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Why You’ll Love My Recipe

Leftover baked potatoes can be a little joyless when you go to eat them as-is the next day, but when turned into a rich, cozy soup, they’re an absolute dream! With this recipe, you might just find yourself tossing a few extra potatoes into the oven on purpose the next time you bake some to go with your dinner!

The only thing better than a piping hot baked potato is a bowl of delicious loaded baked potato soup! It’s a hug in a bowl, and comes together so easily if you happen to have some previously baked potatoes kicking around!

For more great recipes involving baked potatoes, why not learn How to Make Salty, Crispy Skinned Oven Baked Potatoes? Or make The Absolute Best Ever Twice Baked Potatoes instead?

Reader Review

This is a great idea! I always make too many baked potatoes, put them in the refrigerator and many times forget about them and they end of getting thrown out. (so wasteful with the cost of food today) Sometimes I slice up and fry them with peppers and onions. Tried this recipe and we loved it. Had all the ingredients on hand except fresh green onions so I substituted with some freeze dried green onions. It still came out great and is a meal all by itself.

– Sue Turcsany

Karlynn’s Recipe Notes

Skill Level: This soup is wonderfully easy to make and uses ingredients I’m sure you probably already have on hand!
Total Time: You can have this soup ready to go in as little as 10 minutes!
Variations: It’s hard to improve on perfection, but if you like your soup a little cheesier, substitute the cup of sour cream for an 8 ounce package of plain cream cheese! You can also play around with different topping options, like croutons or crushed up kale chips, crumbled chorizo or Italian sausage instead of bacon, or even a sprinkling of Gruyère, Gouda, or another favorite cheese!
Tools For This Recipe: You will need a cheese grater and a whisk to make this recipe. If you love making soups, consider investing in a dutch oven for the best heat distribution for slow-cooked goodness!

A hand holds a spoon over a bowl of creamy soup topped with shredded cheese, green onions, and bacon bits. Bowls of toppings and a slice of bread are in the background on a white countertop.

What You’ll Need for Ingredients

Baked Potatoes: This recipe was designed with the idea of using up leftover baked potatoes in mind. If you wanted to use raw ones, you’ll need to increase the total cooking time and use a potato masher to give your soup a good mix in order to get the same smooth, velvety texture that using pre-cooked potatoes will give you. Honestly, it’s just easier (and faster) to use up leftovers for this recipe.

A top-down view of ingredients on a white surface, including diced potatoes, butter, bacon, chopped green onions, shredded cheddar cheese, flour, sour cream, milk, salt, and pepper.

Milk: This recipe calls for 7 cups of 2% milk. If that sounds a little intimidating, or you want to cut the calories just a little, feel free to replace a proportion of the milk with a stock of your choice! The richness of dairy goes wonderfully with the creamy, starchy potatoes, though, so for the full effect, stick with milk.

Bacon: This big batch of soup calls for 12 slices of cooked and crumbled bacon. Feel free to use your favorite alternative—such as turkey bacon—if you don’t want to use pork products for any reason. Karlynn’s Tip: Strain the bacon fat from your skillet into a clean, heatproof container with a tight fitting lid. A little bacon fat is an excellent way to add an instant punch of delicious flavor to your cooking, and it can keep in the fridge for up to three months!

How To Make Loaded Baked Potato Soup

This is a quick overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients & complete step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.

A skillet with cooked bacon sits in the center, surrounded by bowls of diced potatoes, shredded cheddar, chopped green onions, milk, sour cream, flour, pepper, and a striped kitchen towel on a marble counter.

A top-down view of small bowls containing chopped cooked bacon, cubed potatoes, shredded cheddar cheese, sliced green onions, butter, flour, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper, arranged on a white marble surface with a checkered towel.

Place bacon in a skillet and cook until crisp
Place the bacon on paper towel to drain and cool before crumbling and setting it aside.
In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Slowly add the flour and whisk until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
Add the milk slowly while whisking constantly until it is smooth and starts to thicken.
Add the potatoes and onions and bring to a boil, stirring gently and frequently. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add half of the crumbled bacon and 1.25 cups of shredded cheese (reserve some of each for toppings), sour cream, and salt and pepper to taste and stir gently until the cheese has melted. Divide into serving bowls and garnish with the reserved cheese, bacon, more sour cream (if desired) and chopped green onions.

A bowl of creamy soup topped with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and sliced green onions sits on a plate with a spoon. Nearby are sliced bread, grated cheese, bacon bits, green onions, and a blue plaid napkin.

Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Thanks, Spud: When it comes to making baked potatoes, the best options are low moisture, starchy varieties like Russets (also called Idaho potatoes) or if you’re in the UK, King Edward or Maris Piper potatoes. The extra starch helps to thicken the soup, giving it an excellent creamy texture. Thin-skinned, waxier potatoes just won’t break down the same way.
Add Some Crunch: This recipe calls for you to remove your baked potatoes’ skins and set them aside, but this doesn’t mean you have to throw them out! You can either use them to make my potato skins recipe, or slice them into strips and crisp them up in the oven or air fryer and sprinkle them on top of this soup as a delicious, crunchy topping!
Freshly Grated Goodness: It might be tempting to use pre-shredded cheese for simple recipes like this one, but if you want a smooth and silky soup, it’s better to grate your own! Pre-shredded cheeses have anti-caking agents added to keep the shreds from clumping together in the bag. While this doesn’t really impact how they act when you bake them as a topping, it can make them melt into soups irregularly, leading to slightly unpleasant lumps.

A bowl of creamy soup topped with shredded cheese, bacon bits, green onions, and a dollop of sour cream, served with a slice of bread. Additional toppings and another bowl of soup are in the background.

Storage Instructions

Refrigerator: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can either reheat them in a pot on the stove, or in the microwave. You may need to add a little more liquid when reheating, as the potatoes will continue to thicken the soup as it sits.

Freezer: This recipe is excellent for batch cooking and freezing so you can enjoy low-effort meals later! Let your soup cool and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 months. For more information, check out my guide on how to freeze cream soups for some tips for how to get the most out of recipes like this one!

More Delicious Soup Recipes

For something a little meatier, give my rich and hearty Oxtail Soup Recipe a try!
If you happen to have leftovers from a baked ham dinner, give my Ham and Bean Soup a try to give them a new and delicious spin!
My easy and delicious Classic Homestyle Pork Stew is a perfect cozy, slow-cooked meal on a cold night!

Potatoes! Whether you bake ’em, mash ’em, or put ’em in a stew (or a soup, like this one), they’re one of the best building blocks of a comforting and stick-to-your ribs meal. I love recipes like this one because they take leftovers and rework them into dishes that are just as good (if not better, sometimes) than the original dish!

Give this delicious soup a try and let me know your favorite tricks to use up leftovers in the comments below!

Happy Cooking!

Karlynn

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