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Loaded Baked Potato Soup with Crispy Bacon

Name: Loaded Baked Potato Soup with Crispy Bacon
Prep time: 43 min
Total time: 43 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: salt bacon — 168 g; russet potato — 907 g; yellow onion — 110 g; garlic — 9 g; all-purpose flour — 40 g; low-salt chicken broth — 946 g; regular milk — 473 g; heavy cream — 237 g; salt — 7 g; black pepper — 3 g; sharp white cheddar — 227 g; sour cream — 118 g; scallions — 400 g

Loaded Baked Potato Soup with Crispy Bacon reads richness 6.2, salinity 6.2 and umami 5.8 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a American main, about 43 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 7.0 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 2.2 / 10
Sour & Bright — 2.7 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 3.3 / 10
Rich & Fat — 6.6 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.7 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 6.2 · Salinity 6.2 · Umami 5.8 · Allium 4.4 · Smoke 2.9 · Sourness 2.7 · Funk & Ferment 2.5 · Sweetness 2.2 · Herbaceous 2.1 · Earthy 1.4 · Warm Spice 1.3 · Bitterness 1.2 · Nutty 1.1 · Heat 0.7

What's in it (13)

salt bacon — 168 g
russet potato — 907 g
yellow onion — 110 g
garlic — 9 g
all-purpose flour — 40 g
low-salt chicken broth — 946 g
regular milk — 473 g
heavy cream — 237 g
salt — 7 g
black pepper — 3 g
sharp white cheddar — 227 g
sour cream — 118 g
scallions — 400 g

Time & effort: about 43 min · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 122.5 kcal, 6.9 g protein, 4.3 g fat, 14.3 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (9 steps)

Cook the bacon in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until deeply crisp, 8-10 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate, leaving about 2 tablespoons of fat in the pot.
Add the onion to the bacon fat and cook, stirring, until softened and translucent, 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds.
Sprinkle the flour over the onion mixture and stir constantly, cooking until the raw flour smell is gone, about 1 minute.
Whisk in the broth a little at a time so no lumps form, then add the potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, 15-18 minutes.
Off the heat, mash about a third of the potatoes right in the pot with a potato masher, leaving the rest in chunks - this thickens the soup without turning it gluey.
Stir in the milk, heavy cream, salt, and pepper. Set the pot over low heat and warm through, 4-5 minutes, without letting it boil.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cheddar a handful at a time, letting each addition melt fully before adding more, about 3 minutes total.
Ladle about a cup of the hot soup into the sour cream and stir to combine, then stir that mixture back into the pot - this keeps the sour cream from curdling.
Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the reserved bacon, extra cheddar if you like, and the scallions.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Loaded Baked Potato Soup — American
Smothered Turkey Wings with Onion Gravy — Southern
Żurek (Sour Rye Soup) — Polish
Flammekueche (Tarte Flambée) — French · Alsace
Cotriade — French · Brittany

Keep reading: what richness, salinity, umami mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.