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. 
How do I convert this to a crockpot meal instead of stovetop?
Hi Chelsea, 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.
Growing up in a Lithuanian family, potatoes are always in a meal, with that said, followed recipe to the letter, just one little difference, used a masher to gentle break up potatoes in soup, makes thicker and creamier. My son’s enjoy so much, that left overs arpe gone before the next day (their midnight treat)
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Missy! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
It looks and sounds delicious. I don’t see where you mention to add the corn kernals. Is that up to your own preference?
Hi April! Yes, you can add this to your own preference. Corn is not in the ingredient list but it is a great addition to this recipe. You may also like my corn-chowder-recipe.
just made this potato soup. outstanding. added 1/2 tsp korean chili powder. left everything else the same. fantastic.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
I tried this recipe a couple years ago and now have it on repeat at least once every two weeks. So delicious, especially on those gloomy PNW days! Hubby’s favorite!
That is great! We love this soup, it’s so comforting on gloomy days. Thank you for the review.
Soup is on the stove right now ready to eat! It is about 30 degrees and raining outside. This is the perfect, hearty, absolutely delicious dinner to have tonight. It was super easy to put together and took no time at all. Thank you for sharing!
You’re most welcome, Kim. It sounds like a perfect time to enjoy this soup!
I just made it Feb 15 2022 It’s very good even thought I did not have the sour cream to add to it at the end. Also, I think one glove of garlic is enough. Cloves very and I wish recipe makers start using tsp or tbs. That would help Will make again
This soup is AWESOME!!! I have made it 4 times and always delicious. However I do replace half the milk for heavy whipping cream so yummy 😋. Thank for the AWESOME recipe 😋.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Robin!
Best potato soup I’ve made. I don’t eat much one bowl filled me up. Boyfriend said really good…. he must have really liked it had 3 bowls filled to the rim.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Barb!
I had a question in regards to the dutch ovens. I thought I saw where you had a link comparing a few dutch ovens and the price ranges. I cannot seem to find that again. Any help would be appreciated as far as recommending alternatives.
And the loaded potato soup and casserole are fantastic! My family loved them both!!
Hi Maggie, you can find our favorite kitchen tools in our Amazon Affiliate Shop HERE. I list a few of my favorite dutch ovens there! I share my favorite Dutch Oven recipes HERE.
Omg wonderful tasty soup.I didn’t add the sour cream because it was thick enough.My husband had two bowls today.Thanks for the recipe.Amazing!!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
This is the best baked potato soup recipe I’ve ever had in my life! Better than any restaurant or anyone else’s I’ve tried! Thank you so much!
Thank you for the awesome feedback and review, Kellie!
Absolutely delicious! Spot on with the ingredients. Thank you so much, I always trust your recipes to come out right every time.
I’m so happy you love our recipes! Thank you so much for the fantastic review!
Great recipe for a cold night…!
I have some fresh broccoli, and I’m going to add it to my soup to make “broccoli potato soup with cheddar cheese and ham”.
Thank you! 🙂
Yum! That sounds so comforting and nice for this warm weather we’re seeing!
Made this today for dinner with garlic bread on the side. My husband doesn’t usually like soups but loved this one. Sent some home with my daughter for dinner with her boyfriend, I was told it was better then restaurant made. Will make again for sure.
That’s really great feedback from them, Margaret. Thank you for sharing that with us!
EXCELLENT recipe! I made this last week and was so pleased! It’s a great soup even when heating up leftovers. Thanks so much!
The perfect soup for this cold weather! Thank you for your lovely review!
I made this tonight and it was amazing! Didn’t have whole milk so used 2% then realized I had cream.. still turned out awesome! How would one store this?
Hi Rachel, I’m glad you enjoyed it! I haven’t tried freezing or making this ahead yet to advise but I bet that will work just fine.
I just made this potato soup and it is wonderful. Followed the recipe except I didn’t have whole milk so I used 2% and heavy cream, it is fabulous
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Donna!
We made this for Halloween night. We had our kids over and they loved it. We made it gluten free and used lactose free milk and it was delicious. We doubled it so the kids could take leftovers home.
It’s a keeper and my son and his wife wanted the recipe.
That is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great!
Fantastic, i mashed 1/2 the spuds so it was thicker, also xtra cheese and bacon. Doubled the recipe, kids and everyone LOVE IT!!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Katie! I’m glad you enjoyed that!
I made this for dinner tonight since I needed to use up some ingredients, and it was so good! I used leftover smoked sausage instead of bacon, and added cabbage and a can of corn to the soup. A+ rating from this family, and thank you Natasha’s Kitchen for being my new cooking inspiration!
Thank you for your lovely feedback, Rebecca!
Help!! I had planned on making this today. My store is out of large potatoes. I need a more specific amount. How many cups or ounces or ???
Hi Lynn, I wasn’t able to measure it that way. You may just adjust the number of potatoes that you will use according to the size.
i used 2 1/2 pounds yukon gold potatoes. checked other recipes with similar liquid used and some used weight vs number of potatoes. came out great.