Bennigan’s Ultimate Baked Potato Soup

Bennigan’s ultimate baked potato soup is a delicious creamy soup packed full of potatoes and cheese and topped with all of the goodies that are served with baked potatoes.

This recipe for baked potato soup is very easy to make. You can prepare this comforting soup in no time flat.

A bowl of copycat Bennigan's ultimate baked potato soup.


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Bennigan’s Potato Soup

Bennigan’s Restaurant really knows how to put together a baked potato soup. This soup is creamy, rich, and hearty. You really can make an entire meal out of this soup. Serve this soup with either a sandwich or even a nice crusty piece of bread with lots of butter.

About Bennigan’s Restaurants

Bennigan’s, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is an Irish pub themed chain of restaurants, once owned by the Pillsbury Corporation. The chain is much smaller than it once was. There are still a few restaurants operating in the US plus some international locations.

Its unique aim is to “provide guests with the kind of genuine, warm, and high-spirited services you’d experience in a neighborhood Emerald Isle pub”. So naturally, they have potato soup on their menu.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

If you’ve ever been to Ireland, then you know that soup is a staple food, as are potatoes. Bennigan’s Ultimate Baked Potato Soup is a hearty bowl of goodness that can warm your bones on a cold or rainy night.

This soup is creamy and rich even though it is made with milk and not cream.

Why Bennigan’s Is An Unforgettable Potato Soup Recipe

This isn’t a bland potato soup in the slightest! When you bite into this, you’ll feel like you’re eating a delicious baked potato piled high with cheese, bacon, scallions, onions, and more.

Each ingredient plays a significant part in the soup’s flavor and texture! Of course, this soup has more body than a regular baked potato, which is why it is such an appreciated menu item at Bennigan’s.

Why We Love This Potato Soup

I adore this soup recipe because of its versatility! You can serve it in many ways and add other toppings that you like to add to your baked potatoes. It is such an easy recipe to customize.

Nevertheless, I love making it just like the restaurant. Moreover, the most time-consuming part is preparing and baking the potatoes, which you can do in advance. The actual process of making the soup is super quick and easy.

This soup is creamy and rich even though it is made with milk and not cream.

Ingredients

Here’s a list of what you need:

  • Potatoes
  • Butter
  • All-purpose flour
  • Onions
  • Garlic
  • Chicken broth
  • Milk
  • Salt
  • Black Pepper
  • Shredded Cheddar cheese
  • Bacon crumbles
  • Scallions
Copycat Bennigan's ultimate baked potato soup ingredients on a tray.

How to Make Baked Potato Soup

  1. Bake potatoes at 400°F for one hour or until tender when pierced with a fork.
  2. Peel potatoes when cool enough to handle.
  3. Melt butter in a 4 to 6-quart pot over medium-low heat.
  4. Stir in onions and garlic, cover, and sauté until softened, but not browned.
  5. Add flour, stir, and cook for one minute to get rid of the raw flour taste.
  6. Add two-thirds of the potatoes and mash with a potato masher.
  7. Add broth, milk, salt, and pepper to the potato mixture.
  8. Bring to a low simmer, stirring occasionally.
  9. Chop the remaining potatoes into small cubes.
  10. Add the potato bite size pieces to the soup and stir gently.
  11. Cook until cut potatoes are warmed through.
  12. Sprinkle each serving with cheese, bacon, and scallions.

CopyKat Tip: If you are crunched for time, try baking your potatoes in the microwave by following the manufacturer’s instructions. Many new microwave ovens now feature a baked potato button.

Copycat Bennigan's ultimate baked potato soup topped with bacon, cheese, and green onions.

What to Serve with This Baked Potato Soup

My version of Bennigan’s Ultimate Baked Potato Soup can be served as an appetizer to a grilled or smoked steak dinner or as a lunch with a side sandwich or a crusty, buttered piece of baguette.

Luckily, it works with so many different foods that you don’t have to think too hard about what will taste good with it! It also tastes phenomenal if you make a soup and salad combo because the salad’s refreshing ingredients contrast the rich soup.

How to Store Bennigan’s Potato Soup

This potato soup is best if you enjoy it within 3-5 days after making it! To correctly store it, wait for the soup to reach room temperature. Then, transfer it to a clean, airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator.

How to Freeze Bennigan’s Potato Soup

If you want to extend the shelf life of the soup, you can certainly freeze it. It says fresh up to 6 months, and the good news is that potato soup reheats quite well!

You can freeze the bacon pieces and soup separately so their textures turn out right when you reheat it. Make sure the soup is in a sealed container. The bacon can go in a Ziploc freezer bag!

What Is The Best Way To Reheat Loaded Baked Potato Soup?

I like reheating my soup on the stovetop, but the microwave works just as well. If you notice that the soup thickened up after it cooled, you can add a splash of milk to loosen its consistency.

Copycat Bennigan's ultimate baked potato soup in a bowl.

More Potato Soup Recipes

Favorite Soup Recipes

Love Bennigan’s? Try these copycat recipes!

