🍽️Loaded Baked Potato Soup (Serves 6)

Serves: 6 (dinner plus lunches) Time: 45 minutes Flavor: creamy, cheesy, smoky on the meat side, fresh chive finish Type: Weeknight soup, one pot + one sheet pan

Everything you'd pile on a baked potato, as a thick soup. Half the potatoes get mashed right in the pot so it's creamy without a blender, and the other half stay as tender chunks. Vegetarian as written with vegetable broth. The bacon bakes on its own sheet pan and only goes on the meat bowls.

Ingredients

Base

• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2½ lb russet potatoes (about 5), peeled and cut into ½" cubes
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp kosher salt, ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 cup whole milk
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 6 oz sharp cheddar, shredded off the block (plus more for topping)
• ½ cup sour cream

Protein Options

• For meat eater: 4–6 slices thick-cut bacon, baked and crumbled
• For vegetarian: none needed. It's hearty as is.

Toppings

• Extra shredded cheddar
• Sour cream
• Chives, sliced thin
• Hot sauce (adults)

Instructions

1. Bacon first: lay the bacon on a foil-lined sheet pan and put it in a cold oven set to 400°F. Bake 18–22 minutes until crisp, drain on paper towels, and crumble. It cooks while you make the soup.
2. Soften the aromatics: melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook 5–6 minutes until soft. Add the garlic for 1 minute.
3. Make the roux: stir in the flour and cook 1 minute, stirring, so it loses its raw taste.
4. Add broth slowly: pour in the broth about a cup at a time, stirring smooth between additions so it doesn't lump.
5. Simmer the potatoes: add the potatoes, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower to a steady simmer, partly covered, 15–18 minutes until a potato cube crushes easily against the side of the pot.
6. Mash half: take a potato masher straight into the pot and mash about half the potatoes. The soup thickens right away.
7. Add the dairy: stir in the milk and cream and bring it back to a bare simmer. Don't boil it hard once the dairy is in.
8. Cheese off the heat: take the pot off the burner and stir in the cheddar a handful at a time, then the sour cream. Taste for salt. Potatoes soak up a lot.
9. Serve: ladle into bowls and top with cheddar, sour cream, and chives. Crumble bacon over the meat bowls.

Tips & Variations

• Toddler version: scoop hers before the chives and hot sauce, then add a little extra cheddar. Let it cool a few minutes. Potato soup holds heat.
• Too thick? Thin with a splash of broth or milk. It thickens a lot as it sits, especially as leftovers.
• Shred the cheddar yourself. Pre-shredded has anti-caking starch that makes the soup grainy.
• Russets, not Yukon Golds. Russets break down and thicken the soup. Yukons stay waxy.
• Reheating: low heat with a splash of milk. Keeps 4 days in the fridge. It doesn't freeze well because the potatoes go grainy.
• Make it a bigger meal: serve with crusty bread or a simple green salad.