Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Soup season is officially back, and I'm not mad about it. I came up with this super creamy, super flavourful soup, garnished with sour cream, cheddar cheese, chives, and crispy bacon. The simplicity and flavour of this one will make this soup a go to this fall and winter.

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Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 45 minutes Yield: 4-6 bowls

INGREDIENTS

For the Soup

• 1/2 cup beef bacon or regular bacon, chopped

• 1 tbs butter

• 1 onion, roughly

• 1 carrot, roughly chopped

• 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, smashed

• 1/4 cup green onion, chopped

• 3 cups potato, peeled and roughly

• 4 cups of vegetable or chicken broth

• 2 cups milk

• 1/2 tsp dried dill

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• salt and black pepper

• 1/4 cup half and half cream

• 1/3 cup sour cream

• 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated

To Garnish

• Sour cream

• Grated cheddar cheese

• Minced chives

• Crispy bacon pieces

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large sauce pot, cook the bacon over medium heat. Once all of the fat renders and the bacon pieces crisp, remove them from heat but leave the bacon grease in the pot. Keep the crispy bacon pieces for garnish later on.

2. Add the butter to the pot. Once it melts, add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and green onion. Continue to sauté the vegetables over medium high heat for 4-6 minutes, or until the vegetables have started to brown, stirring often.

3. Add the potatoes to the top and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.

4. Add the broth and milk, as well as the dried spices and salt. Bring the soup up to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

5. Transfer the soup to a blender and blend on medium-high for 2-3 minutes until the soups is very creamy and no chunks of vegetable remain.

6. Return the blended soup back to the pot and allow it to come to a simmer over low.

7. Whisk together the half and half cream and sour cream. Add the mixture to the soup along with the cheddar cheese, and remove the soup from heat immediately. Stir well to combine fully melt the cheese into the soup. Taste and adjust seasoning.

8. At the table, top each bowl of soup with the garnishes of sour cream, chives, cheddar cheese, and the reserved crispy bacon.

NOTES

• You can also add the crispy reserved bacon pieces back into the soup as the last step instead of using it to garnish each individual bowl. I