What is this Lighter Baked Potato Soup?
Take your classic baked potato soup, but make a couple key swaps, and you have this Lighter Baked Potato Soup recipe! It can easily be made on the stovetop or in a crockpot, making meal prep easy no matter what you have time for.
There is a creamy base to this soup, but it is made lighter by using 2% milk instead of cream and Neufchatel cheese instead of cream cheese. Then you can add all your favorite toppings to make it taste just like you want it to!
Baked potato soup is a classic meal that is perfect on any fall or winter day. It is a lighter version of the regular recipes, so it can still be enjoyed even after the holidays, when you might be wanting the cozy comfort but also something that isn’t going to weigh you down. Definitely keep reading and save this recipe for your next meal idea, it tastes indulgent but fits right into your realistic, everyday cooking!
Why You’ll Love This Lighter Baked Potato Soup Recipe
This soup is comforting and creamy without being loaded down with a ton of fat. Meals can be both! You do not have to sacrifice deliciousness and coziness because you want to reduce calories.
This meal is full of quick and easy swaps to make this a quick convenience meal or you can whip them up from scratch almost as easily when you get the hang of it. These easy swaps would be fresh-cut potatoes for frozen hash browns and condensed cream of chicken soup for the quick homemade version in the recipe. Here is a quick video on how to make a quick roux to help make the cream of chicken homemade. Either way, you are going to be so happy with this baked potato soup.
Another reason to love this recipe is that you can easily dump the ingredients into the crock pot to have a meal made for you. You get home, or you can dump them into a saucepan to make it a little quicker on the stove top, or if you are like me, you probably just forgot to start the crock pot meal in the 5 minutes you left yourself in the morning.
Dish everyone up a bowl of the soup and let them go crazy with the toppings so each person can make it just to their liking. Bacon bits, green onions, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and crackers are all top picks around our house. Or to keep it a lighter dish, you can skip most of those, and you will be so happy!
This is a creamy soup that will hold well in the fridge, and it also freezes well! If you are looking for super quick meal prep for later on, batch cooking the soup and then putting it in these silicone dishes to put in the freezer make for the easiest meal prep in the world. (Its an affiliate link, if you buy from it, I earn and sincerely thank you for supporting us!)
How to Make the Best Lighter Baked Potato Soup
You can use either cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese, depending on what you have on hand, it will be much lighter if you use the Neufchatel cheese.
Because this is a milk/dairy-based soup, you want to make sure not to scorch the milk. To do this, make sure to just let it sit and simmer on low heat. This will give it a chance to thicken up without changing the taste, texture, and will keep it a creamy smooth color.
If you accidentally make it too thick, you can thin it back down with a little more broth or a little more milk. Just stir it in and reheat so it is all nice and warm.
If, on the other hand, you want a creamier, thicker texture, take some of the potatoes and mash them up finely. This will help release the starches and you will get a thicker texture. Either way, it is delicious!
Meal Prep and Storage Tips for Lighter Baked Potato Soup
You can easily make this into a large batch of soup to make meal prep for the future. Portion out the soup and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.
If you want to store it longer than four days, I highly suggest freezing this using the single-serving portion containers you can find here. It will stay good in the freezer for about 2 months.
When you are ready to reheat it, if it is coming from the fridge, just pop it in the microwave for a couple of minutes, stirring every 30 seconds or so until it is hot enough to your liking. If you froze it, I would suggest thawing it a bit and then microwaving it. You could also put it in a pan on the stove top on low heat until you are ready to eat!
Other Recipes You Might Like
Lentil Soup – High Protein, Budget Friendly and Easy to Meal Prep
Classic Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup – Easy and Cozy Dinner Idea
Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas – Perfect for Busy Nights
Ingredients
Method
- If making your own cream of chicken (this is what I do) do this first, skip to putting ingredients into the crock pot.
- Measure out spices and put them in a handy cup nearby. Next, melt 4 T butter in a saucepan, and sprinkle in flour and seasonings until it is mixed in to create a roux. Pour in the milk and chicken broth slowly while whisking the roux to make a smooth consistency.
- Next, cook slowly until the soup is thickened.
- Once that is done, or if you are using canned start here.
- Pour hashbrowns into the crock pot. Next pour in 5 cups of chicken broth and the cream of chicken soup, chopped bacon, pepper, and salt. Let cook on low for 4 hours.
- Next, add the brick of cream cheese and let it melt.
- Stir in.
- Serve with additional toppings, bacon bits, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and green onion.