The Ultimate Creamy Loaded Ground Beef Potato Soup 🥣🧀

Prep Time: 20 mins | Cook Time: 35 mins | Total Time: 55 mins | Servings: 6

Is there anything more comforting on a chilly day than a bowl of thick, velvety potato soup? It’s a hug in a bowl. But sometimes, standard potato soup just isn’t filling enough for a main meal.

That is where this Creamy Loaded Ground Beef Potato Soup comes in.

Inspired by the rustic, cozy vibes of the photo above, this recipe takes everything you love about a loaded baked potato and transforms it into a hearty, satisfying dinner. Unlike traditional versions that just rely on a sprinkle of bacon, we are beefing up this recipe—literally—with savory, seasoned lean ground beef.

Served next to a window with a slice of crusty bread for dipping and a hot mug of coffee (or maybe a dark stout beer), this soup is exactly what you need when the weather turns crisp. It’s budget-friendly, incredibly flavorful, and guaranteed to become a family favorite rotation.

Let’s dive into how to make the creamiest bowl of comfort food you’ve ever tasted.

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Why You Will Love This Recipe 🧡

• Hearty Main Dish: Thanks to the addition of ground beef and plenty of potatoes, this isn’t just a side dish; it’s a filling meal.
• Budget-Friendly: Potatoes, carrots, onions, and ground beef are staples that won’t break the bank.
• Customizable Texture: Whether you like your potato soup perfectly smooth or with hearty chunks (like the spoon in the photo shows!), you control the final consistency.
• The Ultimate Comfort Food: It’s creamy, cheesy, savory, and warm. It ticks every comfort food box.

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Ingredients Needed 🥔

To achieve the rich flavor and texture shown in the image, we need quality ingredients. Here is what you will need:

The “Loaded” Toppings (Crucial!)

• Sharp Cheddar Cheese: Do not skip this! For the best melt and flavor, buy a block of sharp cheddar and grate it yourself. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in starches that prevent smooth melting.
• Green Onions (Scallions): These provide a necessary fresh, sharp crunch to cut through the richness of the soup.
• (Optional but recommended) Sour Cream: A dollop on top right before serving adds a tangy creaminess.

The Beef Base

• Lean Ground Beef: 1 pound of 90% lean beef works best so the soup isn’t overly greasy.
• Seasoning: A mix of salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and a pinch of smoked paprika to season the meat itself.

The Soup Foundation

• Potatoes: Yukon Golds are the superior choice here. They have a naturally buttery flavor and creamy texture, and they hold their shape better than russets if you want some chunks in the final soup. You’ll need about 4 cups peeled and cubed.
• Butter & Flour: The combination creates a roux, which is essential for thickening the soup so it’s not watery.
• Aromatics: A yellow onion, garlic cloves, and perhaps a little celery or carrot for depth of flavor.
• Chicken or Vegetable Broth: The main liquid base. Use low-sodium so you can control the saltiness.
• Heavy Cream & Whole Milk: A mixture of both gives you the perfect balance of richness without being too heavy.

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Equipment You’ll Need 🥄

• Large Dutch Oven or Soup Pot: You need something heavy-bottomed to prevent scorching the milk-based broth.
• Potato Masher or Immersion Blender: To achieve that perfect creamy-yet-chunky texture.
• Box Grater: For freshly shredding that glorious cheddar cheese.

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Step-by-Step Instructions 📝

Step 1: Cook the Beef Topping

We want the beef to be a distinct topping, just like in the photo, rather than boiled inside the soup.

1. Heat your large pot over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef.
2. Break it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Season generously with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika.
3. Cook until fully browned and crispy in spots.
4. Crucial Step: Remove the beef from the pot with a slotted spoon and set it aside on a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess grease. Leave about 1 tablespoon of the rendered beef fat in the pot for flavor.

Step 2: Sauté Aromatics and Create the Roux

1. Add the butter to the reserved beef fat in the pot over medium heat.
2. Add the diced onion (and celery/carrots if using). Cook for 5–7 minutes until softened and translucent. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute until fragrant.
3. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables. Stir constantly for about 2 minutes. This cooks out the raw flour taste. The mixture will look pasty; this is your roux.

