Description
A hearty and creamy Loaded Baked Potato Soup featuring tender russet potatoes, crispy bacon, sharp cheddar, and a blend of savory cheeses, topped with fried crispy potato skins and green onions for a delightful texture and flavor combination.
Ingredients
Scale
Soup Ingredients
- 3 1/4 lbs. russet potatoes (about 5 large, evenly sized)
- 9 oz bacon, chopped
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 large bunch green onions, sliced (light and green portions separated)
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic (3 cloves)
- 3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 cups milk (2% or whole)
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 to 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (white or yellow), plus extra for serving
- 1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
Optional Fried Potato Skins
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- Reserved baked potato skins from about 4 potatoes
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Potatoes: Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Scrub and rinse potatoes thoroughly under cool running water to clean. Pierce each potato several times with a fork.
- Bake Potatoes: Place potatoes directly on oven rack and bake until tender when pierced with a knife, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool until safe to handle.
- Cook Bacon: In a large pot over medium heat, cook the chopped bacon until just crisp. Remove bacon, leaving rendered fat in the pot. Set bacon aside on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Sauté Aromatics: Return pot to low heat. Add the light portion of the green onions and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in flour and cook for 30 seconds, then add minced garlic and stir an additional 30 seconds.
- Add Broth and Milk: Slowly pour in chicken broth while stirring continuously, then add milk and stir to combine.
- Add Potato Flesh: Scoop out as much of the potato flesh as possible from the baked potatoes, leaving the skins reserved separately. Transfer the potato flesh to the soup pot.
- Season and Simmer Soup: Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Bring soup to a gentle simmer over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Mash Potatoes: Remove from heat and use a potato masher to mash some of the potatoes in the soup into smaller chunks for texture.
- Add Cheese and Sour Cream: Stir in sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and parmesan cheese. Optionally, add up to 1 cup more shredded cheddar to increase cheesiness.
- Prepare Fried Potato Skins: Dice reserved potato skins into small pieces. Heat olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the diced potato skins, season with salt and pepper, and cook, tossing occasionally, until golden brown and crispy, about 10 minutes.
- Serve: Ladle soup into bowls. Top with extra cheddar cheese, cooked bacon, fried potato skins, and green onion greens.
Notes
- Use thicker green onions with a substantial white/light portion for more flavor, or substitute with 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion sautéed for 6 minutes before adding garlic and flour.
- Reserve potato skins carefully when scooping potato flesh for frying helper garnish.
- For extra cheesiness, increase shredded cheddar added into the soup.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl (about 1 1/2 cups)
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 600 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 15 g
- Cholesterol: 45 mg
