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!
Is there a substitute if I don’t eat pork bacon? Or can I just not add it
You can just leave it out, or you could use turkey bacon if you like that. 😊
I want to make this tonight. Was thinking of adding some broccoli any tips to do that?
Hi Brenda! I would probably chop it up and throw it in with the potatoes. 🙂
This soup was such a hit! Family loved it! Using the immersion blender is the way to go. Makes it nice and hearty. It turned out so rich and delicious!
I made this in my smaller Dutch oven and used turkey bacon instead, I don’t own a blender so I took about half the soup and used a spoon to crush it in a bowl. No sour cream either… Served with green onions and shredded Gouda :-), delicious! Thank you for this easy recipe.
Hello,
I am extremely excited to try this soup recipe! I was wondering how much of the soup is considered a serving? I see the calorie content per serving but now sure how many cups or grams are in a serving.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Bailee! A serving is about 1.5 cups. 🙂
I’ve made this soup a couple of times with no revisions other than the type of potatoes and ancho (my husband has wimpy taste buds). I have a glut of potatoes on hand and am making a double batch (minus the dairy) to freeze today. Looking forward to the added convenience of pulling this out of the freezer for a quick meal when time is short!
Thank you for the great winter hug with this soup!
I made this last night, I think it’s the best potato soup I’ve ever had!
Wonderful! We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Julia 🥰
Would russet potatoes turn out the same with this recipe?
Hi Brian! Russet potatoes would work just fine here. 🙂
My go-to potato soup recipe! I make this a few times a month during the winter and it is always a big hit. I’m looking to make it for a work potluck. Do you think it would work to make it the night before the potluck and then heat on warm/low in a crockpot the day of?
Definitely! We hope it’s a hit with your coworkers 😊
I reread the entire recipe just to make certain I did not misread the instructions. I have a ruined dutch oven and scorched soup. I believe your instructions should say to add the flour, milk, and cream after your potatoes are boiled and cooked through in the chicken broth. I stirred the pot often and ended up with a thick black crust on the bottom! My entire batch was ruined.
Hi Catherine! I’m so sad to hear about your Dutch oven & soup! However the recipe is correct as written, it sounds like your heat may have been much too high if you were stirring the pot often and still ended up with a crust like that on the bottom. That’s frustrating, I’m sure, and I’m sorry to hear it. If it is helpful, I include a video in the recipe card where I walk through how I make the soup step by step. I hope that helps!
I’ve made this twice now, it’s so yummy!!! Everyone in the house loves it!! Cozy, creamy, delicious, perfect!!
Awesome very good comfort soup!❤️
Can you make this in a crock pot?
There’s a few steps to this soup so I’m not sure how you’d make it in a crock pot.
Very good..not too hard to make for my first time making potato soup.
So glad you enjoyed it! ❤️
Best potato soup I’ve had. Made it twice now and it’s a favorite with my kids as well. Followed the instructions and never had a problem! I don’t have a blender of any kind but using a potato smasher also works great!
Awesome. Thank you for sharing.
Enjoy, Leister! 🥰
I made this soup last night and it’s delicious! But after putting in the fridge and eating today, it’s no longer soup, it’s mashed potatoes. How can I revive this back to soup?
Hi Ryan! It should loosen back up after being reheated. 🙂
It didn’t 😔 maybe more chicken broth?
That will work. 🙂
Nice and creamy!
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Kim 😊
I’ve been under the weather for over a week and craving comfort food. This potato soup is better than a any restaurant hands down!!!!
The best potato soup I ever had!! Blending 1/3 was enough and I used 5 lbs of potato’s but the first time I made this recipe. definitely will make again.
Thanks for letting us know how you liked it, David! 🙂
This sounds amazing but I have yet to make it. I’m curious what you’d recommend as a substitute for all-purpose flour for those of us with gluten restricted diets?
Hi Scott! Some corn starch should do the trick. You won’t need as much though 😊
12/6/2022
I just made your creamy potato soup and it is fabulous. There is guilt in every bite though. I added a 1/4 tsp of cumin, to add more smokeyness. I also used a few more pieces of thick cut bacon.
Thanks for letting us know how you enjoyed it! 🥰
This soup was amazing!
I used all purpose, measure for measure gluten free flour and if was perfect!