Soup
Loaded Baked Potato Soup
A refined loaded baked potato soup with oven-baked russets, bacon, leek, cheddar, sour cream and chives—rich and creamy without becoming heavy or gluey.
- Prep
- 25 minutes
- Cook
- 1 hour 40 minutes
- Total
- 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield
- About 11 to 12 cups
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Ingredients
Baked Potatoes
- 4 pounds russet potatoes (Approximately 6 large potatoes, scrubbed and dried)
Soup Base
- 12 ounces thick-cut bacon (Cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces)
- 1 medium yellow onion (Finely diced)
- 1 large leek (White and light-green portions only, halved, washed thoroughly and thinly sliced)
- 3 cloves garlic (Finely minced)
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 5 cups unsalted chicken stock (Plus more for adjusting the consistency)
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (Finely chopped; or substitute 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (Plus more to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper (Optional)
- 1/2 cup sour cream (At room temperature)
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese (Freshly grated, about 1 cup)
- kosher salt (Only if needed after the bacon, stock, Worcestershire and cheese are incorporated)
For Serving
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese (Freshly grated, about 1 cup)
- 1/4 cup fresh chives (Thinly sliced)
- 1/2 cup sour cream (For optional garnish)
Instructions
Bake the Potatoes
Heat the oven to 425°F. Pierce each scrubbed potato several times with a fork and place the potatoes directly on the center oven rack with a sheet pan on the rack below to catch any drips.
Bake for 55–70 minutes, depending on size, until the skins are crisp and a skewer passes through the centers without resistance. Let the potatoes cool just until they can be handled safely.
Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a large bowl, leaving the skins mostly intact if making the crispy-skin garnish. Mash approximately two-thirds of the potato flesh until mostly smooth. Break the remaining one-third into irregular bite-size pieces and keep it separate.
Build the Soup Base
Place the bacon in a large, cool Dutch oven or heavy soup pot. Cook over medium heat for 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the bacon is crisp. Transfer the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon. Reserve approximately one-third for garnishing.
Leave 3 tablespoons of bacon fat in the pot and remove the excess. Add the onion and leek. Cook over medium heat for 7–9 minutes, stirring frequently, until very tender without developing significant brown color.
Add the garlic and thyme and cook for 30–45 seconds, stirring constantly. Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously, to eliminate its raw flavor.
Slowly whisk in approximately 1 cup of the chicken stock, scraping the bottom of the pot and working out any flour lumps. Gradually whisk in the remaining stock, followed by the milk and heavy cream.
Add the Worcestershire sauce, black pepper and white pepper, if using. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. Do not allow the dairy to boil aggressively.
Add the Potatoes and Finish
Whisk the mashed potato flesh into the simmering soup until evenly incorporated. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the soup is creamy and lightly thickened.
Fold in the irregular potato pieces and two-thirds of the cooked bacon. Simmer gently for another 5 minutes so the potato pieces heat through while retaining their texture. Do not blend the soup.
Place the room-temperature sour cream in a medium bowl and whisk in approximately 1 cup of hot soup, a little at a time. Remove the soup pot from the heat, then stir the tempered sour cream mixture into the soup.
Add 4 ounces of freshly grated cheddar in small handfuls, stirring after each addition until just melted. Do not return the soup to a boil after adding the sour cream and cheese.
Adjust the consistency with additional warm chicken stock if needed. The soup should flow readily from a ladle and contain visible pieces of baked potato rather than resembling loose mashed potatoes.
Taste the finished soup before adding any kosher salt. The bacon, stock, Worcestershire and cheddar may already provide sufficient seasoning. Adjust with black pepper or salt only if needed.
Optional Crispy Potato Skins and Serving
To make the crispy-skin garnish, cut the reserved potato skins into narrow strips. Arrange them on a sheet pan, brush lightly with a small amount of reserved bacon fat and bake at 425°F for 8–12 minutes, turning once, until crisp. Watch carefully during the final minutes.
Ladle the soup into warm bowls. Garnish with the reserved crisp bacon, grated cheddar, sliced chives, a small spoonful of sour cream and crispy potato-skin pieces, as desired.