Be sure to check out more of my healthy soup recipes and the best copycat restaurant recipes here on CopyKat.com!

A bowl of copycat Bennigan's ultimate baked potato soup.

Bennigan’s Ultimate Baked Potato Soup

Make Bennigan’s Ultimate Baked Potato Soup just like you remembered.
5 from 25 votes
Print Pin Rate Add to Collection
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Bennigan’s Ultimate Baked Potato Soup
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 250kcal

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds potatoes scrubbed and pierced in several places
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped onions
  • 1 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 14.5 ounces chicken broth
  • 3 cups milk
  • 1 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 teaspoons pepper

Garnish

  • 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup crumbled bacon
  • 1/2 cup chopped scallions

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake potatoes 1 hour or until tender when pierced. Peel when cool enough to handle.
  •  Melt butter in a 4 to 6-quart pot over medium-low heat. Stir in onions and garlic, cover and cook 10 minutes until soft, but not brown. Add flour to the melted butter and allow to cook for 1 minute. 
  • Add 2/3 of the potatoes and mash with a potato masher. Add broth, milk, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Season to taste before serving. 
  • Cut remaining potatoes in small cubes. Add to soup and stir gently to reheat. Sprinkle each serving with toppings. 

Nutrition

Calories: 250kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 629mg | Potassium: 910mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 415IU | Vitamin C: 25.6mg | Calcium: 219mg | Iron: 5.9mg

This recipe was adapted from a Woman’s Day Magazine recipe spotted by fellow viewer Christina.

About Stephanie Manley

I recreate your favorite restaurant recipes, so you can prepare these dishes at home. I help you cook dinner, and serve up dishes you know your family will love. You can find most of the ingredients for all of the recipes in your local grocery store.

Stephanie is the author of CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home, and CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home 2.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Christine

    5 stars
    I love this recipe! Did you mean 250 kcal or calories? That works out to about 250000 cal if you convert in an online calculator.

  2. Jkollar

    After I read the comments from this recipe I still went ahead and made the soup.
    Onion, garlic and chicken broth I cut in half.
    I also made a rue from the beginning with 4 Tablespoons of butter and 1/4 cup flour. I add the onion and garlic to melted butter, cooked for a bit then slowly add flour and whisk until smooth and allowed to cook for a couple minutes. Then I added the milk and as I was heating it up I added the potatoes and mashed. Whisk ..Add broth, salt and pepper to ur liking then the cubed potatoes.
    Came out thick and everyone enjoyed it

  3. Thomas Hill

    Baked potatoes to serve the guests. Unsold potatoes the next day were scooped out for the potato soup. The remaining skins made the potato skin apps. Bennigan’s Baked Potato Soup was the only soup I enjoyed.

  4. Former Soup Nazi Employee

    I worked for the company that pre-made Benigan’s Baked Potato Soup. A company in St. Louis Park Minnesota called Now Foods. Truely NOT made at the resturant but re heated there. SImply the BEST potato soup I’ve ever had! Made to their percise recipe this was my favorite! I took many a test bag home for many cold MInnesota winter meals. Ever soup, chili. borsch and all made at Now Foods for the resturants et al. was made with love, care and the best, freshest ingredience (sp). I miss that job 20 yrs. later. Superior quality!

    • Melissa

      I worked at Bennigans for 3 yrs and saw the soup made from scratch…DAILY. No premade soup in my location ever. The GM himself showed me how easy this was to whip up in 20 minutes with already made baked potatoes.

      • Cindy

        Agreed- I was a prep cook at Bennigan’s (tho over 25 years ago) and we always made the soup from scratch. Wish I had written down the recipe then…

      • Bob

        You are all right. Although the baked potatoes were scooped but not served as skins. The bakers were 80 count. The skins were 120. The soup was made in house until the mid 90s when we stopped scooping the potatoes for skins and started bringing them in pre scooped. The original recipe had ham and chicken base in it but this one looks pretty close.

  5. Sue

    Never saw your site before. What a great idea! I am always saying I would love to make something from a restaurant that I’ve enjoyed. Do you have the Olive Garden’s minestrone?

  6. Sue

    Never saw your site before. What a great idea! I am always saying I would love to make something from a restaurant that I’ve enjoyed. Do you have the Olive Garden’s minestrone?

  7. Potato Soup Lover

    This reminded me of Bennigan’s when there was still a Bennigans around. Blarney that you closed all of your restaurants where I live!

  8. E Christell

    It wasn’t like bennigan’s and I wouldn’t go as far as to call it AWESOME, but it’s not too bad. I would suggest adding a little seasoned salt to give it more flavor. It says simmer but doesn’t give a specific amount of time, but I let it simmer until it thickened then added the potato cubes.

  9. Stacy Barnes

    I dont know if it was pure Bennigans, but it sure was delicious. I made it for my husband. He requested potato soup for dinner tonight and I have never made it before. I used this recipe and he said it was AWESOME. It sure was tasty. Enjoy!

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