Baked Potato Soup

    At one of the schools I went to in Oregon, there was a baked potato bar a couple times every month for school lunch. I remember that being the absolute best lunch ever. Baked potato days were the days I begged my mom not to pack me a lunch and let me eat at school. I will admit, there were even a few times I "forgot" my lunch at home so I had to eat school lunch. Now that I'm an adult, I still love baked potatoes, but I never make them for one reason or another. It is usually because the only way I know how to make them is to wrap them in aluminum foil and bake them for an hour and it is rare I have both tin foil and an hour to sacrifice oven space to. So, this soup became the perfect solution. All of the baked potato flavors, the best toppings, made on the stovetop only, and only takes 30-40 minutes and a single pot! Everything I want in a supper! An added bonus is that this recipe is super easy to multiply for a crowd or store in the fridge to reheat for my husband's lunch later in the week. 

    To start my baked potato soup, I first cut up a package of bacon into the bottom of my pot and cook it until it is crispy. I usually use a basic 12 oz package but if you are making a bigger or smaller batch you can increase or decrease that amount as needed. When my bacon is done, I take it out of my pot and place it onto a paper towel so any excess grease can drain, but I leave all of the grease in the bottom of my pot. I use this grease to caramelize my diced onion. Once they start to get soft, I add in my garlic, paprika, salt and pepper. If you want a little bit of a kick you can also add some cayenne. I like to serve my soup with the cayenne as an optional topping at the end to cater to all of the Scandinavians in my family (including myself) who cannot handle spice. 

    Once my garlic and onions are soft and a little brown, I add in my flour and mix it with the grease until it is all soaked up by the flour and has created a paste. That is when I add in my milk and broth. You can use any kind of broth but I'm partial to chicken for this recipe although you can substitute it for vegetable, beef, or whatever else you have on hand. I bring my soup to a boil and mix at the same time. Once it is boiling, I add in my potatoes and reduce it to a simmer before I cover my soup for 20 minutes or until my potatoes are soft. I make sure to stir everything once in a while to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom and burning. 

    As soon as my potatoes are soft, I use my wooden spoon (or whatever else you're using to mix your soup) to smush some of the potatoes. You can leave them all in bigger chunks, mash them all, or have a half and half of both. I like the half and half way the best so that the soup is nice and thick but also has some decent texture with the chunks left. 

    To finish off, I mix in some sour cream and half of my bacon. The really fun. part of this soup is that you get to top off your bowl however you want just like a normal baked potato! The toppings I usually set out are cheddar, sour cream, the other half of the bacon, green onion, and cayenne pepper, but you can include any of your favorite tater toppings! Some other options are cubed ham, chives, steamed broccoli, pepper jack cheese, pulled pork, buffalo chicken, and more!

    What did you think of this recipe? Comment below your favorite baked potato topping combos!