Quick and Easy Baked Potato Soup

A hearty, delicious and easy creamy potato soup, flavoured with sour cream and green onion, to enjoy the flavours of baked potato in soup form. Ready in just 30 minutes!
✓ BUDGET FRIENDLY ✓ VEGETARIAN, GLUTEN FREE AND DAIRY FREE FRIENDLY

The Winter is long here and there are two things that get me through it - baking and soup. And when it comes to soup, this potato soup is the one that shows up the most. It's hearty, filling, delicious and easy and it's ready in just 30 minutes start to finish!

As this creamy Baked Potato Soup is made with just a few, simple ingredients, it's an always available meal option, even when I'm snowed in. It's also where I turn when I have a shortage of time or energy for cooking dinner. Served with a fresh baked loaf of bread, it's a super easy and warming meal and a simply wonderful bowl of comfort.

Ingredients

Here are the simple ingredients you will need for this soup ...

• Russet (baking potatoes) - see FAQ below for other potato options
• Butter and Flour - ta make a roux that will thicken the soup
• Chicken broth - or vegetable broth for a vegetarian option
• Milk - any type of milk is fine here
• Green onion - for the soup and for garnish
• Sour cream - gives the soup a true baked potato flavour, but can be omitted and you'll still have a nice, creamy potato soup
• Cheddar Cheese - for garnish

Step by Step Photos

• Step 1: Melt butter in a large pot.
• Step 2: Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
• Step 3: Add milk and broth to the pot.
• Step 4: Add cubed potatoes (no need to peel unless you want to) and green onion
• Step 5: Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low, stirring regularly to avoid sticking (reduce heat if necessary), until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes
• Step 6: Add sour cream and cook a few more minutes. Serve topped with more green onion and some shredded cheese.

FAQ

• Can I use yellow-fleshed or white potatoes? Yes you can, if that's what you have. Russet (baking) potatoes make a creamier soup that cooks more quickly. Yellow-fleshed potatoes or white potatoes will need longer to cook to tender. Cut them a little smaller.
• What are some good variations for this soup? I have tweaked my version of this soup over the years. trying to find a nice balance between wholesome and delicious. When I started making it, I used bacon and cheese in the soup as well. It was delicious and you can certainly do that if you like (I won't judge). I have just found over the years and making it times when I didn't have bacon around or forgetting to stir some cheese into the soup that I didn't really miss it. This soup still very satisfying without the bacon and extra cheese, so that's how I make it most of the time now.
• Can I use dairy-alternative milks for this soup? Sure! I'm not well-versed in alternative milks. I believe soy milk can be used cup for cup for dairy milk. Not sure beyond that. You may have to experiment a bit. You'll want to use 3 1/2 cups of liquid in some ratio of broth and milk.
• What can I use instead of sour cream? If you don't have sour cream, you can actually just omit it and still have a nice creamy potato soup. The sour cream is just there to bring the classic baked potato flavour to the soup. If you omit sour cream, you may want to add a bit more liquid to your soup (broth or milk), as the sour cream also works to thin the soup slightly.

  That said, you could look around for anything that might add that bit of tang to the soup - cream cheese, mayo, yogurt etc. and add a tablespoon or so to the mix. For non dairy options, a splash of lemon juice or vinegar would provide a tangy note to this soup.

• Can I use all milk or all broth? You can definitely use all milk. Simply replace the quantity of broth with the same quantity of milk. You can use all broth, but of course it won't be a creamy soup then :) For a lighter, creamy option, perhaps use mostly broth and add a splash of cream at the end of cooking.
• How can I skip the flour and make it gluten free? I'm not well-versed on gluten free cooking and there may be some good options for a gluten-free roux out there. If it were me, and since potatoes add quite a bit of natural creaminess to a soup, I would skip the roux and thicken at the end of cooking with a cornstarch or arrowroot slurry (mixed with water) and adding as much as needed to get the desired thickness.
• Why does my soup taste a little bland? It needs salt! Don't forget to season your soup! As potatoes always benefit from salt and almost half the liquid in this soup is milk and milk has no seasoning at all, you'll definitely need a generous salting to really bring out the best flavours in this soup. Be sure to taste your soup at the end of cooking and add salt as needed. A nice bit of freshly ground pepper is a nice touch as well.

Top Tip

Re-grow those green onions! There's a lot of green onion in the soup, so you'll likely burn through a bunch making it. Don't throw out those root ends though. Simply place in a glass of water and set on your counter and let them re-grow!. You can do this a couple of times very easily. I have found the onion gets progressively more "onion-y" with each re-grow. (Yes, that's snow out my window still, but it's fading fast! :)

Recipe

Baked Potato Soup

A hearty and delicious creamy potato soup, flavoured with green onion and sour cream, to enjoy the flavours of baked potatoes in soup form.

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Course Soup

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

 

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Soup:

• 5 Tbsp butter, salted or unsalted
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk, any variety or fat content
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, or vegetable broth for vegetarian
• 4 cups Russet (baking) potatoes, diced, peel or un-peeled *see Note 1
• 1/4 cup green onion, chopped and well packed (plus more for garnish)
• 1/2 cup sour cream, any fat content or fat free variety
• Additional salt and freshly ground pepper, as needed

Garnish:

• 1/3 cup cheddar cheese, grated
• Additional green onion, chopped

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Instructions

 

• In a large pot on the stovetop, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute. Add the milk and chicken broth and stir to combine. Add the potatoes, salt and green onion and stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil, then immediately reduce heat to a bit below medium-low. Cook, stirring regularly, until potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes. **Stir regularly to avoid the potatoes sticking to the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat a bit under the pot if it seems to be boiling too vigorously.
• Once potatoes are tender, still in sour cream and cook another couple of minutes to warm through. Taste soup and add additional salt as needed. If your soup tastes a bit bland, it needs salt! A little freshly ground pepper is nice, as well. (If you soup is a bit too thick for your liking, or to stretch it a little bit further, thin with. bit more broth or milk).
• Serve warm topped with additional chopped green onion and some grated cheddar cheese.

Notes

1. You can use yellow-fleshed or white potatoes, if that's all you have on hand. They will take longer to cook to tender and your soup will be a little less creamy, as they don't break down as well as baking potatoes do.

2. Leftover soup stores well in the fridge. It does appear to thicken up, but once re-heated is a nice creamy consistency again. Add a splash of milk to thin if necessary.

3. Cream soups don't freeze well, unfortunately, as they are often grainy once defrosted. This one is best enjoyed cooked fresh or re-heated from the fridge.

Nutritional information based on 1% milk and light sour cream.

See the FAQ above the recipe card for more tips and substitution options for this soup.

Nutrition

Calories: 408kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 12gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 64mgSodium: 1170mgPotassium: 960mgFiber: 2gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 926IUVitamin C: 16mgCalcium: 289mgIron: 2mg

Nutritional information provided for general guidance only and should not be relied upon to make personal health decisions.

Course Soup

Cuisine American, Canadian

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