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!
Absolutely delicious ❤️
First time making potato soup. Picked this recipe because of the comments. They are 100% true. This made the most amazing soup I have ever had!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!! It is Fantastic!!
Amazing recipe!! Easy to make and turns out delicious! What is the best way to reheat this soup? We tried the next day and noticed it was much thicker than the first go around. Thank you so much!
Just made it. It is scrumptious!! Thank you for the recipe!
This soup is delicious but it makes alot for 2 people. Have you tried freezing it?
Hi Yvonne! I have not tried freezing it, but I would be concerned about the cream separating out.
We make 8 gallons at a time and freeze it in 1/2 gallon blocks. Only change we make is to undercook the potatoes a bit because the will ‘finish’ cooking when reheated. It’s a great food prep. And it’s DELICIOUS!!!
I made this today but sautéed some mushrooms in a merlot sauce (I get at a local farm store) and added them at the end and it was amazing.
would it be too bland if i didn’t add bacon
You’ll definitely lose a lot of flavor, but I know others have done it. 🙂
Hi Emily,
I made this last night and it turned out great! My husband poo pooed at the idea of potato soup, stating oh, bland potato soup? But he really liked it! So thanks for sharing. I think I’ll half it next time, as it was a lot of soup for two. :).
We’re glad our soup was able to convince him otherwise, Pamela! Thanks so much for trying our recipe 🥰
Made this for my son on his birthday eve. He ate 5 bowls!! We all thought it was divine. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Wow, sounds like this was a huge hit for you Joni!! Thanks for using our recipe ❤️
Do you have a slow cooker variation for this recipe?
Hi Jessica! We haven’t tried making this in a slow cooker since there are multiple steps when things need to be added it could be a little bit difficult. Others have tried it so you could try searching the comments for how they did it. 🙂
Made this tonight, I cut all the ingredients in half. Feeding just 2. It is awesome!!
Wonderful! Enjoy 🥰
This is the very best potato soup I have ever made! Thanks for the recipe. I have passed it on to dozens of people now.
Thanks so much for making our recipe and sharing it, Nina! Enjoy the soup 😊
Best ever! Only change I made was to make the entire package of bacon… saved it for topping instead of adding it to the entire pot of soup.
We’re so happy you loved it, Debi! Great move with the bacon–the more the merrier! 🥰
A friend of mine was in a bad accident this week and is recovering at home. I asked her what she would like, and she said, “Potato soup!” This was the first 5 star recipe I found, so I gave it a try, and oh my gosh! It’s delicious! Be sure and find the ancho chili powder because it really does make a difference. I delivered this soup with some cheddar cheese, extra bacon and sour cream, and a bouquet of fresh fall mums from my yard. You can’t go wrong!
You’re a sweet friend, Nona ❤️ Wishing your friend a speedy recovery–the potato soup should surely help!
I loved this recipe. However I did add some cream cheese to it and it was superb!!
We’re glad you enjoyed it, Ruth! 😊
Can I use russet potatoes?
Yes! Enjoy 🙂