8 Restaurant Chains That Serve the Best Potato Soup
Comfort food cravings can take you in many directions—pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, microwaved ramen noodles. While all of those can be soothing on a bad day or a cold night, there's something especially healing about a warming bowl of soup. Maybe that's because it triggers a memory of being sick and cared for as a child, or perhaps it's just that warm feeling in the belly.
Soup alone is comforting, but soup made from one of the hardest-working comfort ingredients out there is even more so. We're talking about the mighty spud, a good source of fiber, vitamin C, and potassium. Add cream, shredded cheese, and maybe some bacon, and you've got a top-tier, warming, satiating soup for (usually) not much money.
Now that you're craving potato in soup form, dive into our list of restaurants around the U.S. that serve the best potato soup, including loaded baked potato and Irish style. Here's where to get your fix.
Note that all nutrition information is for a cup of soup or the smallest size available.
Café Zupas
Founded in Provo, Utah, in 2004, Café Zupas promises a focus on fresh ingredients. The chain has grown to 55 locations around the U.S., and its Southwestern potato and green chili soup is a big hit on the menu, spawning copycat recipes. The creamy soup has a mild, flavorful spice from the green chile that dresses everything from burgers to enchiladas in the Southwest.
Chili's
With more than 1,200 locations nationwide, Chili's is clearly well-loved by Americans. The restaurant has a robust soup menu, with baked potato soup an ongoing favorite (it, too, has spawned copycat recipes). This comforting, creamy soup is studded with potatoes and garnished with bacon, chopped chives, and cheddar cheese.
Culver's
When you think of this Wisconsin-founded chain, you might dream of ButterBurgers and fresh frozen custard. Still, the popular fast food restaurant also offers a selection of soups, including potato with bacon. Served in the restaurant's recognizable blue and white packaging, this soup is less creamy and more broth-forward than some of the other soups on this list, but it's packed with hunks of potato and bacon. Get it with a chicken cashew salad for a complete meal.
Jason's Deli
With 250 delis in 28 states, including Alabama, Colorado, and Pennsylvania, Jason's makes it easy to cure the potato soup cravings. Its Irish potato soup, studded with bacon, cheddar cheese, and chives, has been known to come and go on the menu, so check with your local restaurant before heading over. According to a copycat recipe, the soup starts with a cheddar cheese sauce as the base, which is its secret to being so creamy and rich.
Longhorn Steakhouse
Creamy is a word that's often used when describing potato soup, but it's particularly apt for Longhorn's loaded potato soup. The perfect starter before a properly cooked filet mignon or rib-eye, this silky smooth potato soup is topped with bacon bits, aged cheddar, and sliced green onion.
Outback Steakhouse
Loaded with chunks of potato, onions, heavy cream, butter, and—of course—bacon, Outback's baked potato soup is an ideal warming dish for a cold winter night (or if you've been in an air-conditioned space all day). With more than 600 Outback locations around the country, there's probably a restaurant near you. Pair it with some Gold Coast coconut shrimp, and you have a meal, or have it as a starter before one of Outback's well-seasoned steaks.
Potbelly Sandwich Works
Named after the potbelly stoves families once gathered around for warmth and meals, the sandwich shop with more than 400 locations aims to be a welcoming space for a good meal. One such meal is the loaded baked potato soup. It's a hearty potato soup topped with the traditional combination of bacon, cheddar cheese, and green onions. Potbelly offers a pick-your-pair menu, where you can pair a soup with a half sandwich or salad. Try it with the chain's farmhouse or apple walnut salads.
Zoup!
Established in 1997, this Michigan-based chain specializes in fresh, flavorful soups and broths in its roughly 70 locations across the U.S. and Canada. Each location has a rotating selection of 12 daily soups, often including a buttery loaded baked potato soup with all the fixings: cheese, sour cream, scallions, and bacon. You're more likely to find this soup in the colder months, so check before you head to your local restaurant.
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