An easy and delicious creamy potato soup recipe that can be made in just one pot! Loaded with bacon and creamy potato goodness, this is a favorite comfort food in my household.
Something savory today!
Savory, creamy, and loaded with bacon, sour cream, and cheese. You guys already know that we don’t exactly do health food around here, right? 😉
Even when I’m not sharing desserts, the food is always comfort food, and that’s usually best served with extra cheese (have you tried my baked mac and cheese yet!?) and usually comes with a few calories. Let’s not think about that too much, alright?
I know I mentioned to you guys that I had this potato soup recipe for you back when I posted my Oreo Balls; I made it when Zach had a bad cold and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since (you might think that’s an exaggeration, but I can assure you that my food obsessions run deep… Please see photo below to understand why).
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Zach prefers to eat healthy most of the time (I pretend that I do, too, but really if I lived alone I’m pretty sure I’d eat creamy cheesy foods every night and never fit through any doors ever again), so the soup was a good break from baked chicken breast, but this definitely isn’t an every night kind of meal in our house.
Potato soup is definitely on the menu for this weekend, though… it’s so frigid outside I’ve convinced myself that I need soup, specifically creamy potato soup, to survive. Potato soup makes me dramatic, evidently.
If you’re in the midst of a cold spell yourself (or even if you’re not) I think you’re going to enjoy this creamy potato soup as much as we do. Read on for some tips on how to make it!
Tips for Perfect Creamy Potato Soup
- Cut your potatoes into pieces no larger than ¾″ and try to keep them around the same size so that they cook at the same time. Nothing worse than biting into a crisp, raw-inside chunk of potato!
- To make this soup nice and creamy, I recommend pureeing about half of it either by using an immersion blender or by transferring a portion of the soup to a blender, pureeing, and then stirring the pureed soup back into the pot (maybe you recognize this technique from my corn chowder). If you want a completely smooth soup you can puree all of it, but I prefer to have a few actual pieces of potato, so I think pureeing half gives it the best taste and texture.
- Don’t return the bacon to the pot until after you have pureed some of the soup. It’s best not to blend the bacon 😉.
- The ancho chili powder is, in my humble opinion, a must and gives this soup the most perfect depth of flavor. I blend it into the potato soup and also sprinkle it on top before serving. I recommend adding just a ¼ teaspoon and then taste testing before adding more.
This would make a great comfort food for this cold and windy weekend (is there anything more cozy than a pot of soup simmering on the stove while the wind is howling at your window? Anything!?), and while I don’t follow football at all I do know that this would be great to make ahead and enjoy during the big game this weekend.
Who really cares about football when you can make yourself a Super Bowl of soup! 🤣😂 OK OK I’m sorry, enough of that!
Enjoy!
How to Make Potato Soup
The Ultimate Potato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 strips (uncooked) bacon cut into small pieces
- 3 Tablespoons butter unsalted or salted will work
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped (about 1.5 cup/200g)
- 3 large garlic cloves minced
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (42g)
- 2 ½ lbs gold potatoes peeled and diced into pieces no larger than 1” (this was about 6 Large potatoes for me/1.15kg)
- 4 cups chicken broth (945ml)
- 2 cups milk (475ml)
- ⅔ cup heavy cream (155ml)
- 1 ½ teaspoon* salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon ancho chili powder**
- ⅔ cup sour cream (160g)
- Shredded cheddar cheese, chives, and additional sour cream and bacon for topping optional
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Place bacon pieces in a large Dutch Oven or soup pot over medium heat and cook until bacon is crisp and browned.
- Remove bacon pieces and set aside, leaving the fat in the pot.
- Add butter and chopped onion and cook over medium heat until onions are tender (3-5 minutes).
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
- Sprinkle the flour over the ingredients in the pot and stir until smooth (use whisk if needed).
- Add diced potatoes to the pot along with chicken broth, milk, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and ancho chili powder. Stir well.
- Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork (about 10 minutes).
- Reduce heat to simmer and remove approximately half*** of the soup to a blender (be careful, it will be hot!) and puree until smooth (half is about 5 cups of soup, but just eyeballing the amount will be fine. Alternatively you can use an immersion blender.).
- Return the pureed soup to the pot and add sour cream and reserved bacon pieces, stir well.
- Allow soup to simmer for 15 minutes before serving.
- Top with additional sour cream, bacon, cheddar cheese, or chives. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Keke
All I can say is OMG! First time making this type of soup and it’s Delicious I’m hooked! I followed recipe with exception of about 1/2 tsp ancho chili powder and I added green onions and a bit of cheese on top! Also super easy to make but I prepped the onions and potatoes the day before.
JCW
Well written and easy to follow recipe. The family liked it and even my picky eater grandson thought it was good. It’s a one time recipe for me. End product was good but didn’t knock it out of the park like I was hoping. It was missing something until I added the juice of a lemon right before serving. It gave it the zip I was looking for.
Ally
I absolutely love this recipe and whip it up quickly whenever I have left over potatoes that need to be used up. I’m vegetarian, so I omit the bacon and use veggie broth instead, and it’s still delicious without the bacon grease! I also carefully use a potato masher in the soup itself instead of blending half, I find it’s easier and I have less dishes to wash later haha. Thank you for the recipe!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks so much for commenting, Ally! We are so happy it’s a hit for you 🙂
Rikki Johnson
I have to finally leave a review. This is now our family potato soup recipe, we’ve been making it for over 2 years now. It’s hands down the best potato soup I have ever had the pleasure of making.
Also, my husband asks for this more than any other meal I make and he doesn’t really like soup.
Sam
I’m so glad it’s been such a hit, Rikki! 🙂
Bree
Great recipe, so easy ! I had some saved bacon grease I used and just got “real” bacon bites to make it even easier ! Love love love ! Second time making it 😋
Jamye
I was introduced to this recipe about a month ago and I have successfully made it 3x!! I LOOOOOVE it!!
Melissa
Delicious! My family loves it!
Abby
The best! We always double it.
Ezme Hoard
Delicious made this once and dont know if I rated it so I’m rating it now.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for coming back to leave a rating, Ezme! We appreciate it 🩷
Dana B
So easy and yummy. I took out 1/2 and mashed the other 1/2 in the pot with a potato masher. Only thing different I did.
It was a hit!
Julie
Awesome soup! It has become my husbands favorite meal. Thank you so much for sharing.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for giving it a try, Julie! 🩷
CHRIS DAY
Soooooo good!!!
I can’t wait to make more!!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so happy you enjoyed it, Chris! 🥰
Andrew
This was a very good soup! I added some fresh carrots with the potatoes and frozen peas at the end
Azra
Great recipe, will make it again for sure! How do you store left over and for how long? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Azra! You can store this in the refrigerator for several days in an air tight container. I don’t recommend freezing it as it could potentially separate.
Dee
Everything was fine until the boil then simmer part. it started to smell like something was burning. I turned it off, but by the time I did, the whole pot tastes like it burnt. I’m not even sure what to do. it’s ruined.
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this happened, Dee? Was it accidentally on a heat that was too high?
Astara
I’d like to make this soup today but serve it tomorrow. Can it be kept in the fridge overnight?
Sam
Sure thing! 🙂
Barrie Mace
Delicious!! Made this last night, set in fridge and had it for tonight’s dinner. Served it in homemade bread bowls, and toppedwith shredded cheddar cheese. Whole family loved it! Have enough for leftovers to! ❤️ Perfect meal on this rainy day! Filling, but not heavy. Thank you for a wonderfully scrumptious soup recipe!!
Rachel
Family KILLED it. This is on the rotation from now on. Excellent