Homemade Baked Potato Soup Recipe

This is a thick, hearty Baked Potato Soup with bacon, cream, cheddar cheese and REAL potatoes. This soup seems like it would take hours to make, but is made with ingredients that will most likely be in your pantry already.

One stop at the grocery store and dinner is ready to go. It’s perfect for casual weeknight dinners, cold-weather weekends and serves a crowd.

This baked potato soup holds up well as leftovers and is just as tasty when reheated.

What You Need to Make Baked Potato Soup

• 1/2 lb. bacon, cut into small pieces + more for garnish
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 4 cups russet potatoes, peeled and chopped (about 5 medium)
• 1/2 cup parsley, diced + more for garnish
• 1.5 tsp. dry, ground basil
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1.5 tsp. black pepper
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded + more for garnish
• green onion, chopped, for garnish

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

The Potatoes

It’s important that you use Russet Potatoes. They’re very starchy potatoes, which help to thicken this soup as they simmer.

Yukon Gold Potatoes can be substituted for Russet Potatoes and will produce a slightly creamier texture. Avoid waxy potatoes, such as red potatoes.

They won’t cook down and thicken the soup, resulting in a thinner soup with large, loose pieces of potato. Try not to cut the potato pieces too small as they do cook down as they simmer.

Around 3/4 of an inch cubes cook quickly, but still hold their shape.

The Bacon

Use regular, store-bought bacon that isn’t thick-cut. Thick-cut bacon does work, it just doesn’t crisp up as quickly as regular bacon.

However, thick-cut bacon is a little firmer and has a stronger, smokier flavor.

The Cream

Heavy cream will make it thick and rich. Half-and-half is OK, though your potato soup will be a little thinner and less rich, but milk will make it watery and bland.

Unless you’re looking to reduce fat content, I’d skip the H&H, too.

The Cheese

No pre-shredded cheese. It’s coated in starch to keep the pieces separated, which prevents it from melting well.

You can self-shred a block of sharp cheddar easily. Sharp has a stronger flavor than mild, which helps to balance the richness of the cream and bacon.

The acidity of the sharp cheese cuts through all of it beautifully.

The Stock

Use stock instead of broth for a richer, more flavorful base with more body. Homemade is fine, but store-bought chicken stock will work great here.

The Bacon Fat

Cook the bacon in the same pot you’re making the potato soup in, then use the drippings to cook the onion in. This will add tons of flavor throughout the potato soup.

Nothing else will compare to cooking onions in bacon fat, not even butter or olive oil. Adding bacon back into the pot after cooking on a paper towel won’t compare to the end result of this technique.

The Flour

Instead of making a roux (butter + flour), we’ll be using flour in this recipe to thicken the potato soup, whisked together with the warm chicken stock. Whisk together the chicken stock and flour before adding to the potato soup, then simmer with onions until thickened.

Adding the flour directly into the pot will result in a lumpy potato soup, and the lumps will most likely stay lumpy no matter how long you cook. By whisking flour with the warm chicken stock first, then simmering in the pot, there’s no worry about lumps in the end and it’ll be an even consistency.

It also prevents any raw flour flavor.

Why This Bakes Up Just Right

Many times, potato soup can be thin and flavorless or overly sweet. Using the technique of cooking onions in bacon fat and adding flour + chicken stock will make sure that will NEVER happen.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Cook the Bacon

Chop the bacon and cook in a large soup pot over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon with slotted spoon and divide into two piles.

Leave drippings, about 2 Tbsp, in pan.

Step 2: Soften the Onions

Add the onion to the pan with the bacon drippings. Cook over medium heat until the onion just begins to soften, about 5 minutes.

Add garlic and cook for an additional 60 seconds. Remove from heat.

Step 3: Make the Thickening Mixture

Place the flour and 3 cups of the chicken stock in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Set aside.

Step 4: Build the Soup Base

Add the flour mixture and the remaining 3 cups of the chicken stock to the pan with the onions. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.

Allow to simmer for 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat.

Step 5: Add the Potatoes

Add the potatoes and return to medium-low heat. Allow potatoes to simmer 15-20 minutes until fork-tender.

Remove from heat.

Step 6: Add Remaining Ingredients

Add the cream, parsley, basil, pepper, half of the cooked bacon and salt to taste*. Return pot to stove over LOW heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Remove from heat.

Step 7: Add the Cheese

Add the cheese and stir until melted and soup is smooth. Taste for salt again.

Add more if necessary. Serve immediately.

Potato Soup Tips

• It is easier to cook this all in one pot instead of several. Not only is it easier, the pot will hold all of the goodness from each step.
• I like using real potatoes instead of flakes. However, if you do choose to use instant potato flakes, be sure to add them during Step 6. The real potatoes release some of the starch and help to thicken the soup.
• Potatoes: Use russet potatoes for this recipe.
• Adding the cheese too soon will change the consistency of the cheese and affect the overall soup. Add cheese last.
• Adding the cream too soon will also affect the cream. It can reduce too much or separate when cooked for too long over high heat. Add the cream during Step 6 and simmer over LOW heat.
• This recipe will probably require more salt than usual. Season to your preference.

Cautions and Things to Watch Out For

Add a cup of shredded cheddar to the soup and stir well. If added directly into the soup while cooking, the cheese can turn stringy.

If added while the soup is at a rapid boil, it can turn grainy. Taking the soup off the heat, letting it sit for a minute, and stirring the cheese in will help to melt it into the soup more easily and ensure a smooth, non-grainy addition of cheese.

