30 Minute Loaded Baked Potato Soup with Instant Potatoes
This Loaded Baked Potato Soup with Instant Potatoes is the comfort food you’ve been craving that is also an easy one pot weeknight dinner.
If you’re like me, there are many days that you…
- need a go-to dinner that is quick, easy, and on the table in 30 minutes.
- wish for something warm and hearty that tastes like it’s been slow-cooked all day, but you didn’t have time to start the crock pot that morning.
- don’t want a kitchen full of dirty dishes when dinner is over.
Such dinners do exist! I have the perfect one for you to try!
This Instant Loaded Potato Soup recipe is made with instant potatoes making it super quick to cook! You could make it even quicker by using microwave bacon instead of chopping and rendering raw bacon. However, the rendered bacon adds a nice flavor to this soup!
What you’ll love about this comforting soup:
Ingredients for Loaded Baked Potato Soup with Instant Potatoes
My Instant Loaded Potato Soup only has 6 ingredients!
- Chop your bacon slices into 1/2 inch square pieces. Place in a large pot and let it cook over medium heat.
- While the bacon is rendering, chop up an onion.
- When bacon is done, remove some and set aside in a small bowl to use later as a soup topping. Leave the bacon fat in the pot for added flavor.
- Add the chopped onion to the pot. Sauté onion with the bacon fat and cook until the onion is tender.
- Add chicken broth or vegetable broth and water then bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add evaporated milk (or heavy cream), and stir in instant potatoes.
- Set aside some of the shredded sharp cheddar cheese to serve as a topping. Add the rest of the shredded cheese and continue to stir. If the consistency is too thick, add milk to thin it to the thickness you prefer.
- Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally to bring it up to serving temperature.
- Serve hot, garnish with crispy bacon pieces and shredded cheese, and enjoy!
Toppings for Instant Loaded Potato Soup
Our family loves customizing their bowls of Instant Loaded Baked Potato Soup with toppings. Here are some of our favorite toppings:
- bacon bits
- shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- green onions
- chopped broccoli
- sour cream
- chives
- chili powder
- black pepper
Recipe Variations and Storage
- Making potato soup is a great way to use leftover mashed potatoes. Just use your leftovers instead of the instant potato flakes.
- If you add too much liquid and need to thicken your soup, add some cream cheese.
- Use skim milk for a lower-calorie option.
- Add additional spices as desired such as garlic powder, smoked paprika, cayenne, salt, and black pepper.
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Instant Loaded Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 box or 1 1/2 Envelopes Betty Crocker Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- 2 cans Evaporated Milk
- 1 can Chicken Broth
- 6 slices Bacon
- 8 oz Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- ½ medium Onion diced
- 5 cups water
Instructions
- Chop your bacon into 1/2 inch square pieces. Place in a large pot and let it cook over medium heat.
- While the bacon is rendering, chop up an onion.
- When bacon is done, remove some and set aside to use later serve as a soup topping.
- Add the chopped onion to the pot and cook until the onion is tender.
- Add chicken broth and water, then bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat, add evaporated milk, and stir in instant potatoes.
- Set aside some of the shredded cheese to serve as a topping.
- Add the rest of the shredded cheese and continue to stir.
- If the consistency is too thick, add milk to thin it to the thickness you prefer.
- Cook over medium heat stirring occasionally to bring it up to serving temperature.
- Garnish with fried bacon, cheddar cheese and parsley or green onions.
Nutrition
More Easy Recipes for Weeknight Dinners
The next time you need a simple recipe with lots of flavor, try this hearty potato soup. The best part of this easy dinner is the extra time it adds back to your schedule.
Soup is a great option for weeknight dinners. Check out more soup recipes such as Chicken Noodle Soup, Slow Cooker Chicken Gnocchi Soup, or Spicy Lasagna Soup (lasagna in soup form).
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I found your site last week and looked around: I love it! Just wanted to let you know that I made this soup on Sunday after coming back home from church. We were hungry and I needed a yummy recipe fast. I made this soup in no time (about 35 minutes). Let me just say that it is now one of my/our favorites! We love eating soup and this one is a winner! Usually, I’m not a fan of bacon but I really loved all the combined flavors in this one. Btw, we all had seconds 🙂 Today is Tuesday and I just ate the last serving for lunch. Thank you so much for this recipe. Time for me to browse around your site for new dinner inspiration 🙂
Anne,
Welcome to Finding Time To Fly! Your comment made my day (and it’s only 8am)! Quick and delicious dinners are my favorite kind. I’ll always be looking for new ones as well as creating ideas of my own and sharing them here. Thank you so much for letting me know how much your family enjoyed it. It is readers like you that keep me doing what I do.
I actually haven’t made this soup in a while. You made me want it now!
Blessings,
~Melisha
I made this soup again (yesterday) for a friend who just had a new baby boy 8 weeks ago and also foot surgery last week. I knew this soup would be a hit so, THANKS AGAIN 🙂