Soups · American
Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Everything you pile on a baked potato, in a creamy, cheesy bowl.
- Hands-on
- 30 min
- Hands-off
- 25 min
- Total
- 55 min
- Makes
- 6 bowls
- Serves
- 6
About 15 minutes of chopping, then roughly 40 minutes at the stove, about 55 minutes in all. Only the first 15 minutes of cooking need you at the pot; the potatoes then simmer about 20 minutes with an occasional stir.
- easy
- comfort-food
- weeknight
- winter
- one-pot
Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means
Scaling? Scales in a straight line if your pot is big enough. A larger batch takes longer to come to a simmer, so judge the potatoes by tenderness, not the clock. Some items (like eggs) don’t halve neatly: beat them, then measure out half.
Ingredients
You need: large heavy pot or Dutch oven · whisk · slotted spoon · plate lined with paper towel · box grater · ladle
Contains: milk · wheat
Method
Crisp the bacon
Cook the 6 slices of diced bacon in a large pot over medium-high heat, stirring now and then, for 6 to 8 minutes. Lift it out with a slotted spoon onto a paper-towel-lined plate. Leave the fat in the pot.
Ready when: The bacon is browned and crisp all over, with no soft white fat left on the pieces.
Soften the vegetables
Add the diced onion and the 2 diced celery stalks to the bacon fat and cook, stirring, 4 to 5 minutes.
Ready when: The onion is soft and see-through at the edges and the celery has softened; nothing is browning hard.
Make the roux
Add 57 g (4 tbsp) butter. When it has melted, sprinkle in 30 g (4 tbsp) flour and stir for 1 minute.
Ready when: The flour has disappeared into the fat and the mixture looks like a smooth, bubbling paste with no dry flour.
Add the liquids and potatoes
Slowly whisk in 237 ml (1 cup) milk and 237 ml (1 cup) heavy cream until smooth. Add 950 ml (4 cups) chicken stock, the 4 diced potatoes, 1 tsp paprika and 1 tsp bouillon powder if using. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.
Ready when: Small bubbles break steadily across the surface and the liquid has thickened slightly with no lumps of flour.
Simmer until tender
Turn the heat down so it simmers gently and cook about 20 minutes, stirring now and then so nothing catches on the bottom.
Ready when: A knife slides into a potato cube with no resistance and the pieces start to break at the edges.
Add cheese and bacon
Stir in most of the 227 g (8 oz) grated cheddar, a handful at a time, until it melts. Stir in most of the bacon, keeping some back for the top.
Ready when: The cheese has melted completely and the soup is smooth and steaming hot.
Load it up
Ladle into bowls and top with sliced scallions, a spoonful of sour cream, the reserved bacon and the last of the cheese.
Make ahead, store & reheat
- Storage
- Cool and refrigerate within 2 hours. Eat within 3 to 4 days.
- Reheat
- Reheat gently on the stove, stirring often, until it is steaming hot all the way through, 74°C (165°F).
If something goes wrong
- Lumps of flour in the soup Why: The milk and cream went in too fast.
Add the dairy slowly while whisking, and cook the flour in the fat for the full minute first. - Potatoes still firm Why: Pieces cut too big, or the soup wasn't simmering.
Keep it at a gentle simmer and test a cube with a knife; give it more time until it slides through easily.
Good to know
- Keep a little cheese and bacon back before you stir them in, so you have toppings left.
- Bouillon powder is optional; taste before adding more salt, since stock and bacon are already salty.
Safety
- Hot soup and bacon fat burn. Turn the pot handle inward, stir with a long spoon, and keep kids back from the stove.
- Stir often after the dairy goes in: thick soups can catch on the bottom and spit when they bubble.
- Stock, bouillon powder and bacon can contain allergens or gluten. Check the labels.