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.
Cyndi Beres
Followed this recipe for the first time I made, even ate potato soup! An ill friend requested potato soup when asked what meal she would like. So on a snowy Tennessee afternoon we (my husband is an excellent cook!) shopped then made this huge pot of soup with 5 lbs of potatoes. We did not have the spicy pepper, so instead we used a pinch if half sharp paprika – which gave it just a little attitude. We will make this again!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
What a great friend you are, Cyndi! Thanks so much for using our recipe and coming back to leave a comment 😊
Nitha DeLoach
Best Potatoe Soup I have ever tried! Thank you for your recipe! It was a great hit around my house! Will be making it again.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy to hear that, Nitha! Thanks for trying our recipe and letting us know how it went for you 😊
Michelle
Thinking of making this and adding broccoli to it at the end when I add the bacon. Has anyone trued this? Thoughts?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Michelle! Others have added broccoli with success. Hope that helps! 🙂
Staci
This was a great soup. Thank you for taking the time to add details to help those like myself who are just learning to cook. Makes a HUGE difference. We enjoyed this recipe and will be making it again.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
You’re so welcome, Staci! Thanks for trying our recipe. Please let us know if you try any others! 😊
Heather
Amazing recipe! Super creamy and full of flavour. Gets thicker the next day in the fridge. 😋 I added a bit more bacon, some chopped up carrots and celery, and substituted the ancho Chile powder with regular chili powder and also added in 1/2 teaspoon of paprika. This soup was a big hit in my house. Will be making it again soon.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Sounds absolutely delicious, Heather! Thanks so much for your kind review 😊
Misty
Can you freeze this soup?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We don’t recommend it, as the soup will likely separate when thawed.
Diane M Ruggles
1/6/22 Made this amazing soup for supper tonight! A+++ A hit with both myself and my husband. I added a bit of Pennsylvania Dutch by adding cut up hard boiled eggs. And I had non of the chili powder mentioned so I used smoked paprika to taste!! Yummmmer!! Thank You!! We will be doing this again!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you both enjoyed it Diane! Thanks for trying our recipe 😊
Autumn Kramer
BY FAR THE BEST POTATOE SOUP EEEVVVER!!!!!!!!!!! Made this on a cold snowy night in northern Michigan. It was perfect with my homemade cornbread. This one is a KEEPER!!!! Will start looking at other of your recipes…Added a little fresh parsley as a toping too with chives, and the cheese!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Sounds like the perfect dinner! We’re so happy you made our recipe, Autumn. Enjoy the soup and let us know what else you try! 🙂
Bethanu
All of Sam’s recipes are literally the best! If I need a recipe and she has it, that is the one I make without question! You should try the broccoli cheddar next 🤤
Melissa
This soup is delicious! Creamy, with big chunks of potato and bacon. It might be even better the second day.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you like it, Melissa! Thanks for coming back to leave a review 🙂
Vic
This is THE best potato soup recipe…better than any I’ve had at nice restaurants. I made it last night and didn’t have any heavy cream so I just used a bit of extra milk and extra sour cream (actually I used kefir since that is what I had but nearly same taste). Definitely didn’t feel it was lacking any richness so I will probably keep making it that way. Also put a couple of extra slices of bacon. Sooooo good. For anyone wondering how much to make, I made roughly a 2/3 recipe size and it was just enough for generous dinner portion for 2 and a smaller leftover bowl for the two of us for lunch today. I literally threw away my old potato soup recipe after making this one! 🙂
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so happy our recipe is your new favorite, Vic! Thanks so much for coming back to leave such a nice review. Enjoy the soup 🙂
Roxanne
I used a bit of Berberre spice instead of chili and it was delicious!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you like it, Roxanne! Enjoy your soup 🙂
Meg
This is a fantastic soup! I didn’t have that specific chili powder, and I’m not super keen on duct food, so I subbed with 1/4 tsp of chili powder (prob could have gone higher but I’ll play around with it). Also used 8 oz odd sour cream, as that’s how much my package was. This is a perfect winter day soup. A keeper for sure!!! Thanks
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed the soup, Meg! Thanks for coming back to leave a review 😊
Vic
Hi! Looking forward to trying this tonight. I don’t have heavy cream and was wondering if throwing in a bit of brie (which I happen to have) at the end would help make up for the lack of richness/creaminess from the missing cream. Would love your opinion. Thanks!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Vic! Without trying it ourselves, we can’t say for sure how this would work; however, we are concerned that the brie wouldn’t fully incorporate throughout the soup. You can always leave the cream out, or add in some additional sour cream. Let us know how you like it! 😊
Vic
Thank you! That’s very helpful.
Neva
This has been my go-to recipe for potato soup for some time now. Just made again today for lunch. The ancho chili powder is a brilliant addition! Love this recipe! ❤️
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We love hearing that Neva! Thanks for coming back to leave a review–enjoy your lunch! 😊
Mickie
Made this recipe and it turned out absolutely great. The only thing I would say. For me it was lacking in the bacon department. Would definitely do 4 more pieces next time. Otherwise it was amazing and I will be making this again
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you like it, Mickie! We totally understand wanting more bacon–go for it! 😊
Lindsay Dawn
This potato soup is phenomenal! My other half is picky so it’s always a gamble to try new things….He said it was even better than his mom’s and compared it to something that should be served in a nice restaurant. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wow, what a nice compliment! We absolutely love hearing that, Lindsay 🙂
Barbara
Can you use russet potatoes? It’s all that I have.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
You sure can. Enjoy, Barbara!
Nancy Rucker
I’ve made this soup, several times! It is delicious & my family & friends enjoyed it so much. Thank You
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wonderful! Thanks so much for trying our recipe, Nancy! 😊
DMuscle
Delicious! I sprang for the $4.50 ancho Chile powder and I think your right, it definitely makes the soup. Nice job and thank you!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wonderful! We’re so happy you tried it! Enjoy 😊
Seda Barranco
This is the Best Potato soup recipe ever. I’m not a big fan of soup, but this is amazing.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy to hear it, Seda! Enjoy! 😊