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.
Jenny Bergeron
Hey! Is there a way I can make this a little thicker without compromising the flavor? Like reducing amount of broth or milk?
Sam
Hi Jenny! You could try letting it simmer a little while longer to thicken up a little bit. Alternatively you could try adding a bit more flour or reducing the chicken broth a little bit, but these may alter the flavor a bit.
Melissa Koons
Can I use russet potatoes for this?
Sam
Hi Melissa! Yup! My mom makes it with russets all the time. Enjoy! 🙂
Mary Robinson
Delicious! Easy to make and a hit with the family.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed, Mary! 🙂
Craig Brummer
Tasted great
Sarah
Outstanding!
Christy Swanwick
Always made old fashioned potato soup .. THIS WAS AMAZING THANK YOU FOR SHARING …it will be my new forever potato soup recipe
Sam
I’m so happy to hear it was such a hit, Christy! Thank you so much for trying my recipe, I appreciate it! 🙂
soup enthusiast
Great recipe, I used paprika powder instead of ancho chili powder and gouda cheese instead of cheddar.
Paul w Geber
I’m good, bit your recipe just beT mine. My go to from now on
Kimberly Coleman
I been making creamy potato soup for years and never added the ancho chili powder but I’m going to make it today and see how I like it in the soup thanks for the tip
Sam
Can’t wait to hear how you like it, Kimberly! 🙂
Kimberly Coleman
Well it’s done and I love it wish I could add the pictures it looks amazing
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much Kimberly! You could tag me on Instagram @sugarspun_sam or join my facebook group to post a picture. 🙂
Trina
Delicious and not hard to make at all! Made it as the recipe directed except using white pepper because of the aesthetics but tasted amazing still. Definitely perfect on a cold or rainy evening!
Deb
This is delicious! I did sub almond milk for the 2 c milk to cut back on lactose. Otherwise, made as written. Will definitely make this again!
Melissa
Every time I make it, it turns out perfect. Thank you
Becky
I love this soup!! Last time I added 4 poblano peppers and a jalapeño. I roasted, peeled, diced and de-seeded them. It was amazing! I got lots of compliments! I have also add the peppers and jimmy dean breakfast sausage and that was also a hit!
Agalia Baker
Oh, mercy. This is so good! I took full credit for this potato soup on this cold fall day. Sorry. Not really. It’s that good. I had to leave out the flour because husband with celiac. Wasn’t sure how it would turn out without it so only added 3 cups broth. Planned to use cornstarch if wasn’t thick enough but it was perfect. Thanks. Definitely a keeper.
Ashley C
I don’t have any cream, could I use all milk? Will that ruin the soup or will it be okay?
Sam
Hi Ashley! You can use milk. The soup will just be a bit thinner. 🙂
Steph
So the video says simmer 30 min before blending but the recipe instructions don’t include that. Just could be confusing for those who don’t watch video. Great recipe!
SHurst
The best potato soup I have ever had.