Author: This easy baked potato soup is perfect for any time of the year. Simple ingredients and it comes together quickly!
This loaded potato soup is delicious on its own, or you can serve with homemade crusty bread for a wonderful meal!
A million years ago (when I was in high school) I used to work in a little coffee and sandwich shop in my home town.
It was this sweet little place backing up to a river and some tall trees. There was a wooden deck that overlooked the river where you could sit and read while you drank your coffee…
My co-workers were crazy, and so was the owner. We spent slow afternoons making up new drinks like “Thunder Thighs” milkshakes and “Peanut Butter Icing” lattes. We had espresso drinking contests and kept a logbook of all the funny things our customers said.
I met my husband there. Turned him down on date requests four times before giving in… and falling madly in love. I foamed more milk than I can begin to calculate and made a thousand batches of potato soup.
The work was hot, the hours were long, and it was killer for my back… and I can honestly say it was top 3 in my list of all time favorite jobs.
Easy Baked Potato Soup
Beyond having fabulous memories and an amazing husband, that coffee shop job also gave me a wonderful recipe for baked potato soup!
This recipe is loosely based on the potato soup recipe I used to make all those years ago. It’s shifted over time, gotten easier and (in my opinion) is even more delicious than the already amazing recipe that brought this one to life!
The ingredients are simple, but there’s one little thing that really makes this soup.
It does take just a little bit of patience, but when you are eating the creamy and smooth results, you’ll know it was totally worth the effort.
The Secret to Perfect Easy and Creamy Potato Soup
Grab your biggest soup pot, hopefully one with a heavy bottom, a whisk, and a sturdy long handled spoon. I like to use a wooden spoon, but a metal one will work too.
Melt the butter on medium-low. Once it’s completely melted, add the flour.
Now here’s the trick
With the heat ON LOW add the milk 1/2 a cup at a time. Whisk thoroughly until the milk has been fully incorporated before adding the next 1/2 cup of milk. It will thicken (a lot) as you add the milk… that’s what you want!
This process only takes about 5 minutes, but it’s so worth the effort when you’re left with a silky smooth soup base!!
Continue in this manner until the mixture starts to get soupy. At that point you can dump in the rest of the milk without an issue.
Let this cook on low for about 15 minutes until the base starts to thicken again, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Trust me, burning potato soup doesn’t turn out well for anyone… ask me how I know!
Once the base has thickened, it’s time to add the rest of the ingredients and continue cooking for about 15 additional minutes.
Note: This is a fabulous way to use canned potatoes! Just drain the water out and pour the already cooked potatoes into the milk mix!
Drop biscuits go really well with this soup and are oven ready in just 5 minutes!
Or if you want to go all out and make traditional cut-out biscuits, it takes an extra 10 minutes, but they are SO worth it!!
Non-Dairy Potato Soup Options
You can easily use non-dairy milk and cheese for this recipe and it is still DELICIOUS!
Before we learned that we could drink and use raw A2 milk, we regularly used almond milk for this recipe and it was just as thick, creamy, and comforting as the full dairy potato soup version!
You can also use soy milk or coconut milk, though the coconut milk will have a sweeter flavor that without it.
Easy and Creamy Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (120g)
- 1 gallon milk of your choice (non-dairy milk works perfectly for this recipe as well!)
- 3 pounds cooked and cooled potatoes - Cut into cubes
- 1/2 pound cooked and chopped bacon
- 1 lb grated cheese of your choice I use a sharp raw cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Optional
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 1 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Over medium-low heat, melt butter in large soup pan.
- Reduce heat to low and add flour. Mix until smooth.
- Add milk 1/2 a cup at a time. Mix thoroughly after each addition of milk, making sure that mix is completely smooth before adding more milk.
- Once mix reaches a "soupy" consistency, add remaining milk and stir briefly.
- Allow to cook over low heat for 15 minutes until it starts to thicken, stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
- Add remaining ingredients and cook for an additional 15 minutes or until thickened to your desired texture.
Notes
PIN THIS FOR LATER
Yum! Potato soup is my favorite. I’ll have to try your recipe soon.
Thanks friend! This is my favorite recipe for my favorite soup! <3
Hi! Do you think I can make this in my instant pot? With canned potatoes? Thanks!!
Hi Kara, I don’t have an Instant Pot, however, I would think that the milk wouldn’t do that well at high temperatures. If you want a “quick” version of this, I would make the rue with the butter, milk, and flour… then add the canned potatoes, bacon, and spices… cook on low until the potatoes are warm. Then add cheese, if desired. The whole thing should take about 20 minutes. It might night be as thick as it would be otherwise, but it will be delicious!
I’ve done the “quick” version many times! :-)
This is one of my favorite soups and I can’t wait to try your recipe! I made this once and it took forever and was a long process…never made it again. LOL I have a question…Do you peel your potatoes before cooking or just leave the skins on?
Hi Nan! I’m so excited for you to try this!
For the potatoes, if I’m making them fresh for the soup, I leave the peel on… if I am using home canned potatoes then they are peeled.
Either way is equally delicious! Let me know when you try this!
This soup looks amazing. Have you tried running it through the Freeze Dryer? I was looking at the amount of fats from the butter and this doesn’t dry well.
Oooh, an interesting idea! I haven’t done it, but I do know many people who do Chicken and Dumpling in the FD and it works just fine!
This has a comparable amount of fat. I have done straight bone broth (which has a lot of fat) and that worked out perfectly!
Thank you for responding! I was looking at simple and comforting foods for backpacking and nothing fits the bill more than creamy potato soup.
I’ll put it on my list of items that I want to freeze dry and will let you know!
Awesome! I can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Hi Victoria!
Just finished a batch of the potato soup out of the freeze dryer. Perfectly dried and took about 27 hours @ liquid setting and prefreezing 4 cups of soup per tray. The soup was delicious when fresh, but can hardly wait to taste this out on the trail next year. No issues with the fat. I used 1/2 gallon of whole milk, 1/2 gallon of low fat, Tillamook medium cheddar, standard full fat of sour cream and non cured bacon. This is for short term storage of less than a year, but I suspect it can last for several years in mylar. If you want pix, let me know.
Mary
Wow, so exciting!!! Yes, I’d love pictures! Would you send them to amodernhomesteader (at) gmail (dot) com?
Great job!