Homemade Loaded Baked Potato Soup

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We’re making homemade loaded baked potato soup!

The soup is so hearty in a stick-to-your-ribs kind of way that I almost want to call it a potato stew!

Baked potato soup has not really been in my recipe cache as an adult but it is something my mom made when I was growing up and I always loved walking in the door from school to the smell of this mouthwatering soup.

It wasn’t until all of DC shut down a few weeks ago because of a dusting of snow (I’m not knocking it, I was so happy!) that I started to crave a truly rustic, hearty baked potato soup.

Mine is extra creamy because we use mascarpone cheese. It’s rustic because we use bacon fat.

Bonus: you can make this soup as creamy or as chunky as you like.

If you’d like to watch me make this step by step (and be entertained in the process) catch this video!

Homemade Loaded Baked Potato Soup

You can make the potatoes in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop. I actually preferred the stovetop method for this soup because cooking the potatoes with the bacon fat from the bottom of the dutch oven really elevates the flavor.

Also, we’re cooking bacon in the oven! Yes we are. This is my favorite way to cook bacon. The bacon gets perfectly crisp and cooked without the mess of all the bacon fat splattering on the stove top. We do cook just one strip of bacon in the soup pot, but that is so we can have some of the bacon fat in our soup!

A big bowl of this soup is perfect for cold evenings or when you just really need a big, cozy hug. Enjoy!

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Homemade Loaded Baked Potato Soup

  • Author: Bri McKoy

Ingredients

Scale
  • 6 strips bacon
  • 1 TBS butter
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 large russet potatoes (about 3 lbs), peeled and cubed
  • 3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
  • 3 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper 
  • 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 1 tsp fresh chopped chives
  • 1 tsp fresh chopped dill

Instructions

Bacon: 

  1. Line a large sheet tray with parchment paper or foil. Add bacon (leave 1 piece aside) in single layer strips. 
  2. Place sheet try in the cold oven. Turn on oven to 400 degrees. Set timer for 10 minutes (you want the bacon to come to temperature with the oven but you can start the timer as soon as you turn on the oven). After 10 minutes, flip the bacon and bake for an additional ten minutes. Place bacon on paper towel and set aside. 

Stove Top Method:

  1. In a large soup pot over medium high heat, add single strip of bacon (we want some bacon fat for our soup, but frying all pieces of bacon will create quite a mess and we only need about 1 tsp of bacon fat)! Cook fully, flipping every 45 seconds to cook both sides. Remove bacon and set aside. 
  2. In soup pot with bacon fat add butter (if you are not using bacon fat, add 1 TBS oil). Once heated, add celery and onion. Sauté for three minutes, until onion is translucent. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  3. Add the cubed potatoes. All to sauté with veggies for about 3 minutes. Pour in chicken stock (the stock should cover the potatoes). Bring to a boil and cook for 15-20 minutes (until potatoes are easily pierced through with a fork).
  4. Add mascarpone cheese, salt and pepper. Mix until combined.
  5. Turn off heat from stove. Take a potato masher or immersion blender and lightly mash potatoes.
  6. In a high capacity blender blend half the soup. Please remember not to put the lid fully on the blender with hot liquid in it! Use a loose dish towel to cover the top of the blender. (You can also just continue to use the immersion blender to your preferred creaminess). 
  7. Stir in cheese and fresh dill.
  8. Serve with crumbled bacon, sour cream and additional cheddar cheese. 

Instant Pot Method:

  1. Scrub potatoes and peel. Cube potatoes. Add to instant pot along with 1/2 cup water. Move valve to Sealing and set on high pressure for 5 minutes. 
  2. In a large soup pot over medium high heat, add single strip of bacon (we want some bacon fat for our soup, but frying all pieces of bacon will create quite a mess and we only need about a tsp of bacon fat. See above for cooking the rest of the bacon in the oven)! Cook fully, flipping every 45 seconds to cook both sides. Remove bacon and set aside. 
  3. To the soup pot with the bacon fat add butter.
  4. Once heated, add celery and onion. Sauté for three minutes, until onion is translucent. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  5. Remove potatoes from IP and add them to the soup pot and allow to sauté with veggies for about 3 minutes. 
  6. Add stock, mascarpone cheese, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. 
  7. Turn off heat from the stove. Take a potato masher and lightly mash potatoes. In a high capacity blender blend half the soup. Please remember not to put the lid fully on the blender with hot liquid in it! Use a loose dish towel to cover the top of the blender.
  8. Stir in cheese and fresh dill. Mix to combine.
  9. Serve with crumbled bacon, sour cream and additional cheddar cheese. 

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  1. Melissa Jayjohn says:

    This soup is a DELIGHT. I’ve never made any recipe from Bri that wasn’t fabulous. You can trust her for sure! Thanks for sharing your skill with us, Bri!

  2. Sberri says:

    We love this soup! Is it just me or did the IP method get deleted somehow? I can only see the stove top twice! May be a glitch on my phone. 

  3. Heather says:

    I made this for dinner and loved it!

  4. Haylee says:

    This was delicious, my husband also loved it! Normally I think potato soup is bland- not this one! 

  5. Megan says:

    This soup is simply delicious.  It is such a warm and comforting hug!

  6. I love this soup, is the Instant Pot method able to be all in the instant pot in some way rather than multiple pots?

  7. Lisa says:

    This was AMAZING. The best potato soup recipe I’ve tried- and I’ve tried several!! Definitely a keeper!

  8. Jennifer B says:

    I poached a couple pieces of chicken in the chicken broth. Used that poaching liquid in the soup, and added the diced chicken after I had blended the soup base. Yum!

  9. Bethany says:

    We come back to this recipe often!! ❤️

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