Loaded Potato Soup
This dairy-free take on loaded baked-potato soup swaps sour cream and cheese for blended soaked cashews, then finishes with chives and crisp bacon over tender gold potatoes.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Loaded baked-potato soup is comfort in a bowl, but the classic version leans on sour cream and a heap of shredded cheese. This one keeps the same creamy, savory pull without any dairy. Soaked cashews blend into a smooth base that tastes rich and rounded, while the potatoes do most of the heavy lifting for body. You still get the toppings you want, just built on a plant-based foundation that sits easier for many people.
Gold potatoes bring a naturally buttery texture and steady fiber, so the soup feels filling without needing cream. Cashews add plant protein and a silky mouthfeel, and nutritional yeast layers in a savory, almost cheesy note that fills the gap left by real cheese. Onion and garlic build the kind of slow, deep flavor that makes a simple pot of soup taste like it simmered all afternoon, even when it did not.
Everything here starts from raw, which keeps you in control of salt and texture. You cook the bacon until it is genuinely crisp, simmer the potatoes with onion and garlic until they yield to a fork, then blend part of the pot with the cashews for a base that is creamy but still has body. It comes together in one pot with a handful of pantry staples, and it reheats well for lunches through the week.
Ingredients
- 4 cups diced gold potatoes (from raw)
- 2/3 cup raw cashews, soaked
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 slices bacon (from raw), crumbled
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp chopped chives
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Crisp the bacon: Set a heavy pot over medium heat and cook the 2 slices of bacon from raw, turning now and then, until the fat renders and the edges go deep golden and crisp, about 6 to 8 minutes. Start it in the cold pot, since the fat renders out slowly that way and the slices crisp evenly instead of curling. Move it to a paper towel, then crumble once cool.
- Soften the aromatics: Pour off all but about a tablespoon of the bacon fat, add the olive oil, then cook the diced onion until soft and translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 1 minute, so it does not brown.
- Simmer the potatoes: Add the diced gold potatoes, the salt, and enough water to cover them by about an inch, and no more, because every extra cup is something you will have to blend into a thinner soup than you meant to make. Bring to a gentle boil, then lower to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender all the way through, 15 to 18 minutes.
- Blend for creaminess: Scoop about half of the soup, potatoes and liquid, into a blender with the soaked cashews and nutritional yeast. Blend until completely smooth, then stir it back into the pot. This keeps some potato chunks while giving the base a creamy body.
- Season and adjust: Warm the soup back through, then taste. Add water a splash at a time if it is thicker than you like, or simmer a few minutes longer to thicken. Adjust salt as needed before serving.
- Top and serve: Ladle into bowls and finish each with the crumbled bacon and the chopped chives. Add them at the table rather than into the pot, since bacon loses its snap within a minute of meeting hot soup.
Variations
- Smoky vegan: Skip the bacon and add half a teaspoon of smoked paprika with the onion, plus a handful of pan-crisped mushrooms on top for a savory, plant-only bowl.
- Loaded broccoli: Stir in two cups of chopped broccoli during the last five minutes of simmering so it stays bright and just tender.
- Extra green: Fold in a few handfuls of baby spinach or chopped kale right before serving and let the heat wilt it down.
- Herb swap: Trade the chives for sliced green onion or a scatter of fresh dill if that is what you have on hand.
- Spiced up: Add a pinch of cayenne or a few dashes of hot sauce to the blended base for gentle background heat.
Storage & Leftovers
Let the soup cool, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. Keep the bacon and chives separate if you can, since the bacon stays crispest when added fresh at serving rather than sitting in the warm soup.
Reheat gently on the stove over medium-low, stirring often, since the cashew base can catch on the bottom if the heat runs high. The soup thickens as it sits, so loosen it with a splash of water or broth until it reaches the texture you want.
This soup freezes well. Cool it fully, then freeze in portioned containers for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat slowly, whisking to bring the base back together if it looks a little grainy at first.
Notes & Tips
- Soak the cashews: If I forget to soak overnight, I cover the cashews with just-boiled water for fifteen minutes and they blend just as smooth.
- Use a high-speed blender: For the silkiest base, I blend a full minute longer than feels necessary, which chases out any last bit of graininess.
- Save the bacon fat: I cook the onion in a little of the rendered bacon fat because it carries a savory depth that olive oil alone cannot.
- Cut potatoes evenly: Dice the potatoes to a similar size so they cook at the same rate and reach fork-tender together.
- Control the thickness: Blend more of the pot for a thicker, creamier soup, or less if you like more visible potato chunks.
- Taste before salting: Bacon and nutritional yeast both add saltiness, so I wait until the end to decide how much extra salt it needs.
Nutrition & Mindful Eating
- Potatoes, cashews and bacon build this bowl between them. Blending part of the potato gives the soup its thickness, the cashews make it rich, and the bacon on top brings the smoke and salt that pull the rest into focus.
- Yukon golds have a thin skin and a buttery yellow flesh that blends creamy and never goes to paste, and keeping them whole in the pot keeps their potassium and fiber in the soup rather than in the strainer.
- Bacon is a small amount doing a large job. Rendered until crisp and crumbled over the bowl, it gives every few spoonfuls a hit of smoke and salt, and the fat left in the pan seasons the onions that follow.
- Cashews blended into the base give the soup a rounder, heavier body, and the unsaturated fat they carry is what turns a pot of potatoes into supper.
- Chives go on last, raw and cool, and their mild green onion bite cuts straight through everything under it. Garlic and onion softened at the start are what built that richness in the first place.
- As you eat, spoon down to the pieces of potato that escaped the blender, let the chives land after the cream, and stay with the bowl long enough for it to warm you all the way through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this nut-free?
Yes. Swap the cashews for raw sunflower seeds or hulled hemp seeds, soaked the same way, or use a can of drained white beans for a nut-free, creamy base.
How do I make it thicker or thinner?
For a thicker soup, blend a larger portion of the pot or simmer uncovered a few extra minutes. To thin it, stir in water or broth a splash at a time until it pours the way you like.
Can I make it ahead?
Absolutely. It keeps in the fridge for up to four days and freezes for three months. Reheat gently over medium-low, add liquid to loosen, and top with fresh bacon and chives just before serving.
How much carbohydrate is in this bowl?
A moderate amount, since the potatoes are the whole point of it. Pair it with a green salad or a side of protein to round out the plate and stretch it further.