Loaded Baked Potato Soup

loaded baked potato soup in small white bowl on wooden chopping board surrounded by crispy potato skins

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

This baked potato soup is smooth, creamy, filling and loaded with flavour!

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 20

Total Time1 35

Course: Main Course, Starter

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £1.50 / $2

Equipment

Large Baking Tray (for baking potatoes)
Large Pot & Wooden Spoon (for soup)
Hand/Stick Blender (for blending soup)
Ladel (for serving)
Sharp Knife & Chopping Board

Ingredients

3.3lb / 1.5kg Baking Potatoes (Russets or Maris Pipers)
2 1/2 cups / 625ml good quality Chicken Stock
1 cup / 250ml Heavy/Double Cream, preferably at room temp
1/2-1 cup / 125-250ml Whole Milk, preferably at room temp (see notes)
1 cup / 100g Cheddar, plus more to serve (see notes)
6 slices of Streaky Bacon
2 ribs of Celery, finely diced
1 medium Onion, finely diced
1 large clove of Garlic, finely diced
Sour Cream, to serve
finely diced Fresh Chives, to serve
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Olive Oil, as needed

Instructions

Add the potatoes to a large baking tray and stab each one a few times with a fork. Coat in a drizzle of oil and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Bake in the oven at 200C/390F for 1 hour, or until deep golden, crispy and soft right through the centre (timings will depend on the size of potatoes, so just be vigilant).
With about 20mins to go, add the bacon to a large pot over low-medium heat and fry until crispy with most of the fat rendered down. Remove bacon and dice just before needed, leaving the excess fat in the pot. Raise heat slightly to medium and add in celery, onion and garlic. Gently sweat it all down until soft and just starting to pick up colour, adding a dash more oil if needed.
Once the potatoes are cooked and are cool enough to handle, slice each one into 4 wedges (consider 6 if the potato is very large), then scoop the potato out of each wedge and place it into a bowl to one side. Place the leftover skins back on the baking tray and coat in a drizzle of olive oil and a good pinch of salt & pepper. Place back in the oven at the highest temp it goes for around 5mins, or until visibly crispy.
Add the potato to the pot and pour in all of the chicken stock and 1/2 cup milk (save the rest). Use your wooden spoon to break up the potato, then use a hand blender to blitz everything until smooth. Don't over blend otherwise consistency can turn gluey. Stir in the cream and bring to a gentle simmer, then season with 1/2 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp black pepper (or to taste). Turn off heat and stir in 1 cup cheddar, then use the extra milk to thin out the soup to your liking.
Serve individual portions with cheddar, bacon, a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of chives. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

a) Milk - I highly recommend using whole milk. Mainly to keep this soup rich and creamy, but also because it's less likely to curdle under the heat. If you've only got semi-skimmed you could sub that, just don't pour it straight in from the fridge otherwise it might curdle with the hot chicken stock.

b) Consistency - I like to keep the soup fairly thick in the first instance, and then adjust later with the rest of the milk (much easier to thin out a soup than to thicken it). I also like to keep it thick in the beginning because the cheese melts easier.

c) Cheese - I like using a nice sharp/mature cheddar, just to add a punch of flavour. I stir in 1 cup at the end just to add some flavour, but you could add in more if you wanted, just remember there's more going on top too!

d) Hand Blender - As you blend the soup I recommend doing it in short bursts. Also don't blitz the soup into oblivion, a few tiny lumps and bumps are fine. If you over-blend the soup the starch from the potatoes can sometimes give the soup a gluey texture.

e) Calories/Serving - This soup will give 5 fairly big portions or 6 small portions. Calories assuming 1/2 cup extra cheddar 5 tbsp sour cream to serve and 2 tbsp olive oil for the potatoes. Calories based on 5 servings.

Nutrition