This easy creamy loaded Potato Soup recipe is so good! It’s loaded with hearty potatoes and savory, crunchy bacon in a creamy base made without using heavy cream. This quick, 30-minute recipe is a total comfort food that you’ll make over and over again.
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We love easy creamy soups all year long, like fresh Corn Chowder, New England Style Clam Chowder, and this baked Potato Soup, because they are simple to make and are hearty enough to serve as the main course, paired with crusty Sourdough or French Bread.
The Best Potato Soup Recipe
This creamy, homemade potato soup is one of our favorite restaurant copycat recipes. It’s so easy to make from scratch and beats any restaurant soup. The base is so filling that it’s like a delicious loaded baked potato with all your favorite toppings or Loaded Potato Casserole, but in soup form–yes, please!
You’ll love how we thicken this potato soup! Instead of using heavy cream, we make a roux (a mixture of butter, flour, broth, and milk). So it’s creamy without the extra calories in the cream.
Potato soup is perfect for meal prep since it keeps well in the fridge and freezer and can be saved in portion sizes for a quick and easy meal.
Ingredients for Potato Soup
The soup uses ingredients you most likely already have at home and can be made so quickly. Whip it up as a satisfying meal on a busy weeknight evening or serve it as a comforting weekend meal.
- Bacon – crumbled bacon is the traditional potato soap ingredient, but you can substitute cubed ham if desired.
- Potatoes – our favorite potatoes for soup are Russet or Idaho potatoes but Yukon gold potatoes also work well. NOTE: If you’re using Yukon potatoes, the skin may be left on.
- Vegetables – we only added onion and garlic, you can add cubed carrots and celery in step 3.
- Broth – a roux thickens the soup with butter, flour, broth, and milk. We add sour cream for a bit of acid and creaminess. Chicken broth or vegetable broth works fine here. For a Gluten Free potato soup, you can substitute flour with a 1:1 gluten-free flour.
- Cheese – Mild cheddar or sharp cheddar is great. Try to grate the cheese yourself, since pre-shredded cheese is coated to keep it from sticking, but shredded will work in a pinch.
Pro Tip:
For a spicy kick in the soup, add a 1/4 tsp (or to taste) of cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, smokey paprika, or chili powder.
How to Make Potato Soup
It’s simple to make this potato soup recipe for a weeknight meal or meal prep, but see our tip below for achieving the best consistency.
- Place potatoes in a pot, cover with water, season with salt, and cook until tender then drain.
- Saute bacon until crispy in a separate Dutch oven, remove and set aside, reserving 1 Tbsp bacon grease.
- Add onions and butter to the bacon grease and saute until soft. Add garlic, and cook for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Whisk in flour, milk, and broth until smooth. Bring the mixture to a soft boil.
- Add drained potatoes and season with salt and pepper.
- Stir in sour cream, cheese and bacon. Bring to a boil then remove from heat.
Pro Tip:
We like a chunky soup, but you can adjust the thickness by blending a portion or all of the soup. Before adding the bacon into the pot in step 6, use an immersion blender or scoop some of the hot soup into a blender and blend to get the creamy texture you prefer.
Toppings for Potato Soup
Serve this easy potato soup recipe with your favorite toppings! We like to make it a truly loaded soup, so here are some of my favorite options:
- Bacon bits
- Shredded cheese
- Sour cream
- Diced avocado
- Cooked kernels of boiled corn
- Croutons
- Red pepper flakes
- Green onion or chives
What to Serve with Potato Soup
This hearty meal is thick and creamy and perfect for feeding a hungry family. To make it a more complete meal, try these side dishes that perfectly complement the warm soup:
- Crusty No-Knead Bread
- Soft Dinner Rolls
- Homemade Caeser Salad
- Garden Salad
- Carrott Apple and Walnut Salad
Loaded baked potato soup is comfort food at its finest. You’re going to love the combination of flavors in the soup. Every bite is loaded with creamy soup with chunks of potatoes, bacon, and cheese.
Storage
Loaded baked potato soup keeps well in the refrigerator and the freezer. Let the soap completely before storing.
- To Refrigerate: Store for up to 5 days in an airtight container
- Freezing: divide into portion sizes and freeze in freezer-safe containers for up to 6 months
- To Reheat: Thaw overnight in the fridge or reheat from frozen in a pot on the stove until heated through. You can slowly add more milk to get a creamier consistency.
