Loaded Potato Soup Recipe Loaded Baked Potato Soup is thick, creamy, and packed with classic baked potato toppings, including bacon, cheddar cheese, and sour cream. Each satisfying, spoon-busting bite tastes like you’re eating a fully loaded baked potato. The ultimate cozy comfort food! The other day, I was talking to my kids about the concept of life’s simple pleasures. Loaded Potato Soup Recipe Things and experiences that make us happy but don’t require a lot of time, effort, or money. We came up with riding our bikes down a big hill (whee!), taking a nature walk, and getting caught in the rain.

Main Ingredients Needed

Raid the fridge and pantry for the main ingredients needed to make this hearty, stick-to-your-ribs soup recipe:

Russet potatoes: thicken and flavor the soup. You’ll need 4 medium-sized potatoes, which is just shy of 3lbs. Feel free to use store-bought, prepared mashed potatoes – I like Bob Evans or Simply Potatoes.

Bacon: A baked potato is not loaded unless there’s bacon involved – I said what I said!

Flour: works with the mashed potatoes to give the soup a thick and luscious texture.

Chicken stock or broth: I find adding stock or broth to milk-based soups helps stabilize it, and prevent the milk or cheese from separating and becoming grainy. Think of it as smooth and creamy soup insurance.

Milk: 2% milk fat or higher is recommended, though you could use whole milk for half or all of the milk called for. The soup is plenty indulgent-tasting, with 2% though.

Freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese: not only flavors the soup, but also tops each bowl.

Sour cream: flavors the soup and provides richness.

Also Read: Gluten Free Cake Recipe: Easy, Soft & Delicious Cake

5 Tips for Avoiding Grainy Soup

Have you ever made a milk or cheese-based soup or sauce that turned out grainy and unappetizing? Been there, done that – ugh! That said, here are my top 5 tips for achieving a smooth and creamy dairy-based soup:

DON’T BOIL. This is the most important tip, which is why I’m shouting! A milk/cheese-based soup should never go above a gentle simmer. Too high a heat can cause the milk proteins to separate and curdle.

Go slow. Adding shredded cheese too quickly or at too high a temperature can cause the cheese proteins to separate and coagulate. Loaded Potato Soup Recipe Whisk the shredded cheese into the soup in two additions (vs all at once) with the heat OFF.

Remove the chill. Let the milk, shredded cheese, and sour cream sit on the counter for at least 20 minutes before adding to the hot pot/broth.

Great fresh. Bags of pre-shredded cheese contain anti-caking agents to prevent the shreds from sticking together, which means they don’t melt into soups as easily and smoothly as freshly-grated cheese.

Reheat gently. I’ll cover this more below, but always re-warm a dairy-based soup on low or medium-low while stirring constantly.

How to Make Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Step 1: Bake then mash the potatoes.

Start by scrubbing russet potatoes clean, and then pierce them all over with a fork. Place the potatoes on a foil-lined half or quarter sheet pan with an oven-safe wire rack on top (alternatively, you can bake the potatoes directly on the oven rack).

Bake the potatoes at 425 degrees for 60-70 minutes, or until a knife can be easily inserted into the centers, then set them aside for 10-20 minutes or until they’re cool enough to handle.

Step 2: Brown the bacon.

Meanwhile, add chopped bacon to a large soup pot or Dutch oven, then turn the heat to medium and cook until the bacon is crisp. Scoop the bacon onto a paper towel-lined plate to drain, and then remove all but 2 Tablespoons bacon grease from the pot. Just eyeball it!

Step 3: Sauté onions and garlic.

To the bacon grease in the pot, add butter, then, once melted, add chopped onions, season with salt and pepper, and saute until the onions are tender, 5-7 minutes. Add minced or pressed garlic, then saute for 1 minute.

Step 4: Add flour to thicken the soup.

Sprinkle flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour – you can use AP flour if you’re not GF) over the onion mixture, then whisk for 1 minute to remove the raw-flour taste.

Step 5: Add broth and milk.

Slowly pour in chicken stock or broth while whisking to create a smooth, thick sauce, then add milk and whisk to combine.

Turn the heat up to medium-high,h then bring the soup to a simmer while stirring slowly yet constantly. Again, we’re looking to gradually heat the milk so it doesn’t separate and become grainy.

Step 6: Add the toppings.

This is where it gets really delicious! Turn the heat OFF, then add the following ingredients in the following order to the soup pot:

Whisk freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese in two additions, whisking until the cheese is completely smooth and melted before adding the second addition.

Whisk in sour cream until smooth.

Whisk the mashed potatoes into the soup in two additions.

Stir the browned bacon into the soup.

How to Store and Reheat

Typically, dairy-based soups can separate when reheating, or freezing, then thawing and reheating, but the mashed potatoes in this recipe stabilize the soup a bit. Lucky us!

To store: refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Loaded Potato Soup Recipe Thaw the soup from frozen in the refrigerator.

To reheat: microwave individual bowls in 30-second increments, stirring between increments, until the soup is hot. To reheat more than one serving – if you stored the entire soup pot in the fridge, for example – place the soup pot over medium to medium-low heat,t then stir slowly yet constantly until the soup is hot.

Also Read: Savory Cottage Cheese Recipes: 15 Healthy & Easy Meals

More Hearty Soup Recipes

Gluten-Free Lasagna Soup

Chicken Stew

Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Sweet Corn, Kielbasa, and Potato Soup

Italian Wedding Soup

Cheesy Taco Soup

Hamburger Soup

Ham and Bean Soup

Conclusion

The Loaded Potato Soup Recipe constitutes the ultimate comfort dish, which combines all the tastes of a traditional loaded baked potato into a single warm, creamy bowl. Loaded Potato Soup Recipe Every spoonful from this dish contains multiple satisfying ingredients, which include tender potatoes, crispy bacon, rich cheddar cheese, and smooth sour cream. By following the simple steps and tips, you can achieve a perfectly thick and creamy texture without any graininess.

This simple recipe works well for families because it makes a suitable meal for cozy dinner times and meal preparation, and for cold weather days when you want a meal that provides warmth and satisfaction. Loaded Potato Soup Recipe The delicious soup will become your favorite kitchen dish after you sample it.

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