If you love creamy, savory baked potato soup, you're gonna love this Healthy Potato Soup recipe! Almond milk, low sodium chicken stock, Greek yogurt, and cheddar cheese give the dish a rich consistency sure to make it your favorite version of this classic soup!
Do you ever have those moments when you're eating at a restaurant and you're really enjoying whatever is in front of you...
Then, you think to yourself, "Aha! Why don't I try making this at home?!?"
Gotta love those glass-shattering moments when you recognize the possibilities of what you can do in your own kitchen, right?
Well, that was the case for me and this Healthy Potato Soup. Dustin and I are big fans of baked potato soup and often order it at restaurants.
I mean, what's not to love? You have tender baked potatoes, creamy cheddar cheese, crunchy bacon pieces, crisp sliced green onions and some sour cream...are you kidding me?
Problem is - what likely makes it so terrifically delicious at restaurants is all the butter and heavy cream they add to it.
So, instead, I made my own light version and it's still super good. There's not an ounce of heavy cream in this Healthy Potato Soup, which is more than I can likely say for most other recipes you'll find. Not that I am against cream, per se, but it does tend to make food less healthy. And me more, well. hefty.
I use unsweetened almond milk and chickpea flour to make the soup thick and delicious without the added fat of butter and cream. Adding chicken stock makes it flavorful and it combines with the milk and flour mixture to make the soup velvety smooth. You won't even notice leaving out the heavy cream – it's still as lusciously creamy as ever. I also use plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream to have more protein and less fat in the soup.
Grab a bowl of this (light and) hearty soup and enjoy!
WHICH POTATOES ARE BEST FOR HEALTHY POTATO SOUP?
I love a combination of russet and red potatoes. I cube them and always leave the skin on for added color, texture, and taste. Leaving the skin on keeps the nutrient count up, too. Russet potatoes are starchy and that helps the soup thicken. Baby potatoes are an option, as are yellow potatoes. Cut the potatoes evenly if you can, to ensure the same consistency in every bite.
HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY POTATO SOUP VEGAN OR DAIRY-FREE
This Healthy Potato Soup is easily changed to suit a vegan diet. Simply do the following:
- Leave the bacon out of the recipe entirely; when cooking the shallots and green onions, cook them in olive oil instead
- The recipe calls for chicken broth, which can be replaced by vegetable broth
- The plain Greek yogurt can be swapped out for a plant-based yogurt
- The cheddar cheese can be replaced by a vegan cheese
HOW TO STORE AND REHEAT HEALTHY BAKED POTATO SOUP
Keep leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. The soup can be reheated in the microwave, stirring every now and then to distribute the heat evenly. Heating the leftover Healthy Potato Soup on the stove is another option. Again, stir until heated through to make sure it does not scorch on the bottom of the pan.
CAN YOU FREEZE HEALTHY BAKED POTATO SOUP?
You can freeze Healthy Potato Soup, but the texture will change and won’t be quite as creamy. As long as you know to expect that the soup will be grainier and may separate, you’re good to go. Soups made with non-dairy milk like coconut milk, do fare a bit better when frozen but still aren’t as good as fresh or refrigerated soup.
HOW TO MAKE BAKED POTATO SOUP HEALTHY
This recipe is super good-for-you without sacrificing any of the creamy, savory taste. It’s a yummy, clean-eating soup at its best!
- The cream (used for thickening) is replaced by chickpea flour, plain Greek yogurt, and almond milk
- Regular flour is swapped out for chickpea flour
- The soup is creamy by using almond milk and chicken broth instead of heavy cream
- Regular bacon is always replaced with a nitrate- and nitirite-free brand (My fave is Pedersen's)
- Plain Greek yogurt replaces milk and sour cream
MORE HEALTHY SOUP RECIPES
I adore soup! A heaping bowl of goodness is so satisfying. And you can’t beat the delicious smell of a pot of soup cooking on the stove. ← Pure deliciousness! Here are more of my favorite healthy soup recipes:
- Healthy Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
- Cream of Tomato Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
- Roasted Acorn Squash Soup
- Easy Cream of Broccoli Soup
Healthy Baked Potato Soup
Equipment
- Stock Pot or Large Deep Skillet
*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Ingredients
- 2 medium russet potatoes, cubed with skin
- 2 medium red potatoes, cubed with skin
- 7 strips nitrite- and nitrate-free bacon diced
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 4 green onions chopped, plus more for garnish
- 3 tablespoon chickpea flour
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk
- 2 ½ cups low sodium chicken broth
- ¾ cup full fat plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup cheddar cheese grated
- optional toppings dollop greek yogurt, sliced green onions, grated cheddar cheese, bacon crumbles
Instructions
- Wash the potatoes, place all in a large, unzipped plastic bag along with 1-2 tbsp. water and lay in the microwave (so the top of the bag is not spilling the water out into the microwave, but is mostly closed). Microwave on high for 8-12 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender when you gently squeeze them (using a dish towel so as not to burn your hands). Carefully remove from microwave and then the plastic bag. Be very careful for the steam. Once cool enough to touch, dice into cubes and then set aside.
- Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add and cook diced bacon until crisp, but not burnt. Remove bacon.
- Drain all but about 1 tbsp. of the bacon drippings from the pot. Add the shallot and cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic and green onions and cook 2 more minutes.
- Add the bacon, salt, basil, oregano, thyme, pepper.
- Whisk together the unsweetened almond milk and chickpea flour.
- Stir in the almond milk and chickpea flour mixture, chicken stock and heat through until thickened.
- Add the plain Greek yogurt and cheddar cheese and stir to dissolve. Add the cubed potatoes and heat through.
- Season to taste.
- Garnish with optional toppings (grated cheddar cheese, bacon crumbles, dollop of plain Greek yogurt, or sliced green onions).
Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links for products I use regularly and highly recommend.
Kristy S
Hi Lacey,
I was going over the instructions of the recipe and it doesn’t say where to add the chickpea flour, where should I add this ingredient in the recipe? I don’t have the chickpea flour in my pantry right now though, so would it be OK to replace it with cornstarch or flour?
Thanks,
Kristy
Lacey Baier
Hey Kristy! I updated the recipe to make that step clearer for ya. If you don't have chickpea flour, arrowroot starch would work best, but cornstarch would work too! Or whole wheat pastry flour 🙂
Dustin
Sounds so good. I miss having this weekly lol.
Lacey Baier
Yea, so good!!
Barb
Dear Lacey...
I just made your soup the other day and was it ever wonderful!!! I so enjoy your website... I'm looking forward to this weekend, and am going to make your ginger snap and chocolate chip cookies. From one cook to another.. thank-you 🙂
lacey - a sweet pea chef
Hi Barb! Oh, you are so very, very welcome!! I'm happy to hear you enjoyed the soup and I'm so excited for you to try the ginger cookies and choc chip cookies 🙂
Thank you for your support!! 🙂
Rhonda
I made a different recipe last night, and noticed that when i added the cheddar to my soup at the end, it did not melt really well. I could see little clumps in the soup. What did I do wrong?
lacey - a sweet pea chef
Rhonda, maybe you didn't sprinkle it in slowly enough and wait for it to melt before adding more? Or maybe the cheese was in too large of chunks?
Erica
Yummy! Made this for dinner tonight and it turned out great!
Lacey Baier
Yay! So glad to hear it, Erica 🙂
Nancy Deible
I made your Baked Potato soup last night for my husband and I and it was supberb! I brought the left overs to work for lunch and it was great re-heated. I would like to send you some recipes--would you like that?
Lacey Baier
Sounds good, Nancy! Thanks for the feedback on this recipe 🙂
Jessica
We made this soup tonight for dinner and it was super delicious!!! I said that it was the best baked potato soup I've had and the BF said that it was the best SOUP he's ever had. Thank you for sharing the wonderful recipe!
Lacey Baier
WOOHOO! That makes me so happy to hear, Jessica!
Jessica
Made this recipe last night, it was delicious! My whole family raved about it! Thanks, Lacey 🙂
lacey - a sweet pea chef
Yay! You're very welcome, Jessica.
Stephanie
Lacey,
I made this soup yesterday and fed it to 4 kids ages 5-9 and they all loved the soup! (like licked the bowl clean love). My husband worked late so I left a bowl in the fridge for him. When he came to bed he woke me up to tell me the soup was the BOMB. In fact he asked me if I can bring him a bowl to work for lunch today. Thank you and I appreciate you sharing your recipes with us. They are all delicious.
lacey - a sweet pea chef
Oh, I'm so happy to hear what a success the soup was for the entire family, Stephanie. Thank you for sharing 🙂
NanaBread (Jeanne)
I love a great bowl of potato soup, and this one looks so good I can almost taste it just looking at your photos. You've done it again, Lacey. I'm putting this one on my 'to do' list.
lacey - a sweet pea chef
Glad to have done it again, Jeanne! Enjoy 🙂