Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword loaded-baked-potato-soup

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 20

Total Time 45

Servings servings

Calories 536kcal

Author Melissa Sperka

Ingredients

3 lbs baking-russet potatoes [approximate]
5 Tbsp butter or light butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp black pepper
4 cups whole or 2% milk
10 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
1/3 cup red onion
3 cloves garlic minced
1 1/2 cups regular or low fat half and half
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese divided, use
2 [14.5 oz] cans chicken broth
1 8 oz regular or light sour cream
8 medium chopped green onions
2 Tbsp fresh chopped Italian parsley

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Wash the potatoes, and remove any blemishes don't peel. Pierce each potato with a fork 2-3 times, then wrap in aluminum foil. Place onto a baking sheet and bake for 1-1 1/2 hours until fork tender. Remove from the oven and cut into bite size chunks.
In a medium stove top pot melt 5 tablespoons of butter. Add 1/2 cup of flour, salt, dry mustard and black pepper. Cook until the roux blends and the flour cooks slightly, about 1-2 minutes.
Slowly whisk in 4 cups of milk. Bring to a boil stirring constantly, then lower the heat to a simmer for 4-5 minutes, until the flour has cooked..
While the sauce is cooking in a large pot or dutch oven cook the bacon until crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain, reserving 2 Tbsp drippings. Saute red onion in drippings until translucent. Add minced garlic cooking for 1 minute.
After the sauce has cooked for 5 minutes and thickened add 1 1/2 cups of half and half and 2 cups of shredded cheese. Stir until the cheese has completely melted then, remove from the heat.
To the pot add the chopped potato chunks and 1 1/2 cans of chicken broth. Cook on medium. You can adjust the thickness of the soup after adding the sauce to the pot.
Pour the cheese sauce into the pot and stir until blended. If you thin your soup a little too much don't panic you can easily thicken it by mashing some of the potatoes. Starch is a natural thickener and the soup will continue to thicken as it cools.
Allow the soup to gently simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Add the chopped parsley, half of the crumbled bacon and 8 ounces of sour cream. Continue to cook on medium just until heated through. Taste and adjust salt and pepper, if needed.
Ladle into bowls top with a sprinkle of shredded cheese, crumbled bacon and green onions.

Notes

The Old Bay Seasoning is optional but, we really like the "kick" it gives to the potato soup. Creole seasoning would work great, too.

Nutrition