Loaded Potato Soup Recipe
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If you’re looking for comfort food, turn your attention to this easy creamy loaded potato soup. With smoked meat, cheese, cream, and potatoes, this soup is super rich and flavorful.
This loaded baked potato soup is going to be a hit in your household. First, it’s easy to make and ready to eat in just 40 minutes. It’s also loaded with yummy ingredients like potatoes, cheese, and smoked meat. Add in some heavy cream and you have a family-friendly meal that’s creamy, hearty, flavorful, and filling. Serve your loaded baked potato soup with some warm cornbread to soak up all the indulgent leftovers in your bowl.
Keep reading as I share lots of suggestions below on substitutions and additions to make this easy loaded potato soup recipe suit you and your family as well.
If you’re on the hunt for more comforting soup recipes, check these out: taco soup, chicken noodle soup, tomato basil soup, Italian sausage soup, and French onion soup.
Recipe Ingredients
- 4-5 medium russet potatoes
- Instant potato flakes (I go with just plain ole dehydrated potatoes by Bob’s Red Mill Potato Flakes without all the additives. I get them on Amazon if I have trouble finding them in the store).
- Heavy cream
- 2 cans of chicken broth
- A small yellow onion
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Smoked meat
- Salt and pepper
To begin with, pour your broth into your or soup pot and put it over medium heat.
Peel and dice your potatoes.
Dice your onion.
Add the vegetables and the smoked meat to your broth and season to taste with salt and pepper. However, stay on the light side because we will season it again right before serving.
I’d add about 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt now and maybe 1/8 of a teaspoon of pepper.
Bring that just to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until you have .
This will take about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how big your chunks of potato are.
Now add in your potato flakes and stir that up.
I love instant potato flakes as thickeners for soups and stews and making the crust to my Mama’s Taco Casserole. I don’t use them for mashed potatoes though. My Grandmother’s mashed potatoes were just too good.
Now add in your cheese and pour in your heavy cream.
Stir that up and cook for just a few minutes until heated through.
Top your with your favorite toppings, such as:
- Chopped green onion, scallions, or chives
- Your favorite fresh herbs
- Crumbled bacon bits
- Shredded cheese (I like mild or ).
- Sour cream
- Diced avocado
- Cooked corn kernels
- Croutons
As always, serve to someone you love, yourself included.
Storage
Store potato soup leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze leftovers in an airtight container or a freezer-safe Ziplock bag for up to three months. Once thawed, reheat leftovers in the microwave.
Recipe Notes
- There are quite a few substitutions you can make for this loaded potato soup. Let’s start with the potatoes. If you don’t want to peel and dice the potatoes, just grab a 32-ounce bag of frozen cubed hash browns. You know what, the shredded ones will work just fine, too!
- Now, I think the heavy cream gives this dish a rich and delicious flavor so it is my favorite to use. As a substitute though, I suggest canned evaporated milk, because it also has a very rich flavor that you just won’t find in regular milk.
- For the chicken broth, I actually usually don’t use chicken broth but I bought it special just for this tutorial – because I love you that much! Normally, I’d toss in a few chicken bouillon cubes with some water. The package usually says one cube per cup of water but I usually add an extra cube or two for more richness. I buy them in bulk at Sam’s and they save a lot of money over buying chicken broth. You can also use homemade broth or vegetable or stock – whatever cranks your tractor.
- Other additions you can easily add to this loaded potato soup recipe: garlic powder or a little minced garlic would be great. Some fresh or dried parsley would be a good addition, too. You might even want to add additional vegetables and just change it to a creamy veggie soup at this point.
- Any type of smoked meat will work in this recipe, like smoked pork chops, smoked turkey, diced ham, bacon, or smoked chicken breast.
- If you don’t mind a bit of heat, a 1/4-teaspoon of ancho chili powder is a great addition to this recipe.
Recipe FAQs
What are the best potatoes to use in soup?
I use russet, but you could also use Idaho or Yukon Gold potatoes. If you opt for the latter, you can leave the skin on.
