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 further fancy, bolognese sauce. Baked potatoes are nonetheless a staple in my house at the moment, however with sweater climate upon us, and simply feeling the need to modify issues up, I made a decision to create my very own soup-ified model that tastes identical to the standard baked potato. 

Most loaded potato soup recipes are fairly related: They have you ever brown the bacon, drain a number 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}, then you definitely garnish it with crispy potato skins and an assortment of toppings. I’ve used a few of these methods (like utilizing the bacon fats to cook dinner the aromatics) in my recipe, however I’ve additionally integrated 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 Potential

Whereas puréeing the soup in a strong blender is actually a fast and simple choice—and one I’ve supplied directions for within the notes under in case you are in a rush—it typically ends in 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 way from Kenji’s leek and potato soup recipe, wherein he simmers potatoes with inventory and aromatics till they’re tender, then passes them via a ricer for a velvety soup.

Like Kenji, I selected to make use of a ricer—however I streamline the method barely. As an alternative of fishing out the cooked potatoes from a pot of simmering milk and onions, I made a decision to microwave the potatoes—which occurs whilst you get a head begin on crisping up the bacon and sautéeing the onions—till they’re delicate sufficient to rice. In the end, texture is a private desire, and you’ll skip the ricing and simply purée the entire soup—it is 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 provides the soup nice tanginess and, together with chopped chives, shredded extra-sharp cheddar, and crispy bacon bits, recreates the flavors of a basic loaded baked potato topped with bitter cream.

For Additional Crunch, Garnish With Potato Chips

I additionally determined to skip the trouble 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 choice impressed by contributor Pat Tanumihardja, who tops her Indonesian chicken noodle soup with evenly salted potato chips. I like to recommend utilizing salt and vinegar potato chips, as they supply a pleasant burst of acidity to chop via the heaviness of the soup, however be at liberty to make use of plain salted, cheddar, or bitter cream and onion potato chips, too.