Brace yourselves. I’m posting a recipe with bacon in it. It doesn’t happen very often, but this is 100% what I mean when I talk about not excluding any foods. This Loaded Baked Potato Soup is ridiculous. My kids could not believe how delicious it was…I could. I mean, it has bacon in it.
I thought it pertinent to mention all of the good things about this soup. One of the reasons I started putting nutrition information on my website was not so you could see how many calories are in something , but to see how nutritious something is.
Potatoes are a very healthy food, despite what you’ve heard from your carb bashing friends. One potato gives you 30% of your daily value of vitamin C, 15% of potassium, and 10% of B6, which is great for a hard working metabolism. You also get 2 grams of fiber and if you’re watching how much fiber you get in a day, potatoes are a good way to get there. Remember, Ladies – aim for 25 grams per day and Gents – 38 grams.
One of my favorite parts of the soup…no, not the bacon. It’s the amount of calcium in here. It’s 1/4 of what you should be getting in a day and that’s good news if you have kids who don’t like milk…or you don’t drink milk.
A few tips when making this soup:
- Let the potatoes get soft, no one wants hard potatoes in their soup. When they start to break apart, they will release their starch and help thicken the soup even more.
- When the recipe says turn off the heat, turn off the heat. You don’t want to add cheese to boiling liquid, it will separate and look gross. It won’t taste any different, but it may not look very appetizing.
- Resist the urge to saute your onions in the bacon fat. This is why I put the bacon step further in the instructions…to take away that temptation. Every little bit helps people.
Let me know if you make this! It’s delish.
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Loaded baked potato soup
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 large servings 1x
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onions
2.5 pounds russet or starchy yellow potatoes, cut into 1/4“- 1/2” cubes
4 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups 2% milk
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
6 ounces cheddar cheese, freshly shredded, divided
4 slices thick cut bacon, chopped
1/4 cup chopped chives
Instructions
In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, add olive oil and onions and saute until translucent.
Add potatoes, stock, salt, and pepper and turn heat up to high to boil.
Boil potatoes until you can easily put a fork into them and you can see the starch coming off of them – this helps thicken the soup.
While the potatoes are boiling, heat a skillet to medium high and saute bacon pieces until crispy – drain grease on a paper towel.
In a separate bowl, add milk and flour and whisk together. When potatoes are done boiling, turn off the heat and add the milk and flour mixture. Stir the soup. The soup will start to thicken as the milk warms up.
When the soup starts to thicken, stir in half of the shredded cheddar cheese (save the rest for topping).
Top with additional cheese, bacon, and chives.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes