Name: Loaded Baked Potato Soup Recipe
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon unsalted butter; 4 thick-cut bacon slices (about 7 ounces), small dice; 1 medium yellow onion , small dice; 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth or stock; 4 cups (1 quart) whole milk; 1 tablespoon kosher salt , plus more as needed; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper , plus more as needed; 2 pounds russet potatoes , peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks; 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces), plus more for serving; 1/4 cup sour cream , plus more for serving; Finely chopped fresh chives or thinly sliced scallions, for serving

Why it works: Onion and potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Onion + potatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,023 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Chicken + potatotop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,756 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-decenal (green, must).
Potato + cheddar cheesetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together932 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, chicken, milk, pepper, potato, cheddar cheese, cream):

Capsicumfits about as well
Onionthe original
Tomatofits about as well
Asparagusfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, chicken, milk, pepper, potato, cheddar cheese, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Cheddar Cheese	1 oz (28g)	113
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bacon	1 slice cooked (8g)	43
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Chives	1 tbsp (3g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Loaded Baked Potato Soup Recipe