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    You are here: Home / Soup / The Ultimate Creamy Potato Soup

    The Ultimate Creamy Potato Soup

    February 2, 2018 Updated February 25, 2019 BySam 3,974 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
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    potato soup in white bowl

    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.

    A close up view of creamy potato soup, topped with bacon, sour cream, chives, and cheddar cheese

    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).

    An overhead view of a bowl of potato soup]

    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!

    Two bowls of potato soup

    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.

    Creamy Potato Soup, loaded with bacon and cheese

    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

    Potato soup in bowl, with toppings

    The Ultimate Potato Soup Recipe

    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.
    4.97 from 1798 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Soup
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 30 minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes
    Servings: 6 people
    Calories: 521kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    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

    • Immersion blender
    • Dutch Oven
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    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

    *I recommend starting with a more reserved amount of salt and then adding more as needed, the amount of salt needed will vary depending on the type/brand of broth you use
    **If you haven't used ancho chili powder before, I recommend starting with ¼ teaspoon and then taste-testing before increasing to ½ teaspoon if you like the taste.  
    ***If you want a completely creamy soup you can puree all of it, just puree in batches, about half of the soup at a time.  I prefer my potato soup with actual chunks of potatoes and prefer to puree just half of it.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 521kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 1326mg | Potassium: 1176mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 897IU | Vitamin C: 50mg | Calcium: 182mg | Iron: 2mg

    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.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Evelyn

      December 03, 2021 at 3:55 pm

      Can you use Russet potatoes instead of gold?

      Reply
      • Sam

        December 03, 2021 at 4:06 pm

        Hi Evelyn! That will work just fine. 🙂

        Reply
      • Sherry Whittle

        December 04, 2021 at 12:47 pm

        Delicious would frozen diced potatoes work in this recipe,or what would happen if I used potatoes with the skin left on the,I’m a nursing home cook and struggle making this recipe

        Reply
        • Sam

          December 05, 2021 at 9:12 pm

          Hi Sherry! I haven’t tried the frozen potatoes but it should work. I personally prefer to not leave the skin on because it’s getting blended but if you’d like to you can leave the skin. 🙂

    2. Haley

      December 03, 2021 at 9:00 am

      If I only have about 2 cups of chicken broath would that work as well ? Or should I just make the trip to the store to get some more ?

      Reply
      • Sam

        December 03, 2021 at 12:41 pm

        Hi Haley! You’ll need more liquid here or else the soup will be pretty thick. You could try substituting some water but you’ll definitely lose a lot of flavor.

        Reply
        • Marta

          December 03, 2021 at 8:07 pm

          4 stars
          Overall it’s creamy and good but I think that the garlic was too overpowering.

    3. Carl

      December 01, 2021 at 1:08 pm

      5 stars
      Enjoyed this soup! I made it for a get-together that didn’t end up happening so I refrigerated what I didn’t eat. After refrigeration, it obviously became thick so I added a little milk when heating it up and it was perfect and none went to waste. I’ll definitely make this again!

      Reply
      • Sam

        December 02, 2021 at 4:04 pm

        I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Carl! 🙂

        Reply
    4. Kim

      November 30, 2021 at 5:23 pm

      5 stars
      I have never had potato soup …. in fact never thought I would like it. My husband has been bugging me to find a recipe so we came across this one and we worked on it together today. Awesome really liked it, I did however hold the sour cream and left it as a toping not a fan so we were both happy my hubby used it as a topping and I totally enjoyed it with out.

      Reply
    5. Tracy Martinell

      November 30, 2021 at 3:53 pm

      5 stars
      Loved this Potato Soup recipe! I had added some chopped leeks with my onion mixture. It’s definitely a keeper for sure~

      Reply
    6. Shawna

      November 29, 2021 at 6:59 pm

      Is it ok to omit sour cream or yogurt? I don’t have either. I do have cream cheese- would that do the trick?!

