Loaded Baked Potato Soup Recipe

One of many few meals I might abdomen throughout my first trimester of being pregnant was a baked potato topped with nothing greater than a pat of butter and a few salt and pepper. Because the nausea receded within the following months, I started garnishing my potatoes with an increasing number of toppings. I loaded up my spuds with bitter cream, chives, bacon bits, cheddar, and, if I used to be feeling additional fancy, bolognese sauce. Baked potatoes are nonetheless a staple in my residence at present, however with sweater climate upon us, and simply feeling the will to modify issues up, I made a decision to create my very own soup-ified model that tastes similar to the standard baked potato. 

Most loaded potato soup recipes are fairly related: They have you ever brown the bacon, drain a few of the fats off, then cook dinner the aromatics within the remaining fats earlier than including the milk and potatoes. The potatoes simmer within the milk till tender, you mix the soup till it’s {smooth}, you then garnish it with crispy potato skins and an assortment of toppings. I’ve used a few of these strategies (like utilizing the bacon fats to cook dinner the aromatics) in my recipe, however I’ve additionally included another tips for a silky-smooth soup that’s loaded with baked potato taste.

The way to Make a Higher Loaded Potato Soup

Skip Mixing, If Attainable

Whereas puréeing the soup in a robust blender is definitely a fast and straightforward choice—and one I’ve offered directions for within the notes beneath in case you are in a rush—it typically leads to a soup with a gluey texture. That’s as a result of puréeing potatoes causes their starch granules to burst, turning the spuds right into a sticky mess.

To keep away from that pasty texture, I took a method from Kenji’s leek and potato soup recipe, by which he simmers potatoes with inventory and aromatics till they’re tender, then passes them by way of a ricer for a velvety soup.

Like Kenji, I selected to make use of a ricer—however I streamline the method barely. As a substitute of fishing out the cooked potatoes from a pot of simmering milk and onions, I made a decision to microwave the potatoes—which occurs when you get a head begin on crisping up the bacon and sautéeing the onions—till they’re smooth sufficient to rice. In the end, texture is a private desire, and you may skip the ricing and simply purée the entire soup—it’s going to nonetheless be barely gluier, however nonetheless scrumptious.

Load Up on the Bitter Cream and Toppings

This soup isn’t for the faint of coronary heart or lactose illiberal. For an ultra-creamy soup, I whisk in a whole cup of bitter cream. This offers the soup nice tanginess and, together with chopped chives, shredded extra-sharp cheddar, and crispy bacon bits, recreates the flavors of a traditional loaded baked potato topped with bitter cream.

For Further Crunch, Garnish With Potato Chips

I additionally determined to skip the effort of crisping up a potato-skin garnish within the oven and opted to garnish the soup with store-bought potato chips as a substitute, a call impressed by contributor Pat Tanumihardja, who tops her Indonesian chicken noodle soup with flippantly salted potato chips. I like to recommend utilizing salt and vinegar potato chips, as they supply a pleasant burst of acidity to chop by way of the heaviness of the soup, however be at liberty to make use of plain salted, cheddar, or bitter cream and onion potato chips, too.