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. 
Your potato soup recipe is the best and the one that I have made for years. It has always turned out excellent, I only thing I do differently is when cooking the potatoes I use Chicken Broth instead of water for added taste, and for thickening the soup I use Instance Mash Potatoes.
Sounds good, Barry. Great to hear that you love this recipe!
We made your loaded potato soup last night for dinner and it was the best! We heated a bowl up to go with our dinner tonite👍 Thank You🙂
That’s so great! PErfect soup to enjoy during these cool fall months! I’m happy you loved it, Marianne!
Your recipes are ALWAYS delicious. You are my go to when i need fresh ideas as to what to fix for dinner or any meal actually. Potato Soup was so good and my picky husband went back for seconds. Great job.
That’s nice to know, Sherry! Thank you for sharing that with us, I’m happy that you are always using my reipes.
Loved the bacon with the sour cream and cheddar! Those flavors really stood out against the nice creamy base and were absolutely delicious together. Yet another winner of a recipe! <3
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Katharina! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
A new family favorite! Easy to make and delicious. Thank you for all your amazing recipes! You are my favorite food blogger when I am looking for an inspiration when I am unsure “what’s for dinner” 🙂
You are very welcome! Thank you for trusting my recipes, Anna. I appreciate your good comments and feedback.
Hi, I would love to try this recipe but I don’t like onions. Could I use onion powder and if so, how much do I use?
Hi Jeanie, I imagine that should work too. Just estimate it and add it little by little until you’re satisfied with the taste.
Loved it. The only things I did differently was I used the leftovers I had from making potato skins. Also I had homemade ready prepared garlic butter. Left out the salt due to the salt content in the butter, bacon, sour cream and cheddar cheese. It was delicious and a keeper.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review.
Is it necessary to cook the potatoes first or can I just add them to the liquid and let them cook that way
Hi Angela, we found this is the best way to cook them and not impact the other ingredients and textures.
Natasha, thank you for this recipe. I hope you make beautiful, privileged, white babies. Thank you.
Making it now for first time. Used russet potatoes and taking a lot longer than 8-10 minutes to soften. Anyone have this issue?
Hi Dani, I’m curious if the potatoes are not fully “ripe” or larger, causing it to take longer? The heat source matters also. I hope it worked out for you!
Worked great. My mistake was pieces were a bit too big. I just made it again and it is delish. BEST SOUP EVER!!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
I made the potato soup but it’s not thick at all I followed the recipe to a t not sure what happened any suggestions?
Hi Elaine, could there have been any changes in the proportions of liquid ingredients?
You can make a slurry by whisking 1/2 cup cornstarch with 1/3 cup cold water or chicken stock in a bowl and slowly whisk it into soup. It should thicken up almost immediately.
If you have any instant potatoes on hand makes enough instant potatoes with the liquid in your pot until your soup is thick enough..(go slowly/ too much would be like glue! Easy does it)
This soup is so tasty and filling and takes 30 minutes to make!My family loves it and we make it often.Your recipes are a lifesaver!
That is the best when the family loves what we moms make. That’s so great!
Would you recommend using chicken if I don’t have bacon?
Hi Alena, I think that could work. You could also use diced ham.
Hello, we don’t eat pork so I’m wondering could I use turkey bacon in place of pork bacon?
I’m curious if the less fat content would change the flavor or texture of the soup?
Hi Christina, I haven’t tried that yet to advise but I imagine that will be okay. If you try that, please share with us how it goes.
I love soup – and your recipes are the best! I usually bring a big crockpot of soup for our church fellowship after services. Can I use a crockpot for your recipes or would it be best to cook in a dutch oven and then transfer to a crockpot to keep warm? Just trying to cut back on pots and pans.
Thank you Shawn
Hi Shawn, that should work fine.
I’m sorry could you please clarify your answer. Is it fine to cook it in a crockpot to start with or just to keep it warm. Thank you
Hi Shawn, I haven’t experimented with cooking the entire soup in a crockpot so I can’t advise on that but it should be fine to keep warm.
This didn’t turn out that great for me. It had a curdled texture and I even added some of the hot milk/broth slowly to the sour cream in a bowl to temper it before added it to the pot.
Hi Donya, I haven’t had that experience – did you possibly use a fat-free sour cream or change any other ingredients?
If the soup came to a boil after adding the cheese and sour cream, your soup “broke” meaning the oils separated from the solids causing the curdle texture. Never boil a cheese sauce and such after adding the cheese.
If any of your dairy products were not super fresh, they will curdle when heated. They may look and smell okay, but if they have been previously opened or are approaching their expiration date, you may have a problem. Also, avoid boiling.
So sorry if I missed this in one of your reviews…but at what point do I add in the reserved bacon grease?
Hi Heidi, I just continue cooking with the grease in the pot. I clarified that in the recipe card also.
Just re-read your recipe. Yes, it’s clearly states that. I made my bacon in the oven so that’s where I missed that step.
I made this soup today and it was so good. Also, my neighbors plowed my driveway and I had plenty to give them a taste of it. Thumb’s up from all!!
So excited to try more of your recipes.
I’m glad it worked out, and you enjoyed that. Thank you for that wonderful review.
Just made this. Delicious!!! Been following you trying to learn how to cook. Thank you.
I’m so inspired reading your review. Thank you!
Bought too many potatoes, so needed a recipe to use them up. Looked at other recipes, but have used this site before (cross rolls) & enjoyed the site and product, so tried this. Big hit! My husband and parents loved the soup. Absolutely delicious! Highly recommend.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Does this freeze well? I have lots of potatoes that I need to use before we travel for a few weeks
Hi Anne, I haven’t tried but I think that would work fine to freeze.
No! Potatoes do not freeze well. Highly advise against it. They become a watery sponge.
This soup is fabulous! It is so good. I’ve tried other chowder type soups and have never reached this level of perfection.
That’s just awesome, Rebecca! Thank you so much for that wonderful feedback!
I have made this and did enjoy, I do wonder about cutting back on the sour cream. Not all the kids are sour cream fans and I did feel you could taste it. What should I increase to balance the flavor?
Hi Amy, I have not tried a substitution but here is what one of our readers wrote: “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 hope it helps.