Step 3: Simmer the Potatoes

1. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth a little at a time to prevent lumps from forming in the flour mixture.
2. Add the peeled and cubed potatoes.
3. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15–20 minutes. The potatoes are done when a fork pierces them easily without resistance.

Step 4: Cream and Mash

This step is where you define the texture seen in the image—thick, creamy, but with visible potato chunks on the spoon.

1. Once potatoes are tender, stir in the heavy cream and whole milk. Let it heat through (do not let it come to a rolling boil, or the dairy may curdle).
2. Turn off the heat. Stir in about half of your shredded cheddar cheese until melted into the base.
3. Texture Time: Take your potato masher and mash right inside the pot. Mash about 50% of the potatoes to thicken the broth, leaving the other 50% in distinct chunks.
   • Alternative: If you prefer a completely smooth soup, use an immersion blender, but be careful not to over-blend, which can make potatoes gummy.

Step 5: Assemble and Serve

1. Taste the soup. Potatoes need a lot of salt, so don’t be shy. Add salt and lots of freshly cracked black pepper.
2. Ladle the hot soup into serving bowls.
3. Top generously with the reserved browned ground beef, a mound of remaining shredded cheddar cheese, and sliced green onions. Serve immediately with crusty bread.

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Expert Tips for the Best Potato Soup 💡

1. The Importance of Salt Potatoes are notoriously bland on their own. They soak up salt like a sponge. If your soup tastes flat at the end, it almost certainly needs more salt. Add it gradually, tasting as you go.

2. Don’t Boil the Dairy Once you add the milk, cream, and cheese, keep the heat low. Boiling dairy can cause it to separate or become grainy, ruining that velvety texture we are aiming for.

3. The Consistency Fix If your soup is too thin after mashing, let it simmer uncovered on very low heat for another 10 minutes so some liquid evaporates. If it’s too thick (it will thicken significantly as it cools), splash in a little extra broth or milk until it reaches your desired consistency.

4. Bacon vs. Beef While the image specifically features ground beef, you can absolutely swap this for crispy bacon bits if you prefer the classic “loaded baked potato” flavor profile. You can even use both!

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Serving Suggestions 🍞

This soup is a meal on its own, but the right sides make it an experience.

• Crusty Bread: As shown in the photo, a thick slice of sourdough or a baguette is essential for scooping up the last drops of creamy goodness.
• Green Salad: A crisp, acidic green salad with a vinaigrette dressing helps cut through the richness of the cheesy potato soup.
• Roasted Broccoli: Serving roasted broccoli on the side (or even stirring it into the soup) adds nutrition and a nice textural contrast.

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Storage and Reheating 🧊

This soup stores wonderfully, making it great for meal prep.

• Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. The soup will thicken considerably when cold.
• Reheating: Reheat gently on the stovetop over medium-low heat. You will likely need to add a splash of milk or broth to loosen it back up to a soup consistency. Do not microwave on high power, as this can separate the dairy fat.
• Freezing: Potato soups can be tricky to freeze. Cream-based soups tend to separate when thawed, and potato chunks can sometimes become mealy. If you must freeze it, do so without the cheese and milk added, then add those fresh when reheating. However, for best results, enjoy this fresh from the fridge.

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FAQs 🤔

Q: Can I use russet potatoes instead of Yukon Golds? A: Yes. Russets are very starchy and will fall apart much easier than Yukons. This means you will have a naturally thicker soup without much mashing, but you will have fewer distinct chunks of potato left at the end.

Q: How can I make this lighter? A: To lighten it up, you can use half-and-half instead of heavy cream, use turkey bacon or ground turkey instead of beef, and use a 2% sharp cheddar. It won’t be quite as rich as the photo looks, but it will still be delicious.

Q: My cheese isn’t melting smoothly, it looks oily. Why? A: This usually happens for two reasons: either pre-shredded cheese was used (which has anti-caking agents), or the heat was too high when the cheese was added, causing the fats to separate. Always remove the pot from the heat source before stirring in the cheese.

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Try this cozy Loaded Ground Beef Potato Soup for your next dinner and let the comforting flavors warm you up from the inside out!

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