Baked Potato Soup

Best Soup. "This recipe was originally for our Lighten Up column. Most everyone was happy with it the first time we tried it, but I knew the soup could be better. The soup originally used fat-free sour cream, which I felt gave it a too-tart taste. After tweaking a few ingredients, the recipe now calls for reduced-fat sour cream, and we all are much happier with the results." --Recipe by Ann Taylor Pittman (October 2002)

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups soup, 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons onions, and about 1 tablespoon bacon)

Ingredients

• 4  baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• 2/3  cup  all-purpose flour (about 3 ounces)
• 6  cups  2% reduced-fat milk
• 1  cup  (4 ounces) reduced-fat shredded extrasharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1  cup  reduced-fat sour cream
• 3/4  cup  chopped green onions, divided
• 6  bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
• Cracked black pepper (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel potatoes; coarsely mash.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flour in a large Dutch oven; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes). Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.

Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated (do not boil). Ladle 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 8 bowls. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese, 1 1/2 teaspoons onions, and about 1 tablespoon bacon. Garnish with cracked pepper, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

329 (30% from fat)

Fat:

10.8g (sat 5.9g,mono 3.5g,poly 0.7g)

Protein:

13.6g

Carbohydrate:

44.5g

Fiber:

2.8g

Cholesterol:

38mg

Iron:

1.1mg

Sodium:

587mg

Calcium:

407mg