Loaded Potato Soup

Creamy potato soup loaded with baked potato toppings and extra gooey cheese.

Let me familiarize you with two opinions I live by:

1. The more cheese, the better.
2. There is no such thing as too cheesy.

I’m sorry, but I just don’t understand the phrase too cheesy. My brain refuses to put those two words together. In my house, cheese finds its way on just about everything. My fridge has a special cheese drawer, and it’s always well stocked with a variety of cheese. In order to save time, I always keep a few bags of Kraft shredded cheese handy for cooking up meals in a pinch. Since we go through a lot of cheese, I was happy to save on Kraft products at Target. Kraft is currently offering up to $20 in coupons towards their products at Target. Check the link at the bottom of this post for details.

Now that you’re familiar with my love of cheese, let’s talk about this loaded potato soup. I took everything you would top a baked potato with and added it to big pot of creamy potato soup. We’re talkin’ bacon, sour cream, and loads of shredded cheese. I added so much cheese that your spoon will leave trails of gooey cheese strings as it leaves your bowl of soup. Now, that’s what I call cheesy.

This soup takes about an hour from start to finish. If you want to save time, you can prep the ingredients a few days before you’re ready to make the soup.

The one ingredient you won’t find on your baked potato that I added to this recipe is leeks. I adore leeks in my potato soup. They add a delicate onion flavor to the base of the soup that pairs perfectly with the potatoes. If you’re not familiar with leeks, they’re part of the onion/garlic family. They look like fat versions of a spring onion.

To clean leeks:

1. Chop off the dark green top, leaving the white/light green portion of the leek. The dark green tops tend to be tough and fibrous.

2. Cut your leeks in half lengthwise. Fan open the leeks and run them under cold water, rinsing out any dirt or soil that may be stuck between the folds. Pat them dry with a clean towel.

3. Chop off the bottom root and slice into 1/4-inch thick half rounds.

This soup is hearty and filling–perfect for a chilly day. For an easy meal for the holidays, make this soup a few days ahead and reheat on the big day for an effortless meal. Serve with crusty bread for dipping.

From shopping for gifts to planning family dinners, it’s hard to keep up with all your holiday to-do’s. This year, Kraft is helping out with great weeknight meals and entertaining ideas to make the season a little bit easier. Plus, Kraft is offering up to $20 in coupons, redeemable exclusively at Target, to make food shopping easier and to help you have a happy holiday season.

Print Recipe

Loaded Potato Soup

Yield: 12 servings

Total Time: 50 minutes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

5 slices bacon, chopped into 1/2-inch slices

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cups leeks, cleaned and chopped into 1/4-inch half rounds

3 large carrots, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/4-inch cubes

6 cups chicken stock

1 teaspoon kosher salt (more to taste)

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 1/2 cups 2% milk

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups shredded cheese (such as Kraft)

1/4 cup sour cream

salt and pepper to taste

 

 

Directions:

Cook the bacon in a large dutch oven over medium heat until crispy. Transfer the bacon to a paper-towel lined plate and set aside for later, reserving 2 tablespoons of bacon grease.

Add the butter, leeks, carrots, celery, and onion to the pot with the reserved bacon grease. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring frequently so the garlic doesn’t burn.

Increase the heat to medium-high and add the potatoes, teaspoon of kosher salt, Italian seasoning, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about 15-20 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, whisk together the milk and flour.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and stir in the milk mixture. Allow the soup to thicken, about 3-5 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, pulse until the soup is slightly smooth but still chunky. If you don’t own an immersion blender, transfer 2/3 of the soup mixture to a blender and blend until smooth, then add the smooth soup back to the pot and stir to combine.

Stir in the heavy cream and seasoned salt.

Turn off the heat and stir in the sour cream and shredded cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with bacon, sour cream, and a sprinkle of cheese.

All images and text ©One Sweet Mess.

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Kraft. The opinions and text are all mine.