Name: Loaded Potato Soup with Bacon & Cheddar
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: International
Ingredients: Ingredients; 1–1.1 kg potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5–2 cm cubes; 250 g smoked bacon, diced; 2 medium celery stalks, finely chopped; 1 medium onion, finely chopped; 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 3 tbsp plain flour; 300 ml whole milk; 900 ml chicken stock; 2 bay leaves; 1 tsp smoked paprika; 1 level tsp dried thyme; 1 tsp ground black pepper; 300 ml double cream; 250 g mature cheddar, grated; Salt, as needed after tasting; Sour cream, for serving; Reserved crispy bacon, for serving; Reserved grated cheddar, for serving; Leek, thinly sliced, for serving; Freshly ground black pepper, for serving; Toasted bread, for serving

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Sometimes the cosiest meals are the simplest ones.

Prefer video? Watch on YouTube — then scroll for the full recipe 👇

Created by Ary – 1 hour ago

A cosy bowl for colder days

There’s something about a big bowl of potato soup that feels right when the days start getting colder. It’s simple, familiar food – the kind you want to sit down with when you’re hungry and don’t need dinner to be complicated.

Loaded potato soup takes that old comfort-food idea one step further. It borrows the spirit of a loaded baked potato, where the fun is just as much in what goes on top as what’s underneath. Over time, that same idea found its way into soup bowls, with everyone making their own version.

That’s exactly how we like recipes at Prepmix too. There doesn’t have to be one perfect way to make them. For ours, we wanted the soup to stay thick and comforting but still have plenty of proper potato pieces left in the bowl. And, of course, we saved some of the good stuff for the top – because a loaded potato soup should actually look loaded when it reaches the table. 😄

📝Ingredients

For the Soup

1–1.1 kg potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5–2 cm cubes
250 g smoked bacon, diced
2 medium celery stalks, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tbsp plain flour
300 ml whole milk
900 ml chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 level tsp dried thyme
1 tsp ground black pepper
300 ml double cream
250 g mature cheddar, grated
Salt, as needed after tasting

For Serving

Sour cream
Reserved crispy bacon
Reserved grated cheddar
Leek, thinly sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
Toasted bread

🥄 Instructions

Cook the bacon

Add the diced bacon to a large pot and cook until nicely browned and crispy. Remove it with a slotted spoon and set it aside, leaving the rendered bacon fat in the pot.

Soften the vegetables

Add the onion and celery to the bacon fat and cook until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another 20–30 seconds.

Add the flour

Sprinkle in the plain flour, mix everything together well and cook for 1–2 minutes.

Add the liquids

Gradually pour in the milk while stirring. Don’t worry if the mixture looks a little lumpy at first – keep stirring and it will smooth out. Pour in the chicken stock and mix well.

Season the soup

Add the bay leaves, smoked paprika, dried thyme and ground black pepper. Stir everything together.

Cook the potatoes

Add the potatoes, cover the pot and cook for around 15–20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and can easily be pierced with a fork.

Make it creamy

Stir in the double cream. Add about half of the crispy bacon back to the pot, keeping the rest for serving.

Add a little more than half of the grated cheddar and stir until melted, reserving the remaining cheese for the top.

Mash some of the potatoes

Use a potato masher directly in the pot to mash some of the potatoes. Don’t mash everything – leaving plenty of chunks gives the soup its lovely texture while the mashed potatoes naturally help thicken it.

Taste the soup and add salt only if needed.

Serve

Spoon into bowls and finish with sour cream, crispy bacon, grated cheddar, thinly sliced leek and freshly ground black pepper. Serve with toasted bread on the side.

What to Serve It With🍽️

This is already a filling meal on its own, so it doesn’t need much alongside it. We love it with a few slices of toasted bread for dipping and scooping up the last bit from the bowl.
A simple green salad also works well if you want something fresh on the side. And if you’re serving smaller portions, the soup makes a lovely starter before a simple roast chicken or other easy family dinner.

Why You’ll Love It⭐

This is the sort of recipe that turns an ordinary bowl of soup into a proper meal. It’s warm, filling and relaxed – no fancy presentation required.
We also love that the texture isn’t completely smooth. You still get those soft pieces of potato in every spoonful, while mashing just part of them gives the soup plenty of body without having to blend the whole pot.

💡 Pro Tips

Don’t rush the bacon. Let it get properly browned and crisp before removing it from the pot. The rendered fat left behind becomes the starting point for the rest of the soup.

Add the milk gradually. The flour mixture may look a little uneven at first, but steady stirring will bring everything together.

Check the potatoes rather than relying only on the clock. Potato varieties and cube sizes differ, so use a fork to tell you when they’re ready.

Mash with restraint. You only need to crush some of the potatoes. Stop while there are still plenty of visible chunks.

Taste before adding salt. Bacon, chicken stock and mature cheddar all contribute saltiness, so the soup may need very little additional seasoning.

✨ Final Thoughts

Some recipes don’t need to be clever or complicated to earn a place at the table. This is one of those meals.
It’s a big, comforting pot of soup that you can put in the middle of the table with some toasted bread and let everyone finish their bowl their own way. And on a chilly autumn evening, sometimes that’s exactly the kind of dinner we want.
If you make it, we’d love to know what you put on top of yours. ❤️

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