Sarra Ina Garten’s loaded potato soup is a thick, creamy pureed potato soup topped with crispy bacon, sharp white cheddar, crème fraîche, and fresh chives. The base is built from roasted Yukon Gold potatoes and leeks blended with chicken stock, heavy cream, and white wine. It serves 6 to 8 and takes about 1 hour 30 minutes from oven to table.
Ina’s Roasted Potato Leek Soup from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics is the foundation here: potatoes and leeks roasted together at 400F, then pureed with cream, crème fraîche, and Parmesan. The loaded toppings come from her Creamy Potato Fennel Soup in Go-To Dinners, where she finishes each bowl with “cooked crumbled bacon and/or cooked pancetta.” The cheddar element follows her Cheddar Corn Chowder from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, which pairs sharp white cheddar with bacon in a potato-based soup.
Roasting the potatoes is what separates this from every other loaded potato soup recipe online. Most versions boil the potatoes in stock, which gets you a perfectly fine soup but nothing more. Roasting at 400F for 40 to 45 minutes caramelizes the edges and concentrates the flavor, so the base tastes rich and deep before you add a single topping.
Ina Garten Loaded Potato Soup Recipe
Course: SoupsCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy8
servings20
minutes1
hour20
minutes420
kcalBuilt from Ina Garten’s roasted potato soup method and her approach to bacon, cheddar, and crème fraîche toppings across three cookbooks. Roasting the potatoes and leeks together first is the move that gives this loaded soup a depth you won’t get from a boiled base. Make the toppings while the soup simmers.
Ingredients
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For the Soup:
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2 lb (900g) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
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4 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts, cleaned (4 leeks)
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1/4 cup (60ml) good olive oil
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Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
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1/2 cup (120ml) dry white wine
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6 to 7 cups (1.4 to 1.7L) chicken stock, preferably homemade
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3/4 cup (180ml) heavy cream
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8 oz (225g) crème fraîche
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1/4 cup (25g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
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For the Loaded Toppings:
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8 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
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1 cup (4 oz / 115g) grated sharp white cheddar cheese
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1/2 cup (120g) crème fraîche or sour cream
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3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
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Good olive oil, for drizzling
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Flaked sea salt, for finishing
Directions
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Roast the potatoes and leeks: Preheat the oven to 400F (200C). Combine the potatoes and leeks on a sheet pan in a single layer. Toss with the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 40 to 45 minutes, turning a few times with a spatula, until very tender and golden at the edges.
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Deglaze the pan: Remove the sheet pan from the oven and set it over two burners on the stovetop. Stir in the white wine and 1 cup of chicken stock over low heat, scraping up all the crispy roasted bits stuck to the pan.
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Puree the soup: In batches, transfer the roasted vegetables to a food processor with the pan liquid and about 5 cups of chicken stock. Puree until smooth and pour into a large pot. Add the remaining 1 to 2 cups of stock until you reach a thick but pourable consistency.
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Finish the base: Stir in the heavy cream, crème fraîche, Parmesan, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning. Reheat gently over medium-low heat without letting it boil.
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Cook the bacon: While the soup reheats, cook the bacon pieces in a skillet over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, until browned and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
- Load the bowls: Ladle the soup into large shallow bowls. Top each serving with crispy bacon, a generous sprinkle of sharp white cheddar, a dollop of crème fraîche, and a scattering of fresh chives. Drizzle with olive oil, finish with flaked sea salt, and serve hot
FAQs
Why roast the potatoes instead of boiling them?
Boiling potatoes in stock is faster, but the potatoes absorb water and dilute their own flavor. Roasting at 400F for 40 to 45 minutes drives off moisture and caramelizes the natural sugars, so the soup base tastes richer before you even add cream.
Ina uses this roasting-first technique in both her Roasted Potato Leek Soup from Back to Basics and her Roasted-Potato Fennel Soup from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. It’s one of her core soup methods, and the difference between a flat potato soup and one with real depth comes down to those 45 minutes in the oven.
What makes this different from Ina’s Roasted Potato Leek Soup?
The base is very similar, but the toppings change the whole character. Ina’s original finishes with crispy shallots and grated Parmesan, which keeps it more French and refined.
This loaded version piles on crispy bacon, sharp white cheddar, crème fraîche, and chives, following the topping approach Ina uses in her Creamy Potato Fennel Soup from Go-To Dinners. The result is closer to a classic American loaded baked potato turned into soup, with Ina’s roasted base giving it more flavor than a standard version.
Can you make loaded potato soup ahead of time?
The soup base keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days and actually improves as the flavors meld overnight. Reheat gently over low heat and add a splash of chicken stock because it thickens considerably as it sits.
Keep the toppings separate until serving. Cook the bacon fresh or recrisp it in a 400F (200C) oven for a few minutes, grate the cheddar, and chop the chives right before you ladle the bowls. Soggy reheated bacon defeats the whole point of a loaded soup.
Why does the recipe use crème fraîche instead of sour cream?
Crème fraîche has a higher fat content than sour cream, so it melts smoothly into hot soup without breaking or curdling. Sour cream can split when it hits a hot liquid because of its lower fat and higher acid.
Ina uses crème fraîche in the soup base and as a topping. If you can’t find crème fraîche, sour cream works fine as a cold dollop on top of each bowl, but don’t stir it into the hot base or it may separate. For the base, swap in an equal amount of heavy cream instead.
Does this soup freeze well?
The base freezes well for up to 3 months. Cool it completely, pour into airtight containers with an inch of headspace, and freeze without the toppings.
Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat slowly over low heat, stirring occasionally. The texture may be slightly thinner after thawing, so whisk in a tablespoon of crème fraîche or cream to bring the body back. Add all the loaded toppings fresh after reheating.
