One-Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Loaded baked potato soup made in one pot with bacon, sharp cheddar, and sour cream. Thick, creamy, and topped like a fully loaded baked potato.
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Loaded baked potato soup tastes like somebody scooped out a steakhouse baked potato, added a ladle, and called it dinner. Bacon, sharp cheddar, sour cream, and green onions all show up, the broth is thick enough to hold a spoon upright, and the whole thing happens in one pot on the stove. On a cold night it does more for morale than almost anything else I cook.
The trick that makes this genuinely one pot is skipping the baked potato part entirely. The potatoes go in raw, straight into the broth, and simmer until fork-tender right in the soup. All that starch they let go stays in the pot instead of going down the sink, which is a big part of why the texture ends up so thick without any extra thickener.
Once the potatoes are soft, mash about half of them right in the pot and leave the rest in chunks. You get a creamy base and real bites of potato in the same spoonful. A blender makes it uniformly smooth, which is fine, but you lose the part that makes it feel like a baked potato instead of a puree.
Why You’ll Love This Loaded Baked Potato Soup Recipe
- One pot, start to finish. Bacon, potatoes, broth, and cheese all go in the same Dutch oven with nothing boiled separately.
- Thick without a shortcut. The potato starch and a simple butter roux do the thickening, no boxed mix required.
- Every baked potato topping. Bacon, sharp cheddar, sour cream, and green onions, exactly like the potato it’s named after.
- Feeds a crowd cheap. Three pounds of potatoes stretches into eight generous bowls.
Loaded Baked Potato Soup Ingredients
Use russets, not red or Yukon Gold. Russets are high-starch and low-moisture, so they break down and thicken the broth as they cook. Waxy potatoes hold their shape stubbornly and leave you with a thin soup full of firm cubes.
- 6 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 3 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar, plus more for serving
- 3 green onions, sliced, for serving
Recipe Variations
- Stir in 2 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken with the dairy to turn this into a heartier main-dish soup.
- Leave the potato skins on for a rustic version with more texture and a little extra fiber. Just scrub them well first.
- Swap 2 cups of the chicken broth for beer or extra broth plus a teaspoon of Dijon if you want the flavor of a beer cheese soup.
How to Make Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Crisp the bacon: Cook the chopped bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fully crisp and no soft pink pieces remain. Lift it out with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel-lined plate and leave about 2 tablespoons of the drippings in the pot.
- Soften the onion: Add the diced onion to the bacon drippings and cook 5 to 6 minutes over medium heat, until translucent and just starting to color. Stir in the garlic and cook 30 seconds, then add the butter and let it melt.
- Make the roux: Sprinkle the flour over everything and whisk constantly for 1 full minute. It will look like a thick paste, and that minute is what cooks off the raw flour taste.
- Add the broth and potatoes: Slowly pour in the chicken broth while whisking, scraping the bottom of the pot as you go. Add the cubed potatoes, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer 18 to 20 minutes, until a fork slides into a potato cube with no resistance.
- Mash right in the pot: Take the pot off the heat and mash about half the potatoes directly in the broth with a potato masher, leaving the rest in chunks. The soup will thicken noticeably as you go.
- Stir in the dairy: Return the pot to low heat and stir in the half-and-half and sour cream until smooth. Keep it below a boil from this point on, since sour cream curdles if it gets too hot.
- Melt in the cheddar: Add the shredded cheddar a handful at a time over low heat, stirring until each addition disappears before adding more. Taste and add more salt and pepper if it needs it.
- Load up the bowls: Ladle the loaded baked potato soup into bowls and top each one with the crisp bacon, extra shredded cheddar, and sliced green onions.
Recipe FAQs
Do I Have to Bake the Potatoes First?
No. The potatoes simmer raw in the broth, which is what makes this a one-pot soup and lets all that starch thicken the pot instead of going down the drain.
Why Did My Soup Turn Grainy or Curdled?
The sour cream got too hot. Once the dairy goes in, keep the pot on low and never let it come back to a boil.
