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.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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. 
This is a great recipe. Simple, quick, and all ingredients that I keep on hand. I’ve made it twice and it is a big hit. Thanks.
You’re welcome, Frank. Thanks for your good comments and feedback!
Great recipe, this is a keeper! I added some “Better than Bouillon” and extra seasonings (such as garlic and onion powder and a no salt blend for added flavor). I also added some heavy cream because, well why not!
I’m so glad you enjoeyd that, Dahla!
Can you tell me if this recipe is freezer friendly.
Hi Colette, I haven’t tried but I think that would work fine to freeze.
Made your potato soup for the first time. My husband loves it.
I’m glad to hear that. Thanks for sharing, Joan!
This is my 22nd recipe of yours I’ve made, and LOVED!!! I have never been a potato fan, but this soup is loaded with flavour!!! Thanks again for making our dinner time so wonderful and our tummy’s so happy!
WOW! I’m so happy you love our recipes! Thank you so much for the fantastic review and your encouraging words. I am smiling big reading your comment
Love potato soup.My granddaughter is coming to stay for a few days. Would love to make this ahead and freeze. Is this possible .
Hi Jean, I haven’t tried but I think that would work fine to freeze.
Anything milk based doesn’t freeze well. It will turn out grainy when thawed.
This has been my experience too. Any soup I want to make or freeze that has milk or cream in it I make up to the point of adding the milk or cream. My husband can’t tolerate the dairy in a soup. It will make him sick every time. What we do is dish it up & then whoever wants the milk or cream can add a splash to their bowl before we eat it. Same for freezing, no milk in it to freeze, but added to the bowl when serving.
Absolutely loved how easy this was and how amazing it came out! Ive already shared with a few friends and I know they won’t regret trying it!
That’s so nice of you! Thanks for sharing this recipe to your friends, I hope this becomes a favorite for them too!
I was looking for a good potato soup recipe, since I had a really delicious one from this restaurant one time.
This was perfect very easy to follow and absolutely delicious.
Thank you!
You are more than welcome, Selene. Thank you for your great review, we appreciate it!
This recipe was delicious and easy to prepare. Will make it again definitely a keeper
I’m so happy you enjoyed that Nancy!
Natasha,
I’m so enjoying your recipes. They are so full of wonderful flavors. Your directions are always so clear and easy to follow. Thank you for making meal time so much easier!
You’re welcome, Dianne! I’m so happy this has been helpful!
If I am going to add carrots when should I do that?
Hi Lily, I haven’t tried this with carrots to advise but I bet that could work. If you experiment I would love to know how you like that!
Whenever I add carrots I sweat them with the onions so that they are more tender, but I would either grate the carrot or dice it really fine unless you want them to be a bit harder.
Always fantastic recipes On Natasha kitchen . Easy , fast and Very delicious …Thank you Natasha you are the best 👍🏼
You’re so nice! Thank you for that wonderful compliment!
What do you do with the tablespoon of bacon grease that you reserve when cooking the bacon? When is it added?
Hi Nancy, we just keep it in the pot to continue sauteeing the next ingredients.
This was amazing. I used diced ham steak instead of bacon. So thick and creamy and filling. We loved it!
So awesome to hear that you enjoyed this soup! Thank you so much for your great feedback.
having some problems with potato size. How large exactly is al ‘large’ potato? Can you specify weights?
Hi Sibel, A large potato is generally 3 to 4.25″ in diameter or 8-12oz. I hope that helps.
I don’t have sour cream, can I use plain Greek yogurt?
Hi Grace, I honestly haven’t tried that yet to advise. Please share with us how it goes if you do an experiment!
I made the soup yesterday. I used plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream because that’s what I had. Whisked it with some soup in a separate bowl then added to pot. DELICIOUS! Will definitely make again! Thanks for a great recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed that Grace!
Just made this. Super tasty! I added a half can of corn just because i love corn and mashed potatoes, went together nicely. Also love the idea of avocado as a topper. Great Recipe!
That is an awesome idea, thank you for sharing!
I was just wondering if in place of the chicken broth, how about using the same amount of water from the potatoe water?
That may work, Pam. I haven’t tested that to advise and we do prefer the broth for flavor. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I am going to make potato soup and want to add diced ham instead of bacon ! Do I still need a Tbsp of bacon grease ?
Hi Linda, you can just use oil or butter if you prefer without needing to cook bacon to get bacon grease for the recipe. The bacon grease adds a little bit of flavor but the recipe would still work great without it.
Can I possibly use almond milk for this recipe!? It’s all I have right now.
Hello Deborah, I haven’t personally tried using almond milk for this recipe yet but I imagine that should also work. If you do an experiment and try please share with us how it goes!
It works perfectly. Just tried it out. The flour is a thickener, and the butter and bacon grease add fat to it, so it functions just like milk.