Baked Potato Soup Recipe

Name: Baked Potato Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 100 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 4 pounds russet potatoes (about 7 medium potatoes); 1/4 pound thick sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1/8-inch slices (lardons); 1 large onion, finely chopped (about 2 cups); 2 ribs celery, finely chopped; 6 cups chicken stock; 1 teaspoon kosher salt (more to taste); 1/8 teaspoon of ground white or black pepper; 2 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream (optional); Garnishes:; Grated sharp cheddar cheese; Sour cream; Minced chives; Crumbled bacon (from step 2 in method)

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Here's a classic soup that's perfect for potato lovers—baked potato soup!

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

This isn't your ordinary potato soup. This soup is made with mashed up baked potatoes, onion, celery, and stock, puréed and then topped with classic baked potato toppings like crumbled crispy bacon, grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, and chives. It’s truly a loaded baked potato soup.

My father, being the potato-craving German he is and therefore completely biased, raved about this soup. Of course he did. How could he not? It's a baked potato, with all the toppings, in soup form.

If you are careful about how you cut and scoop out the potato stuffing, you can even save the skins for the perfect game day snack—baked potato skins.

bake potatoes for baked potato soup — Elise Bauer

The Best Potatoes for This Soup

Use Russet potatoes to make this soup since they mash more easily into a purée. (This soup is also a great way to use up leftover baked potatoes.) Red potatoes and Yukon golds are less starchy and don't break down as easily in a soup.

How to Make a Thicker, Heartier Soup

It's easier to thin out a thick soup than thicken up a thin soup. So if you're a fan of thick, hearty soups, start out with only adding four cups of chicken stock. After puréeing and mashing, add as much additional broth as needed to reach the consistency you want.

How a Clever Cook Thickens Soup (or Stew) and Makes It Creamy

How to Store and Reheat Potato Soup

The baked potato soup will keep for about five days, and reheats well either in the microwave or over low heat on the stovetop. If you're heating it in the microwave, reheat in 1-minute intervals, stirring between each, to avoid hot spots in your soup (which tend to burst and get soup all over your microwave).

Potato soups generally don't tend to freeze very well — the texture tends to become watery upon reheating — so plan on eating this up the week you make it.

More Stick-to-Your-Ribs Soups and Stews

Baked Potato Soup

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 90 mins

Total Time 100 mins

Servings 4 to 6 servings

Potatoes love salt. So, if you are using homemade stock or low sodium stock that isn't well seasoned, you'll need to add more to this soup to make up the difference.

4 pounds russet potatoes (about 7 medium potatoes)
1/4 pound thick sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1/8-inch slices (lardons)
1 large onion, finely chopped (about 2 cups)
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
6 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/8 teaspoon ground white or black pepper
2 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream, optional

Garnishes:

Grated sharp cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Minced chives
Crumbled bacon (from Step 2 in method)

Immersion blender

Bake the potatoes:

Scrub the potatoes clean and poke them all over with the tines of a fork or paring knife (this is so they don't explode from internal pressure building up as they cook). Place on a foil lined baking sheet and bake at 400°F for 1 hour, or until easily cut through with a knife.

Remove and let cool enough to handle. (To speed up cooling, slice them in half lengthwise.)

Elise Bauer
Cook the bacon:

Place bacon lardons in a large, thick bottomed Dutch oven (about 5 to 6 quart pot). Heat on medium high until the bacon starts to brown then lower the heat to medium.

Cook until the bacon has rendered most of its fat and the lardons are browned and crispy. Remove the cooked bacon and set aside.

Elise Bauer

Remove all but 1 tablespoon of bacon fat from the pan. (Do not discard bacon fat in your sink, it will clog the drain. Pour the fat into a jar and let it cool and solidify. Then either scoop it out and discard it or use it for another purpose.)
Cook onion and celery in the bacon fat:

Add the chopped onion and celery to the remaining bacon fat in the pot. Cook for 2 minutes on medium high, then lower the heat to low, and cover the pot. Let cook slowly on low heat for 15 to 20 minutes.

Elise Bauer
Scoop out baked potatoes, add it and chicken stock to pot:

When potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop out the insides to a bowl. Then add it to the cooked onion and celery mixture along with 6 cups chicken stock. Add a teaspoon of kosher salt.

Bring the soup to a simmer and reduce the heat to low.

Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes into the stock.

Elise Bauer

Elise Bauer
Purée some or all of the soup:

Cook the potato soup for about 5 minutes, then use an immersion blender to purée about half of the soup if you want a slightly chunky soup, or purée all of it if you want a smoother soup.
Add cream:

Stir 2 to 4 tablespoons of heavy cream into the soup if you want a creamier soup. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Top with grated cheddar, sour cream, chives, bacon:

Pour into bowls and top with grated cheddar, sour cream, chives, and crumbled crispy bacon.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
480	Calories
10g	Fat
76g	Carbs
21g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories	480
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 10g	13%
Saturated Fat 3g	16%
Cholesterol 26mg	9%
Sodium 926mg	40%
Total Carbohydrate 76g	28%
Dietary Fiber 7g	27%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 21g
Vitamin C 27mg	137%
Calcium 74mg	6%
Iron 4mg	22%
Potassium 2081mg	44%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.