Can I make potato soup in the slow cooker?
Yes, you can! What you’ll want to do is add all the ingredients except the cheese and cream to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours, or until the potatoes are tender. Then stir in the cream and cheese and continue cooking in the slow cooker for an additional 20 to 30 minutes.
You may also like these comforting potato recipes:
Broasted Potatoes (Seasoned, Smothered, & Covered Options)
Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes Recipe
Garlic Mozzarella Mashed Potatoes
![Loaded potato soup.](https://www.southernplate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/A-c3tGkw-scaled.jpeg)
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken broth 2-16 ounce cans
- 4-5 russet potatoes washed, peeled, and cubed
- 1 cup cheddar cheese
- 1 cup instant potato flakes
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 onion diced
- 1 cup smoked chopped ham or your favorite smoked meat
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pour broth into a dutch oven or soup pot and put over medium heat.4 cups chicken broth
- Peel and chop onion and potatoes.4-5 russet potatoes, 1 onion
- Add vegetables to broth along with the ham. Season to taste (about 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper).4-5 russet potatoes, 1 cup smoked chopped ham, salt and pepper to taste, 1 onion
- Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
- Remove lid and stir in potato flakes.1 cup instant potato flakes
- Add in cheese and cream and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until just heated through.1 cup cheddar cheese, 1 cup whipping cream
- Taste and add more salt and pepper if desired. Serve immediately and top with your favorite toppings.salt and pepper to taste
Nutrition
“People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.”
This is from one of our readers. Thank you Sherri!
It looks and sounds DELISH! I’m putting heavy cream on my shopping list – the only ingredient I’m missing. I plan to try this recipe this week. I have a new bag of potatoes I REFUSE to let go bad (again!) 🙂
This soup looks awesome! I want to take my two boys apple picking this Fall. I am also looking forward to my fourth or fifth annual (I forget which) cookie decorating party! I make a ton of sugar cookies & frosting, invite a bunch of friends (usually busy moms and their kids) over, they bring sprinkles, and we all decorate cookies! Then they take home the cookies they made. It’s always such fun and helps busy mom’s who have trouble finding time to make cookies. Might be kind of challenging this year for me because I’ll be like 35 weeks pregnant, but what’s life without a little challenge, right 🙂
I made this last night! I am glad you were in a fall mood.
I don’t eat ham or bacon so I left that out and it was so yummy, thanks!
I am so glad to hear that you liked it Sharidan!!!
Love potato soup or any kind of soup for that matter. Added whole kernel corn to my potato soup for the first time last winter and we liked the variation. Crusty cornbread is our choice of bread to go with potato soup. Mexican corn bread with a bit of sausage added, a fruit and we’ve got a complet yummy meal!
That sounds delicious Sue!
Like Linda in Saskatchewan I take some of the potatoes out and mash them then put them back in for thickening. You could do that if you don’t have potato flakes.
The next to the last poster must be in Dallas/FortWorth were I am. I wasn’t aware that Houston has had only 22 triple digit days where we have had 62. But this soup sounds so good that I’ll just get under a fan, drink some ice tea, and have some. 🙂 And I’m so thankful for AC!
I am not sure how people survived before AC, 62 days is a LOT. I know you have to be as ready for fall as I am.
I made this tonight for supper and I am so glad that I doubled the recipe because we LOVED it! It was delicious. I even used the smoked porkchops and will definitely continue to do so…we loved the flavor it gave the soup. The only ingredient we left out was the cheese because some in my family preferred to add their own cheese as a topping. This recipe is a keeper and I know I will be using it often.
I am so glad to hear that you liked it Lela!!
Okay I am now depressed. Cool nights and days, oh wow. We have had 62 of 100+ and almost no rain. I want to make this soup so bad but just too hot. Maybe by Nov. *Sigh* Christy, you have anything to make that is nice and refreshing for us in Texas?
WOW Virginia, that is a lot of HOT! Hopefully it will cool down some soon for you. One of my favorites on a hot day is the Fire and Ice Salad. Let me know what you think.