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, Roasted Tomato Soup, 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.



Hi! I’m Natasha Kravchuk, a New York Times bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, food photographer, and writer. Here you’ll find delicious, reliable recipes made with simple ingredients, plus easy step-by-step photos and videos to help you cook confidently at home.
Can you use frozen potatoes to make this? Such as diced frozen potatoes?
Hi Jennifer, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
Would you be able to cook this in the crockpot?
Hi Katie, I haven’t tested that to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
Just made it and it was awesome. Thanks again for providing another outstanding recipe. They never fail
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Greg!
This will definitely be on rotation for cold season soups. Loved it! Both me and hubby got seconds and i almost licked the bowl afterwards!! And our 2 year old did not complain one bit, but all his soup and said it was good
That is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great!
What is the reserved bacon grease for? (PS- I love you and all of your videos!!)
Hi Felicia, you want to keep 1 Tbsp of bacon grease in the pot to continue cooking with and discard an excess grease. You can keep all of it in the pot if you prefer a richer potato soup.
Would I be able to use white potatoes?
I haven’t tested that but I imagine it should work.
how many lbs of potatoes do you use?
Hi Lisa, I believe it was about 2 lbs of potatoes.
Modified to add tons of frozen vegetables, chicken and fresh spinach! Love the whole thing, the flavor of the base is yummy and the bacon adds a nice element
That’s so great, Kat! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Can this be frozen
Hi Donna, I haven’t tried but I think that would work fine to freeze.
I have tried to freeze this wonderful soup, but it really doesn’t freeze well.
Hi Natasha! If I choose to use heavy cream instead of the roux, in what step and how would I incorporate it? Beginner cook here! Looking forward to your reply
Hi Jill, I would stir in the cream at step 6.
Made this recipe. Did take a bit longer but it was absolutely delicious! We added frozen corn to it as well!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
So Delicious! Will definitely be making this again and again:)
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
I have red potatoes from the garden. Do you think they will work okay?
Hi Jen, I haven’t tested that but I imagine it will work. If you experiment, please let me know how you like that.
Just made this and it was delicious! My husband and I LOVE your recipes! Thanks so much!
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Rebecca!
This is the second recipe that we’ve tried from Valentina and absolutely loved! The soup was so easy to make and it was delicious!!
Thank you so much for sharing that with us, Nat! So glad you enjoyed that!
Can heavy cream be used? Would it be good?
Hi Dee, I haven’t tried this with heavy cream but that should work. If you experiment please let me know how you like that.
BEST POTATO SOUP EVER!!! My family loved it! 🙂
I’m so happy you all enjoyed that! Thank you for sharing that with me Jennifer!
What can be used in place of flour to make this gluten free?
Such a luscious starter and that too when the weather is so chilly outside. My husband and kids loved your soup so much. Thanks a ton for sharing this!
You’re so welcome, Emma! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe!
Wow! This soup was so creamy and delicious! I loved the bacon in it!!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
potato soup is one of my favorite comfort foods in the winter. this version is so delicious, creamy and full of mouthwatering flavor. well done.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Krissy! I’m so happy you enjoyed that.
Ok, even though it’s warm here, I want this! It’s one of my favorites! It’s full of so much flavor & easy to make!
That’s so great! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Made this for dinner last night and it was a hit all around the table! Going to have it again, this evening!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review, Beth!