It is cold all of a sudden in Chicago. It’s damp, the wind is blowing, and there is no sun. In my house, that means it’s soup weather. I have a lot of favorite standbys from roasted butternut squash soup to carrot ginger soup to cream of celery soup and oh so many more. This week, I needed a true comfort food soup. Something where there were no questions asked that would warm me up from the inside out.
Why hello, loaded baked potato soup! Baked potato bowl optional.
It was so yummy, and I loved that I was able to customize it for everyone in the family. I pulled out a portion for Little Miss before I added any dairy to it, so she had a dairy free portion. I pulled some out for Mister Man before I added the hot sauce so he enjoyed his soup. And my husband and I got it fully loaded, although I don’t like sour cream which my husband would have appreciated atop his soup. C’est la vie!
Even better? I convinced both the wee ones that they should try the soup with fresh parsley and fresh green onion in addition to the bacon on top. They tried it and they liked it, which was a major win. The only disappointment was that everyone wanted seconds and then took it in for lunch the next day, so there weren’t as many leftovers as I’d hoped. Then again, that’s not the worst outcome, is it?
Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Ingredients:
3 bacon strips, diced
1 c onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 t salt
1 t pepper
4 c chicken broth
4 baked baking potato, cubed
1 t parsley, dried
3/4 c milk
1/2 c cream
1 t Tabasco (or other hot sauce)
1 c shredded cheddar
1/2 c fresh parsley, minced
2 green onions, sliced
Directions:
Bake your potatoes, and cube them. You’ll want to bake them at 375 for around 60 minutes, depending on their size. Let them cool before cubing. Personally, I like to leave my skins on as that’s where so many of the nutrients are, but that’s a personal preference.
In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon and set aside. Keep 1 tablespoon bacon drippings, and dispose of the remainder.
Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Add the salt, pepper, and dried parsley, stirring to combine. Gradually add broth. Bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring regularly. Add about 3/4 of the potatoes, milk, and hot pepper sauce. It won’t be super pretty at this point, but that’s ok.
Puree the soup. It will be beautifully thick and chunky. Add the remaining potatoes and the cream, and stir. Heat this through, but do not let it boil.
Add about half your cheese to the soup, slowly. If you put it all in at once, it will glop together and not melt well. Add a little, stir and let it melt, then add a little more. You’ll reserve the remainder for garnishing.
Garnish with bacon, cheese, green onion, and fresh parsley. And sour cream if you like.
Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 3 bacon strips diced
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 4 baked baking potato cubed
- 1 teaspoon parsley dried
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup cream
- 1 teaspoon Tabasco or other hot sauce
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley minced
- 2 green onions sliced
Instructions
- Bake your potatoes, and cube them. You'll want to bake them at 375 for around 60 minutes, depending on their size. Let them cool before cubing. Personally, I like to leave my skin on as that's where so many of the nutrients are, but that's a personal preference.
- While your potatoes bake, start on the rest of the soup. In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon and set aside. Keep 1 tablespoon bacon drippings, and dispose of the remainder.3 bacon strips
- Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Add the salt, pepper, and dried parsley, stirring to combine. Gradually add broth. Bring the mixture to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring regularly. Add about 3/4 of the potatoes, milk, and hot pepper sauce.1 cup onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, 4 cups chicken broth, 4 baked baking potato, 3/4 cup milk, 1 teaspoon Tabasco, 1 teaspoon parsley
- Puree the soup. It will be beautifully thick and chunky. Add the remaining potatoes and the cream, and stir. Heat this through, but do not let it boil.1/2 cup cream
- Add about half your cheese to the soup, slowly. If you put it all in at once, it will glop together and not melt well. Add a little, stir and let it melt, then add a little more. You'll reserve the remainder for garnishing.1 cup shredded cheddar
- Garnish with bacon, cheese, green onion, and fresh parsley, as well as sour cream if you like.2 green onions, 1/2 cup fresh parsley
Notes
- You can use your preferred plant-based cheese to keep this recipe dairy-free. For an extra cheesy flavor, try using a cheddar-style plant-based shred.
- For more tips and tricks, be sure to read the full article above.
Nutrition
This site uses an online source to provide nutrition estimates as a courtesy. If you need exact values, please calculate yourself.
This sounds perfect for the weather that we are having in Michigan too! To make things even better I have all of the ingredients for this…. look like I’ll be making this Friday for dinner with some warm bread.
Stopping by from Teach me Tuesdays. This looks delicious and is such a neat Idea! 🙂
That looks delicious!!! I’m stopping over from the Type-A group, looking forward to getting to know you a little more before the conf next year! (so far away!!)
Looks good looking for more soup recipes!
Thanks, April! I made this (again) last night, and shhh I actually ate the last little bit for breakfast this morning. I love soups in the fall and winter. I have a ton posted if you need more 🙂
sounds delicious!! I’m going to make this this weekend!