This creamy, extra cheesy ranch potato soup is flavored with ranch seasoning and topped with bacon. This soup serves up hearty and filling ingredients with a delicious, kid-friendly flavor. It’s getting cold outside so it’s the perfect weather for soup. Let’s get cooking!
Don’t peel those skins
I consider soup a one-pot meal. I want everything in the large soup pot and I’m not interested in making a veggie side or washing additional pots and pans. That means I want to fit as many nutrients into the soup as I can, to ensure my family’s getting a hearty and heathy meal. This leads me to the potato skins…
When did peeling potato skins become a thing? Did you know that there is actually tons of nutrients in the skins? Vitamin C, magnesium, iron…just to name a few. A friend of mine calls the potato skins the “nutrition jacket” and I think that’s a great name for the tasty ingredient that gets thrown in the garbage far too often. Potato skins are a MUST in this bacon ranch potato soup recipe because they thicken it up without using flour and I like my potato soup thick and filling. Plus, this flourless potato soup is gluten free!
Run the potatoes under cold water and give them a scrub with a vegetable brush or a kitchen towel before popping them into the soup. Once they’re clean, chop them up and throw everything in…nutrition jacket and all!
Chicken bacon ranch potato soup
Prepare a chicken bacon ranch variation of this soup by making a few simple modifications. You have a few options…
- Add about a cup of shredded, store-bought rotisserie chicken during the last couple of minutes of cook time. This is my favorite method because it’s simple and the chicken is perfectly tender.
- If you’re using raw chicken, I suggest adding it to the broth/water mixture about 10-15 minutes before adding the potatoes, to ensure it cooks thoroughly. If the chicken breast pieces are larger you’ll want to cut them in half. Simmer the chicken breasts on medium for about 35-40 minutes total (10-15 minutes without the potatoes and 25 minutes with the potatoes). Remove the chicken breasts pieces before adding the ranch seasoning and cream cheese. Allow the chicken to cool while you finish preparing the soup. Once the chicken has cooled, shred it and add it to the soup during the last couple of minutes of cook time.
Prepare a vegetarian version of this cheesy ranch potato soup using a few simple modifications
- Skip the bacon and sauté the onion in two tablespoons of olive oil or butter.
- Season the soup using a vegan bacon seasoning like Deliciou. If the seasoning has salt in it, you may need to reduce the amount of ranch dip/seasoning mix that you use. The amount of salt in ranch seasonings and bacon seasonings varies quite a bit. I recommend waiting to add the ranch seasoning and bacon seasoning until the end and add a little at a time until you reach the desired flavor.
- If you can’t find bacon salt at your local grocery store or online, you can experiment with three vegetarian ingredients that deliver big bacon flavor when they’re combined. I like to add a little maple syrup, soy sauce and smoked paprika to tofu to create a TLT (tofu BLT) or to homemade ranch dressing or to soups, like this one!
- If you like potato soup toppings as much as I do, you’ll need a replacement for the crumbled bacon so save a few tablespoons of shredded cheddar and add it as a topping, along with chives, before serving. If you’re craving the crunch, try topping each serving with a handful of tortilla strips or crumbled tortilla chips.
Try this cheesy ranch potato soup in the slow cooker
If your slow cooker has a sauté setting, you can cook the bacon and onions directly in your crock pot. If it doesn’t have a sauté setting, you’ll need to cook them in a pan on the stovetop. Crumble the bacon and pop it into the fridge while your soup cooks. In addition to the sautéed onion, you’ll add the chicken broth, water and potatoes to the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
Once the soup is finished cooking, cut your cream cheese into 4 pieces (to ensure it melts) and drop it into your slow cooker along with the ranch dip/seasoning mix and shredded Mexican cheese. Stir with a whisk until combined. Add black pepper to taste. Top each serving with the crumbled bacon and optional chives or green onions.
Looking for more tasty soup recipes? We’ve got you covered.
Cheesy Ranch Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 8 ounces bacon
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 3 lbs Russet potatoes chopped
- 1.25 oz packet of ranch dip/seasoning mix
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese or shredded Mexican cheese blend
- salt and black pepper to taste
- Thinly sliced chives or green onions optional garnish
Instructions
- Place bacon in a dutch oven or large pot and cook until crispy. Remove the cooked bacon (leaving the bacon grease in the pot) from the pot and set aside.
- Sauté chopped onions in the bacon grease for 4-5 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, water and potatoes and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer on medium for about 25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
- Once the potatoes are tender, add the ranch dip/seasoning mix and cream cheese. Continue to simmer on medium heat while stirring with a whisk until thoroughly combined.
- For a chunky potato soup, use a potato masher to rough mash the potatoes. For a creamier soup, use an immersion blender or transfer to a food processor and blend until creamy.
- Add the cheddar cheese and stir until combined. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
- Crumble the cooked bacon and add about one tablespoon to the top of each serving along with optional fresh chives.
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