Curdled dairy: Once you add the cream, do not allow the soup to come to a hard boil. Only allow it to simmer, otherwise, the dairy in the cream will separate.

Scorching: Once all the ingredients are added, the soup is pretty thick and can easily burn if left on medium-high and unattended. Give it a stir every couple of minutes before turning down the heat.

Seasoning: Potatoes soak up tons of salt. You’ll be surprised how much seasoning this recipe calls for.

Add seasoning conservatively throughout the recipe and adjust once all the ingredients have been added.

Lumps: Strain the stock/flour mixture if it’s really lumpy to save yourself the aggravation of trying to work out lumps later on.

Tools That Make This Easier

All you really need to make potato cheese soup is a large 6-quart or larger soup pot, a whisk, and a slotted spoon. But, if you want to take it to the next level:

If you own an immersion blender which I highly recommend for soups and stews, use it to puree about a third of the potatoes and broth, leaving the rest of the potatoes chunky. It’s much easier to blend directly in the pot instead of scooping out a portion and trying to blend it separately, as transferring super-hot liquids to a blender is not fun, nor is it safe.

You can also use the blender to make this recipe more of a cream of potato soup by pureeing the entire thing.

Serving Suggestions

Potato soup begs to be loaded with toppings, so I highly recommend setting up a topping bar if you’re serving this potato cheese soup to a crowd. Top with extra crispy bacon bits, additional shredded sharp cheddar, sliced chives or green onions, a big dollop of sour cream, and a squirt of hot sauce if you’re feeling saucy.

Serve in bowls, though bread bowls are also perfect since the bread nicely soaks up some of the soup, or as a meal in itself with some crusty bread on the side or a simple side salad. This makes about 6-8 main dish servings as it’s pretty rich so portion sizes tend to run a little smaller than people expect.

Variations Worth Trying

Loaded Baked Potato Soup – After blending, top with crumbled bacon, grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, shredded chicken (optional) and a drizzle of ranch dressing. Garnish with chives and serve.

Slow Cooker Version – Cook bacon and onion in a skillet on stove until onion is translucent. Add to slow cooker with remaining ingredients except cream, milk, sour cream and cheese.

Cover and cook on LOW 6-7 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours until potatoes are tender. Stir in cream and cheese during the last 30 minutes of cooking and serve.

Broccoli Potato Soup – Add about 2 cups broccoli, cut into small florets with potatoes. Adds more veggies, color and texture.

Lighter Version – Use half and half in lieu of heavy cream, turkey bacon and only 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, reserving some to sprinkle over the top. Blend 1/2 cup in the soup.

Still delicious but definitely lighter.

Leftovers will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Note: The next day the soup will be much thicker because the potato starch thickens the liquid.

If you are serving a crowd, you can prepare a day ahead to save time. To serve, thin with some additional chicken stock.

Can this potato soup be frozen?

You can but it’s not ideal. Soups containing cream do not always freeze well.

The soup can be frozen up to 2 months but I find the cream tends to separate and potatoes can be a little grainy. Nothing a couple of grumbles won’t fix but I think it’s best enjoyed fresh.

How do you reheat creamy potato soup?

Reheat on stove top over low to medium-low heat stirring frequently so it doesn’t burn. Add a splash of milk or chicken stock as needed.

See tip above about soup getting thicker the next day.

Reheating in the microwave: Works fine for individual portions. Cover loosely and microwave on high in 90 second intervals, stirring between.

If it’s a bit too thick, stir in a tiny splash of milk.

Make-Ahead Notes

This soup tastes even better the next day, so I’d recommend making it a day ahead if you’re cooking for a crowd. Keep toppings separately stored and add when serving.

If making ahead, save the cheese and stir in when reheating: remove from heat, stir in cheese until melted, and serve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use leftover baked potatoes?

Absolutely. Just scoop out the flesh, chop it up and stir it into your simmering soup.

You’ll only need to simmer the soup for about 10 minutes.

Can I make this without bacon?

While the bacon adds a lot of flavor, it can be omitted. Just saute the onions in the butter and add 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika for some smoky flavor.

Why is my soup grainy?

Grainy soup typically happens when cream and/or cheese is added when the soup is too hot. Always add the cream when the soup is barely simmering.

If necessary, remove the soup from the heat to add the cream. Also add cheese with soup removed from heat.

Another reason soup can be grainy is if you’re adding cornstarch (see next question). Be sure to stir the cornstarch and cold water really well to make sure there are no lumps.

Add the slurry to the pot, stirring constantly.

How do I make it thicker?

For a thicker soup, mash some of the potato pieces as they’re added to the pot. You can also partially blend the soup using an immersion blender.

Or, add 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water during the last 10 minutes of simmering, stirring constantly.

Directions

In a large soup pot, cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and leave about 2 Tbs of bacon drippings in the pot.

Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 60 seconds.

Warm the chicken stock in another pot and whisk the flour into 3 cups of the stock until smooth. Add to the onion along with the remaining 3 cups of the chicken stock.

Cook, stirring frequently, until it starts to thicken, about 5-7 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook over medium-low heat until the potatoes are fork-tender, 15-20 minutes.

Add the heavy cream, parsley, basil, salt, pepper, and about half of the bacon. Simmer another 5-10 minutes and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Take off of heat and add the shredded cheddar, stirring until melted. Serve with remaining bacon, more cheddar, and chopped green onions.

Do not allow the soup to boil after you add the cream or it will separate. Add the cheddar when it’s off the heat or it will turn out grainy.

Refrigerated soup will be quite thick; add some chicken stock or milk when reheating. If making ahead, store garnishes separately.