Notes
This soup was developed as a more balanced alternative to the familiar Hard Rock Cafe-style loaded baked potato soup. It retains the bacon, cheddar, sour cream and chive character while allowing the flavor and texture of properly baked russet potatoes to remain central. No canned soup is used.
Baking the potatoes rather than boiling them concentrates their flavor and produces a dry, fluffy flesh that thickens the soup naturally. Mashing approximately two-thirds provides body, while irregular pieces from the remaining third make it unmistakably baked potato soup.
The small amount of flour stabilizes the dairy but is not intended to create the soup's primary thickness. The finished soup should be creamy and spoonable, not stiff, pasty or gluey.
Do not use a blender, food processor or immersion blender on the potatoes. Aggressive processing releases excess starch and can make the soup gummy.
Freshly grated cheese is important. Packaged shredded cheese is commonly coated with anti-caking starches that can make the soup grainy.
Substitutions
Crème fraîche may replace the sour cream in equal measure for a smoother, slightly less tangy finish that is especially resistant to curdling.
Applewood-smoked, hickory-smoked or peppered bacon may be used. Strongly smoked bacon will have a more dominant presence.
A mild white cheddar may replace sharp cheddar, or use a blend of cheddar and Gruyère for a more refined variation.
Half-and-half may replace the combined whole milk and heavy cream, though the finished richness will differ slightly.
Unsalted vegetable stock may replace chicken stock, but the soup will still not be vegetarian unless the bacon is also omitted and replaced with another savory element.
Gluten-free all-purpose flour may replace wheat flour if it is formulated for one-to-one thickening. Verify all packaged ingredients for strict gluten-free preparation.
Variations
Steakhouse Baked Potato Soup:
Replace 2 ounces of the cheddar with Gruyère and garnish with crispy fried shallots in addition to the bacon and chives.
Smoked Cheddar Potato Soup:
Use 2 ounces sharp cheddar and 2 ounces smoked cheddar in the soup. Keep the smoked cheese restrained so it does not overwhelm the baked potato.
Broccoli Baked Potato Soup:
Fold in 2 cups of small steamed broccoli florets with the irregular potato pieces.
Jalapeño Baked Potato Soup:
Cook one seeded, finely diced jalapeño with the onion and leek, then garnish with pickled jalapeño slices.
Lighter Baked Potato Soup:
Omit the heavy cream and use 3 cups whole milk. Reduce the flour to 3 tablespoons and adjust the final consistency with stock.
Storage
Cool the soup promptly and transfer it to shallow airtight containers within two hours. Refrigerate for up to four days. Store garnishes separately so the bacon and potato skins remain crisp.
Freezing is not recommended. Potatoes can become grainy after freezing, and the dairy emulsion may separate when thawed.
Reheating
Reheat only the amount needed in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Add chicken stock or milk a few tablespoons at a time to restore the original consistency.
Do not boil the reheated soup. Heat it gently until it reaches 165°F, then serve with freshly added garnishes.
Troubleshooting
The soup is gluey:
The potatoes were overworked or blended. Mash them gently by hand and fold the potato pieces into the soup without aggressive stirring.
The soup is too thick:
Whisk in warm chicken stock or milk 1/4 cup at a time until it flows easily from a ladle.
The soup is too thin:
Simmer it gently before adding the sour cream and cheese. Mash a small additional portion of the potato pieces against the side of the pot.
The soup is grainy:
The cheese may have been added while the soup was boiling, or pre-shredded cheese may have been used. Remove the pot from the heat and add freshly grated cheese gradually.
The sour cream curdled:
It was cold or added directly to very hot soup. Bring it to room temperature and temper it with hot soup before incorporation.
The soup tastes flat:
Taste for salt only after the bacon, stock, Worcestershire and cheddar are incorporated. Black pepper, chives or a small additional amount of Worcestershire may provide the missing contrast.
The soup is too salty:
Use unsalted stock and wait until the end to season. Dilute an overly salty batch with additional baked potato, milk and unsalted stock.
The bacon becomes soft:
Keep the garnish portion separate and add it only immediately before serving.
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