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.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
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. 
I use frozen hash brown potatoes with skins. Microwave 8 minutes. Really fast and easy!
That’s a great tip! Thank you for sharing that with me.
Can the potato soup be frozen?
Hi Patty, I haven’t tried but I think that would work fine to freeze.
I have everything except whole milk. Can I user 1%? Can I add half n half? If so how much? Thank you
Hi Cindy, I have not tried it with 1% but it will work well with 2% milk. Here’s what one of our readers wrote that may be helpful: “This was fabulous! I didn’t have whole milk so I used 3 parts 2% and 1 part half and half and used the Instant Pot stirring in the sour cream and cheese after 10 minutes cook time. Can’t wait to try it as a Clam Chowder!”
Thank you so much. This will be the 3rd night in a row I have made your recipes. Love them and you for posting all these wonderful easy recipes. My husband is making them with me..Good couple time.
That’s so great!
Haven’t made it yet but want to. Which potatoes work best. I get so confused here in USA where there are multiple types. In South Africa where I grew up a potato was a potato!
Hi Danielle, please see this note in the recipe “Potatoes – you can use Russet, Idaho or Yukon gold potatoes. NOTE: If you’re using Yukon potatoes, the skin may be left on.” I hope this helps.
Russet potatoes work best in my opinion
I’ve made this and it’s excellent. On really cold blustery days I add a finely chopped roasted red pepper and some cayenne powder to give it a kick. The family loves it. They love it like this too. My most asked for soup.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite Deb!
This soup looks amazing…but that sodium level is really high!
Thank you for that feedback, Janet.
When I am get confused and not clear what comes after what, recipe is not detailed enough then I know that must be not Natasha’s recipe…😒. Natasha please, if you put it on your page, please check that directions are at your level of standards. Thank you! Love your stuff!
Sure Virginija I always do. Don’t forget to click also on “Jump to recipe” to easily see the ingredients and the steps.
I made your Clam Chowder soup tonight for my hubby and I. We loved it. Delicious
Thank you so much..
Thank you so much for sharing Susie. I am so happy to know that you both loved this recipe!
I followed the recipe to a T. It is so good, so hearty, and so much flavor. Love it!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Olena!
I doubled the recipe. One problem I encountered was the soup turned out grainy in appearance. I wonder if this is because of the sour cream being cold going into the hot pot? Just trying to troubleshoot what I did wrong.
Hi Destiny, I have not had that experience but I am happy to troubleshoot. The sour cream itself should not be grainy after being added to the soup. It is best to give it a good mix to let it mix well. I’ wondering if it has anything to do with the type of potatoes? Was anything altered in the recipe?
try to add the sour cream w/ some of the soup cooled for a few minutes like you would thicken a gravy…
That happens to me sometimes when I put 1/2 & 1/2 coffee creamer into my coffee–if the creamer is close to the expiration date. Was your sour cream close to out-dating?
ALWAYS START YOUR POTATOES IN COLD WATER THEY WILL COOK EVEN. IF YOU START THEM IN HOT WATER THE POTATOES WILL COOK FROM THE OUTSIDE IN & WILL BE GRAINY. I ALSO ADD I CAN OF EVAPORATED MILK IT MAKES IT RICH PLUS 2 CANS OF CREAM OF CELERY SOUP THE LAST 20 MINUTES…..AWESOME!!!
Thank you for sharing that with us Pauline.
Natasha, this is the potato soup I’ve been searching for! The search has now ended. Exactly the way I want a potato soup to be! Perfection!
I seriously have been making one of your recipes every night for the last two weeks! Not a bad one yet.
Hi Lisa, That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Does it work well if doubling the recipe?
Hi Shelley, that should work fine, just keep in mind the heating times would be a little longer since a double portion would take longer to heat up and cook.
Excellent. Devine. I was raised on potato soup, as were my kids, but Mom’s was never this delicious! Made exactly as written. Fried extra bacon bits as that’s how we roll.
Natasha has not disappointed with any of my attempts at her recipes.
Isn’t that the best when kids eat what we moms make? That’s so great!
So excited to try this! All I have is 2% milk. Do you think I will have to add anything extra to make it more creamy in lieu of whole milk?
Hi Marissa, 2% milk will work well for the potato soup.
Yum! I have tried many potato soup recipes, this is the best!
I’m so glad to hear it, Linda! Thank you for that wonderful feedback.
I have to make a mirepoix, I need the “holy food trinity” in soups like this. I also added some cayenne pepper to give it a bit more kick. Then I just “rough” mashed the potatoes in with the cheese. Came out thick, rich and very flavourful. Will be making this again for sure!
That’s so great, Lesly!! Thank you for that awesome review!
This was fabulous! I didn’t have whole milk so I used 3 parts 2% and 1 part half and half and used the Instant Pot stirring in the sour cream and cheese after 10 minutes cook time. Can’t wait to try it as a Clam Chowder!
I’m so glad that worked out for you, Ck! That’s so great.
How many cups is a serving ?
Hi Haley, I wish I had measured it that way. I imagine it would be a cup to a cup and a half per serving.
I don’t have sour cream on hand. Was wondering if it will make a big difference if not used?
I use buttermilk if out of sour cream.
Nice on a cool weather evening.
It sure is Pearl! I hope you give this recipe a try soon!
Followed the recipe exactly as written, and it came out delicious! It was my first time having/cooking potato soup.Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you for that wonderful review, Paula! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Delicious and easy! Makes a great cream soup when I blended the potatoes in it with an immersion blender. By picky child loved seeing the bacon and cheese on top and ate a whole bowl! We enjoyed as dinner with warm bread
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!