Can I Use Milk Instead of Half-And-Half?
Yes, whole milk works, though the soup will be a little less rich. Skim milk is thin enough that you’ll notice the difference in the body of the broth.
Should I Blend It?
That’s up to you. A few pulses with an immersion blender makes it smoother and more velvety. Mashing by hand leaves real chunks of potato, which is closer to the baked potato it’s named after.
Can I Make This in a Slow Cooker?
Yes, but don’t skip the roux. Crisp the bacon on the stove and soften the onion and garlic in the drippings, then whisk in the butter and flour right in that pan and cook it a minute before whisking in the broth. Pour all of it into the slow cooker with the potatoes and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours. Mash, then stir in the dairy and cheese at the very end so they don’t break. Leave the flour out and you get broth with potatoes in it.
Cooking Tips
- Cut the potatoes into even 1-inch cubes. Uneven pieces mean the small ones dissolve completely while the big ones are still firm.
- Shred the cheddar off a block. Bagged shreds carry an anti-caking coating that keeps them from melting cleanly and can leave the soup slightly gritty.
- Save a few tablespoons of the bacon for the top and let it stay dry on the plate. Bacon stirred into the pot goes soft, and the crunch on top is half the appeal.
Storage and Freezing
To store: Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. It thickens a lot as it sits, so plan to thin it when you reheat.
To freeze: Freezing isn’t recommended. Potatoes go mealy and the sour cream and cheese separate once thawed, so this one is better made fresh or kept in the fridge.
To reheat: Warm gently on the stovetop over low heat, stirring often and adding a splash of broth or milk to loosen it. Don’t let it boil, or the dairy will break.
How to Serve Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Loaded Baked Potato Soup is a full meal on its own, especially with the toppings piled high. A crisp green salad with a sharp vinaigrette balances all that richness, and a plate of roasted broccoli on the side works well too. Set out little bowls of extra bacon, cheddar, sour cream, and green onions and let everyone build their own bowl. It’s the easiest way I know to get kids excited about soup.
Loved This Recipe?
Loaded baked potato soup is one pot, one hour, and eight bowls of the coziest thing you’ll eat all week.
Leave a star rating in the comments below, it helps other people find this recipe. Made it? Tag @allwellfed on Instagram, I love seeing this one in other people’s kitchens.
One-Pot Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 slices thick-cut bacon chopped
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 3 lbs russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar plus more for serving
- 3 green onions sliced, for serving
Instructions
- Crisp the bacon: Cook the chopped bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fully crisp and no soft pink pieces remain. Lift it out with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel-lined plate and leave about 2 tablespoons of the drippings in the pot.
- Soften the onion: Add the diced onion to the bacon drippings and cook 5 to 6 minutes over medium heat, until translucent and just starting to color. Stir in the garlic and cook 30 seconds, then add the butter and let it melt.
- Make the roux: Sprinkle the flour over everything and whisk constantly for 1 full minute. It will look like a thick paste, and that minute is what cooks off the raw flour taste.
- Add the broth and potatoes: Slowly pour in the chicken broth while whisking, scraping the bottom of the pot as you go. Add the cubed potatoes, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer 18 to 20 minutes, until a fork slides into a potato cube with no resistance.
- Mash right in the pot: Take the pot off the heat and mash about half the potatoes directly in the broth with a potato masher, leaving the rest in chunks. The soup will thicken noticeably as you go.
- Stir in the dairy: Return the pot to low heat and stir in the half-and-half and sour cream until smooth. Keep it below a boil from this point on, since sour cream curdles if it gets too hot.
- Melt in the cheddar: Add the shredded cheddar a handful at a time over low heat, stirring until each addition disappears before adding more. Taste and add more salt and pepper if it needs it.
- Load up the bowls: Ladle the loaded baked potato soup into bowls and top each one with the crisp bacon, extra shredded cheddar, and sliced green onions.
Notes
If you made this, leave a star rating down in the comments. It takes about ten seconds, and it’s how other cooks decide whether a recipe is worth trying.
