This Loaded Baked Potato Soup recipe is straight from Disneyland’s Carnation Cafe! It tastes just like the one we love to enjoy on Main Street, U.S.A.
Loaded Baked Potato Soup from Disneyland’s Carnation Cafe
This potato soup recipe from Disneyland’s Carnation Cafe is comfort food in a bowl. You are in for the ultimate treat when you make this recipe. Can’t wait for you to enjoy it!
Be sure to try my Homemade Monte Cristo recipe from Cafe Orleans and Blue Bayou too! Follow Picky Palate on Instagram for daily recipe inspiration.
What You’ll Need
- bacon– You’ll need to cook fresh bacon for this recipe, it adds the flavor base of the soup.
- onion– White onion works great here. Finely chopped.
- carrot– Wash, peel and dice carrots for the soup.
- celery– Wash and dice celery the same size as the carrots.
- russet potatoes– Wash and peel russet potatoes for the soup.
- red potatoes– Red potatoes add another layer of texture and flavor.
- all-purpose flour– You’ll use flour to make the roux for the soup.
- chicken broth– Look for a low-sodium chicken broth.
- heavy whipping cream– Heavy whipping cream adds richness and flavor.
- chives– You’ll use chives to garnish the tops of the soup.
- shredded cheese– Mild cheddar works great here.
How To Make Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Cook bacon in a large 5-6 quart pot over medium heat. Cook and stir until crisped.
- Remove bacon and place onto a paper towel lined plate to drain.
- Add onion, carrot and celery to hot oil, stirring and cooking until fork tender, about 5-8 minutes.
- Whisk in flour, stirring until well combined, letting cook for a few minutes.
- Stir in chicken broth and half of the bacon, stirring to combine.
- Add diced potatoes, salt, pepper and garlic salt, stirring to combine. Let potatoes cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes.
- With the back of a fork, mash most of the potatoes and vegetables, this creates a thick, creamy soup base.
- Stir in cream and let warm on low-medium heat for 15 minutes.
- Reduce heat to simmer until ready to serve.
- Serve each cup of soup topped with shredded cheese, remaining bacon crumbles, and chives or green onion.
Once you’ve transferred the cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate, start cooking the onion, carrot and celery in the hot bacon fat. Takes a good 5-8 minutes until they’re fork tender.
Stir in the salt, salt, pepper and garlic salt. Stir until combined and thickened.
Add in chicken broth.
Add both Russet and red potatoes, plus half of the cooked bacon, stirring to combine and letting cook in liquid until fork tender as well. Takes close to 15 minutes, stirring often. I found it helpful to dice my potatoes into small pieces, all close to the same size so they cook quickly. Another note, the recipe called for 4 large Russet potatoes and I only ended up using 3 of them. The recipe also called for 4 medium red potatoes and I used 6 small ones. You’ll see when you start adding them to the liquid in this step, how many feels right. If you put too many diced potatoes here, they won’t have much liquid to cook in. Eyeball it and add what feels appropriate which will be dependent on the size of the potatoes.
When potatoes are fork tender, take a fork and mash most of them to create a thick soup base. I did leave some chunky potatoes.
Slowly stir in the heavy whipping cream. The original recipe called for 4 cups and I felt very happy with 3 cups. The soup was still nice and thick without too much liquid. Some people also will substitute 2 cups chicken broth/2 cups heavy cream. There are a few options for you. Note….this soup is very rich! It’s incredible, but will be made on special occasions going forward 🙂 It’s definitely worth celebrating with.
Cook the soup on low-medium until the cream is combined and soup is nice and hot. Reduce to low heat and simmer until ready to serve. Be sure to stir often as the cream will set slightly if not.
How To Serve Loaded Baked Potato Soup?
- Serve the soup with your favorite baked potato toppings such as shredded cheddar cheese, the remaining cooked bacon and we love chopped chives or green onion.
- Another topping idea is sour cream if desired.
I honestly was transported right to Main Street, U.S.A. with this beautiful Loaded Baked Potato Soup recipe from Carnation Cafe. Hope you enjoy!
How To Store Leftovers
Store any leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat as needed.
Loaded Baked Potato Soup, Disneyland Recipe from Carnation Cafe
Equipment
- Stove
- Dutch Oven
- cutting board
- chef knife
- vegetable peeler
- measuring spoons
- measuring cups
- mixing spoon
Ingredients
- 1 pound bacon chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 medium white onion finely chopped
- 1 large carrot peeled and diced
- 3/4 cup celery diced
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- 3 large Russet Potatoes peeled and diced
- 6 small red potatoes diced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon Lawry's Garlic Salt
- 3 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped chives or green onion
Instructions
- Cook bacon in a large 5-6 quart pot over medium heat. Cook and stir until crisped. Remove bacon and place onto a paper towel lined plate to drain. Add onion, carrot and celery to hot oil, stirring and cooking until fork tender, about 5-8 minutes. Whisk in flour, stirring until well combined, letting cook for a few minutes. Stir in chicken broth and half of the bacon, stirring to combine. Add diced potatoes, salt, pepper and garlic salt, stirring to combine. Let potatoes cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes. With the back of a fork, mash most of the potatoes and vegetables, this creates a thick, creamy soup base. Stir in cream and let warm on low-medium heat for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to simmer until ready to serve. Serve each cup of soup topped with shredded cheese, remaining bacon crumbles, and chives or green onion.
I love this recipe, but is there any way to get the weighted amounts for the potatoes? I feel like I always have too many, or not enough…
I made it today for my family on Thanksgiving it was a huge hit and by far the best side dish of the evening. Thanks Jenny.
So glad to hear that! Hope you had a beautiful Thanksgiving!
I just made this for my family tonight and it was amazing! Honestly, one of the best tasting soups I’ve made and totally took us back to Disneyland!
My family and I love love eating some loaded potato at Disneyland and now, we can have it at home thanks to your recipe! Thank you! My family really enjoyed it. Is there anyway to make this in a crockpot? Thanks once again!
Delicious! I’ve eaten at Carnation Cafe but have never tried their soup. It was quite thick so I added a bit more broth. I bet the leftovers will be even better tomorrow!
Delicious!! We’ll definitely make this again.
Thank you! Made this on a snowy day yesterday. So delicious!! Thanks for all you do!
It was so simple to make. I substituted the bacon and used turkey bacon instead, and it was still just as amazing. Pure deliciousness. 🙂