Baked Potato Soup

This baked potato soup recipe is absolutely delicious. Then again, potatoes are one of my favorite foods of all time. Whether its mashed, smashed, fried, cubed, or souped (yes, that is a verb now) they are always incredibly tasty. This recipe does take a little bit of time, but it is simple and satisfying in ways that only a soup filled with potatoes, butter, bacon, and cheese can be.



Start off by washing your potatoes to get off all the dirt. I found that two good sized potatoes made enough soup for two servings. Then, take a fork and poke holes in each of the potatoes. Really go at it. If you don't poke enough holes, your potatoes will blow up in the oven. Might as well get all your stress out now instead of adding more stress with a mess of potato in your oven later! Then put the potatoes in your 400 degree oven for one hour.


After the hour is done, let the potatoes cool until you can handle them without burning your fingertips. I put mine in the freezer for ten minutes which sped up the process nicely. Then cut them in half. Doesn't have to be neat or anywhere near perfect.


Take a spoon and scoop out all the potato 'meat', discarding the skins. Once again, doesn't have to be perfect, just do your best to get as much potato out as possible.


Turn on your stove top and melt 1/3 cup of butter in a saucepan. When its melted, measure out 1/3 cup of flour and add it to the melted butter. Make sure to stir to combine and then continue stirring constantly for one minute over medium heat. The mixture should be pretty smooth at this point. If its not, cook it for a bit longer, but keep stirring! This butter/flour mixture is called a roux (or at least the beginnings of a roux) and is the base of almost all stews and sauces that are delicious, but its very easy to burn so be careful! This mixture just thickens things up and makes everything taste just that much better.


Then add 3 cups of milk to the roux mixture. Stir around and wait for the mixture to thicken. You don't need to constantly stir this time, just keep your eye on it. Mine took about five minutes to thicken, but just keep your eye on it. When it clings to the spoon after you take it out of the mixture, you know its ready.


While you are waiting for the mixture to thicken, go ahead and pull out some of your additions to the soup. You can be as creative as you want with things to mix in. I've added kielbasa, green onions, and all different kinds of cheeses. This is just what I had on hand tonight. 1 cup of cheddar cheese, 5 slices of precooked bacon, and 1/4 cup red onion. Delicious! When the mixture is thick enough, add in the potato pieces you scooped out before as well as the additions you have collected and stir to combine. So good!

I hope you enjoy this hearty potato soup recipe! Any ideas for other delicious additions?