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.
Samantha
Loved the recipe! I meant to add some carrots from our garden but forgot–Next time! Thank you for sharing!
Sam
I’m glad it was such a hit! Thanks for commenting, Samantha! 🙂
Leroy
Single Dad here , first attempt at homemade soup and it rocked !! My kids loved it , I used European bacon which is a little more hearty I think so with less fat I had kind of a solid ball after flour was added but I just put in the chicken stock and whisk like crazy and it came out perfect in the end !! Thanks for the recipe !
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it! ☺️
Corey
Best and easiest recipe I have found. Added a couple carrots. Even the young children loved it. Thanks!
Olivia Alvarez
If I am out of heavy cream. Could I just up the milk amount?
Sam
Yes but the soup will be thinner and not quite as creamy.
Medora Hays
Can this soup be frozen and used at a later time?
Sam
Hi Medora because this soup has dairy in it (cream and milk) it is not great for freezing.
Christa
Hi, I added 1 celery stick,a handfull of precut shoestring carrot,1 leek diced finely and salted them with the onion, garlic, then I added parsley !
I also added 2 more cups of chicken broth,1/3 cup more of heavy cream.
Omitted the bacon,chili powder.
Cut the butter by half and used olive oil.
Thanks for the recipe base
It went fast n everyone wanted more .
Next time I’m doubling recipe!!!
Edward Rhodes
I just turned 76 and I enjoy playing around in the kitchen. At my age I get to make the mess for someone else to clean up.
Potato soup has always been one of my favorites. Your recipe is great. It takes me about 4 hours and I make about 1 1/2 gallons .
Every one always tells me how good it is. Just goes to show even a man can make your recipe taste good.
Ed
Sam
😂 Thank you for the kind words Ed! I need someone to clean up my kitchen messes! That’s the worst part!
Christina Marzano
Absolutely delicious!! Made this recipe last night and was blown away.
Amy Martin
This soup is awesome. I have made potato soup for years. This is by far is the best I’ve ever made. I did not use the chili powder though. And added a stalk of chopped celery with the onions. Yummy😋
Sam
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed it, Amy!! Thank you so much for commenting 🙂
Detrice Dawkins
My family loves this recipe. I do add a little cream of chicken.
Sam
I’m so glad to hear it, it is one of our favorites too. Thank you for commenting, Detrice!
Debbie
Hi!
I made this on a cool Memorial Day and loved it! I used regular chili powder. Is yours a special kind? Thank you! I know I will be making this a lot.
Debbie
Sam
Regular chili powder is just fine! I usually use ancho chili powder which is a bit different (I love the flavor of it and use it in everything) but I’ve made it with regular chili powder too 🙂
Diane Whelton
Thanks Sam! You just gave me my contribution to our family Snowmobile Weekend Party in NH on Feb.17th!!! I think a good ole pot of potato soup with a buffet of toppings would be just the thing to have after playing out in the snow. I’m also going to make some of the freezer desserts that you have listed along with the Rice Krispy Treats. YAY.
Diane,
NH Bound with my soup
Sam
Sorry I’m just now seeing this — I am so happy to hear this!!! I hope everyone loves the soup (and the Rice Krispy treats!!)
Melody Manchester
I have sometimes run out of fresh garlic, and I have found that 1/8 tsp garlic powder for one clove of fresh garlic works very well.
Sam
Thank you for the tip, Melody! 🙂
Diane
Do you think I could add carrots?
Sam
Definitely! I would cut them to roughly the same size as the potatoes and add them at the same time as the potatoes. How much depends on your preference, but I think about a cup of sliced carrots would be a good amount (just note that it will make your soup a more vibrant color once blended)
Hope
Sam I love all of your sweet recipes but I’m always so happy to see something come through that I can make for dinner. Will be trying this over the weekend, and if it’s anywhere near as good as your cookies or your broccoli salad it will be a big hit xoxo
Sam
I am so happy to hear that you have been enjoying the recipes, Hope! I hope you love this soup just as much as the other recipes! <3