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!
This recipe was delicious. I added a little more salt to bring out the flavor and I didn’t have ancho chili powder so I used regular and it was fine. I also added about a cup of freshly shredded cheddar cheese and melted that in with it and it was absolutely delicious! I live in Mexico so it’s hard to make some things because we don’t have access to all ingredients but this will be a go to easy meal for us now.
Can I make this without the onion and garlic?
Hi Brittany! You can, but the soup won’t be as flavorful.
Used up Christmas ham leftovers instead of bacon. It was so delicious!
My daughter asked for this for her birthday dinner. Found this recipe and now in the past week I have made it three times. Delicious.
We are SO happy you love the soup, Lisamarie! Thanks for the review ❤️
This recipe is DA BOMB!!!! I found it a year or so ago, and I can’t count the times I’ve made it!! Excellent recipe!!!!
Creamy and delicious.
Can I make this ahead and leave it in a crockpot?
Hi Rachel, yes that would be fine! Enjoy! 🙂
Made it exactly as is. Not a single change except for adding just a teeny bit more salt and it was amazing! Not sure if it was my pot or because of the thick, milky consistency, but stir frequently because mine began to stick to bottom of pot. Caught just in time & soup was saved. Made it for dinner and everyone, including my meat-and-potatoes-only husband, loved it. Absolutely making again!
I always use this recipe, our family love love loves it!!
Got a late start it’s 8pm. Making it as I speak. It’s 13° here in Chillicothe Ohio & this is the perfect soup for a night like tonight. Thank You.
Amazing!! Followed exactly and then added 8 oz of shredded cheddar at the end. Best (cheddar) potato soup recipe I’ve ever had!!
So glad you enjoyed! Thank you for trying my recipe, Lanette! 🙂
Could this be made in the crockpot or instant pot?
It can be transferred to the crockpot and kept warm there after it’s been prepared, but for best results I recommend making it as written.
It’s 24 degrees here in Dallas. Made the soup for dinner and it was a HUGE hit with the family! Best I’ve ever had!
I’m so happy to hear this! Thank you for trying my recipe, Anne!
I’ve made this soup like 6 times. First time was beginning of the year. I’m making it right now because it’s perfect for the -30°F wind chill we have right now 😂
A-MAZING!!! Best soup ever!!! I have made myself sick eating this! It’s wonderful!! My new favorite!!
Omg this is amazing! Made it because we have 5 degree weather and my husband just got over the flu. It is a 10/10. Goes down so smoothly and keeps you warm for a while. I used Mexican blend cheese because that’s what I had on hand but it still worked out great. Instant staple for the winter months.
💯 perfect for our 14 degree freezing rain weather tonight. Savory hot and filling. Subbed Gluten Free flour and used chipotle chili powder. Topped with sour cream and sharp cheddar- very good flavor. Family gave it 5 ⭐️s. Thanks for sharing!
Sounds like the perfect night for potato soup! We’re so glad it was a hit with your crew 😊
Made for dinner tonight also! Except we have snow everywhere, it’s 6* and feels like -11* 😵💫
Delicious!!!