This baked potato and bacon soup is hearty, creamy, and delicious! A satisfying meal for cold winter days.
Choose potatoes that are all around the same size. Scrub and pierce potatoes with a fork. Bake in a 400F oven for about an hour for 8-ounce potatoes. They're done once you can stick a fork in them without much resistance.
If your potatoes are smaller (5-ounces each), they may take only 45 minutes; if they're big, they will take longer. If your potatoes are different sizes, use tongs to remove smaller done potatoes, and bake the larger ones longer.
Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut in half lengthwise and slice. I leave the skins on because I like my soup chunky.
Fry bacon over medium heat in a large Dutch oven until crisped. (I prefer cutting my bacon in half to fit it all in.) Remove bacon and reserve for topping.
Saute onion in bacon drippings for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and bay leaf and saute for a few minutes longer.
Add chopped baked potatoes with skins, milk, chicken broth, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Turn off heat and mash potatoes with potato masher - mash a lot for thicker puree, and only a little for a thinner but chunkier soup. You can add extra milk if you would like the soup thinner as well.
Top with reserved bacon and other toppings as desired. Leftovers are delicious. Store separately from toppings, and add the toppings after reheating the soup.
You can shave an hour off of this recipe if you have leftover baked potatoes in the fridge. You can also microwave the potatoes.
Be sure to use baking potatoes (like Russets) or all-purpose potatoes (like Yukon Golds) here; they will release starch into the soup as they cook, helping thicken it. Red potatoes will hold their shape.
To make this soup vegetarian, skip the bacon entirely and saute the onions in 4 tablespoons of butter.