The Ultimate Creamy Potato Soup
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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 3/4″ 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 1/4 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
Equipment
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
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
I love this potato soup recipe!!!! I have made it 3x’s in the past month!!
Even the teenagers love and request this again.
Thank you so much for sharing such a super recipe.
Wow, sounds like this soup is a huge hit for your family Pamela! Thanks so much for using our recipe 😊
Very VERY yummy soup!
Delicious ❣
We’re so happy you liked it, Lorraine! Thanks for trying our recipe ❤
This was an amazing potato soup recipe! I look forward to making it as-written in the future for guests. I had to use cayenne instead of ancho chili powder, but I’ve added ancho chili powder to my shopping list! I’ve never had a potato soup with a kick – it was so tasty. I also skipped bacon in the beginning and added it to bowls individually because I am the only vegetarian in my family. Thank you so much for sharing!!
We’re so happy you enjoyed the soup, Courtney! Definitely try it with the ancho next time–it’s a real game changer 😊
Made this soup exactly as the recipe says and it was amazing! Would not change a thing. It will replace the recipe I have used for years. I have to agree. The ancho chili powder is a game changer. I started with 1/4 tsp as recommended but quickly increased to the 1/2 tsp because it was so good. Will be making it again next month.
We just love the ancho too, Dana! Thanks for letting us know how much you liked the soup 😊 Enjoy!
My husband calls this the “Crack Soup!” It’s delicious!! Thanks for the
Recipe!
Hi, going to make the soup this weekend for a group. How many cups does it make? I know you say 6 servings, but how big is the serving? Also, any tips for doubling or tripling the recipe?
Hi Mindy! Thanks for giving our recipe a try. A serving is about 1.5 cups, and you should have no issues doubling or tripling the recipe as written. We hope it’s a hit for you! 😊
I made this and my husband and I loved it so I am making it again!!Yumm…
That’s great to hear, Bobbie! We’re so happy you both like the soup so much 😊
My husband and I make this soup all the time once we found this recipe! We absolutely love it!
That is so nice to hear, Courtney! We’re honored that our recipe has become a staple in your home ❤
My favorite potato soup recipe. So creamy and delicious!
That’s so nice to hear, Barb! We’re so happy you love it so much. Thanks for coming back to leave a review–we really appreciate it!
Love this recipe. I love the u tube video and thank you!
Thanks so much, Louise! We’re so happy you enjoyed the soup and the video 😊
This is the best potatoes soup recipe I’ve tried! So good..
We’re so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for commenting, Daphne ❤
Hi Sam! Just made this potato soup a few days ago and it was the most flavorful potato soup ever! Will definitely be making it again. I do want to mention that your video doesn’t match the written instructions. The video calls for a 30 minute simmer before pureeing half the soup. The written instructions skip the 30 minute simmer. I decided to go with the full simmer and it was great. Looking forward to trying your corn chowder recipe once the fresh corn comes in this summer.
Hi Diane! You can get away without the simmer. It just helps thicken the soup and develop the flavors a little bit more. 🙂
Great recipe. Made exactly is. Is it possible to freeze leftovers?
Hi Minih! We typically don’t recommend freezing because it tends to separate, but others have done it and still enjoyed it. Thanks for your review! ❤
Absolutely delicious! Made it for lunch and my friends said it was the best potato soup they ha ever eaten.
We’re so happy it was a hit for you and your friends, Pat! Thanks for trying our recipe ❤
Best soup recipe my husband and I have ever tried, please post more recipes! We have almost perfected the roux, that’s what this and many other soups are all about. Makes it very hearty and delicious, we’ve have used this for other soup recipes that wouldn’t have been that great. Thank you for this roux recipe, much loved! 😍
Can this be made without bacon? Need it to be a vegetarian recipe?
Hi Mary! You can definitely leave it out, but you may just need to play with the seasonings a bit to get the flavor how you like it. Enjoy! 🙂