’t be shy! Throw on as many toppings as you want. We recommend the following: green onions, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and an abundance of bacon. The more, the merrier! After all, when is too much bacon ever a bad idea?

This potato soup recipe is extra creamy, cheesy and seriously packed with flavor. Don’t be surprised when you don’t have any leftovers – everyone is going back for seconds with this potato soup!

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

Potato soup is a very forgiving soup and is just as delicious served fresh or the next day. The only trick you may need is adding a little extra milk to your soup when you reheat it. Sometimes it will thicken a little too much and need a little extra liquid to get back to the right texture.

Otherwise, it’s a great make-ahead soup that also stores well in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days!

Looking for more comfort food dinner ideas? Try our favorites: Shepherd’s Pie, Instant Pot Beef Tips and easy Crockpot Salsa Verde Chicken Soup!