      Reply
      • Sam

        November 30, 2021 at 10:15 am

        Hi Shawna! The sour cream adds a nice depth of flavor. The soup will still turn out without it but you will lose a little bit of flavor. Enjoy! 🙂

        Reply
    7. Heather

      November 26, 2021 at 4:27 pm

      5 stars
      This is the best potato soup! The whole family loves it ❤

      Reply
    8. Gary

      November 25, 2021 at 12:47 pm

      5 stars
      This is a terrific base recipe for creamy potato soup. Personal taste modifications are endless. Using the bacon fat infuses the ingredients with great bacon flavour. If your bacon is overly greasy, you may want to drain some of it, and reduce the butter. Be sure to deglaze the sauté bits on the bottom of the pot so they aren’t wasted. Thanks!

      Reply
    9. Nick

      November 24, 2021 at 10:38 am

      Can this soup be made in a slow cooker?

      Reply
      • Sam

        November 24, 2021 at 2:53 pm

        Hi Nick! There’s a few different steps where things need to be added so I’m not sure how it will work in the slow cooker. 🙂

        Reply
        • Pamela

          December 03, 2021 at 3:14 am

          Does this soup freeze well?

        • Sam

          December 03, 2021 at 12:41 pm

          Hi Pamela! I’d be worried about the soup separating in the freezer so I don’t recommend it.

      • Roes

        November 25, 2021 at 2:31 pm

        Based on other cream soup recipes I’ve done, you could add the dairy products last. But I did this recipe in the slow cooker, not changing the order of things, because I forgot to, and it came out fine. The heavy cream was a bit separated but once I blended some of the soup it was just fine. My husband and friend loved it.

        Reply
        • Bhela

          November 26, 2021 at 3:49 pm

          5 stars
          Hello from Germany- we made this soup today and my family really loved it. A perfect soup for a snowy/rainy november evening. Def recommend this recipe. Thanks so much! 🙂

    10. Jayson A. Bastar

      November 23, 2021 at 6:16 pm

      I’m the man of the house and do 100% of the cooking and love it.
      I just made this one and its amazing!!!!! thanks for the recipe. I’m looking for a good bacon bean soup recipe now…
      thanks
      Jayson A. Bastar

      Reply
      • Sam

        November 23, 2021 at 7:02 pm

        I’m so glad you enjoyed, Jayson! Wish I had a bacon bean soup recipe to share, yum!

        Reply
      • Norma Slagel

        December 04, 2021 at 10:08 am

        We added white beans to this yummy soup and it was awesome.
        Maybe for just the bean bacon you could do beans rather than potato. I often add white beans to any of our creamy soups with great results.

        Reply
    11. Clarence

      November 23, 2021 at 9:25 am

      Hi Sam, can this soup be frozen??

      Reply
      • Sam

        November 23, 2021 at 2:08 pm

        Hi Clarence! I don’t recommend it as it could separate in the freezer.

        Reply
    12. Sherry Belluomini

      November 22, 2021 at 7:40 pm

      5 stars
      This is a great recipe. It was so simple and very tasty. Shared a bowl with a friend at work and she loved it as well. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes.

      Reply
    13. Leo

      November 22, 2021 at 7:35 pm

      5 stars
      This recipe is wonderful. The flavor is amazing, The only thing we did was added some carrot for some colour, Tip: I cut the potatoes in half inch rounds and put them through a fry cutter.

      Reply
    14. Jennifer

      November 22, 2021 at 6:18 pm

      5 stars
      I made this for dinner this evening and hands down the best potato soup I’ve ever had. Thank you for an amazing recipe! This is one I’ll keep for sure!

      Reply
    15. Christina

      November 21, 2021 at 7:56 pm

      5 stars
      Potatoe soup is absolutely wonderful. The Best Ever!
      Yum Yum

      Reply
      • John Ellis

        November 22, 2021 at 8:19 pm

        5 stars
        Solid recipe The wife and I really liked it but as usual I did not go exactly by the recipe. Saute’ the onion and a rib of celery in butter and some bacon grease. Mashed the potatoes no blender and left a cup or so just cut to add to the soup. Used much more bacon and added at least a cup or more of shredded cheddar cheese. Used halfnhalf and low sodium chicken broth.

        Reply
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    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

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