More Easy Dinner Recipes You’ll Love
I love easy and quick but tasty meals for weeknight dinners, like this potato soup. Once you try this one, check out these other easy dinner ideas:
- Juicy Meatloaf
- Honey Garlic Chicken
- Monterey Chicken
- Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Cajun Chicken and Mushroom Pasta
- Taco Soup
- Pasta Primavera
- Egg Roll in a Bowl
Potato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
- ½ tsp salt
- 8 oz bacon, bite-sized pieces
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- ½ med onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour, or use Gluten Free 1:1 flour
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth, or vegetable broth
- 1 cup mild or sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- ¼ tsp pepper, or to taste
- green onions, to serve
Instructions
- Place sliced potatoes into a stockpot and completely cover with 1" of water. Season with ½ tsp salt and cook 8-10 minutes or until potatoes pierce easily with a knife then drain.
- Meanwhile, saute bacon in a Dutch oven until crispy and then transfer to a plate, reserving 1 Tbsp bacon grease in the pot.
- Add 4 Tbsp butter and chopped onions then saute until tender. Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Quickly whisk in the flour then slowly add 2 1/2 cups milk and 2 1/2 cups broth, whisking constantly. Bring the mixture to a soft boil.
- Add drained potatoes and season soup with 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper or season to taste.
- Stir in 3/4 cup sour cream, 1 cup shredded cheddar, and half of your cooked bacon (reserving the rest for serving). Bring to a boil then remove from heat and serve with your favorite toppings.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Valentina Ablaev
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Amazing!! I would recommend browning the butter first, then turn down the heat and add the onions.
I would like to make this soup for a gluten free friend. Can I replace the flour 1:1 with cornstarch? Thank you!
Hi Dana, I haven’t tested that but I imagine that may work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
This soup has become a signature dish for me. I have to triple the recipe to make sure I have enough to give out. I use farm fresh red potatoes and I use maple bacon. Which I’m told is a game changer.
As potatoes are different sizes, can you specify amount ie, in pounds or cups?
Hi Denise, this recipe calls for “large potatoes”, large potatoes are typically 8 to 12 ounces each. So for 4 the potatoes this recipe calls for, you will need approximately 2-3 pounds of potato. I hope this helps.
My husband and our 5 boys absolutely love this recipe. It is a staple in my house.
I only suggest NOT adding the bacon to the soup. (It gets soggy and chewy).
Instead, we keep it separate and everyone crumbles a piece into their bowl. Some people add extra cheese and/or sour cream to their bowl.
I’m so glad it’s being enjoyed! Thank you for sharing.
Oh my goodness this is so good and easy!
Trying the recipe. In the instructions, you mention “add broth”. What is this in reference to? I don’t see a broth mentioned earlier. Is it one of the mixtures before that step?
Thank you…
Hi Richard. Please scroll down to the very bottom of the blog post and see the recipe card. You will see the instructions and the ingredients listed there. It’s mentioned in step 4. I hope you enjoy the recipe.
Great recipe the soup came out delicious
Really I like all the food u make , i maked almost of u recipes , all of them r so nice , I hope u add me to u r account to see any new u make , thank you 🙏
INCREDIBLE! It was very tasty! I made it exactly as written. I had leftover baked potatoes that I used and was glad it used milk instead of cream,no trip to the grocery store was needed!!!! Thank you
Awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Will not be making this again. I have never had such a gritty potato soup in my life. I don’t know if it’s the sour cream or the shredded cheese, but this recipe was a really big waste for me. I like my potato soup to be creamy. This was not creamy. I tried everything to fix it. I followed the directions correctly. This is the second time I’ve tried to make this and both ended up gritty/clumpish so I will not be trying this recipe again
Hi Chloe, I haven’ thad this turn out gritty – maybe it was the type of potato used or maybe the potato was undercooked?
I use heavy whipping cream and milk to make mind . Not the flour milk butter mixture . Idk if that helps at all, but it was definitely my problem to first go around
Grit happens when veggies are not rinsed (potatoes, onion). I’ve made a different recipe for years and this one was easier to make and delicious.
Sometimes grit can come from letting the cheese boil. It is helpful to let it stop boiling before adding the cheese so it can just be stirred in as it melts.
This was my first time making this for my family and my husband loves it ! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Ive tried so many other recipes, but this is the best potato soup recipe online! Thanks for sharing it.
I’m so glad you love it, Laura! Thank you so much.
Just made the potato soup and it’s wonderful! Thank you! I did add my own little touches, blanched broccoli and green peas to our bowls. That way the veggies don’t get mushy sitting in the soup. Will make this again and again!
That sounds great, Rina!
Just made the carrot soup it was delicious, as is everything you make! You’re a fantastic chef!❤️
I’m glad you loved it, Ann!