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 made this soup last night and my husband couldn’t stop raving about it! I’ve made many different soups in the past, but this one has been the best! I can’t thank you enough for this recipe!
We’re so glad it was such a hit! Thanks for trying our recipe, Rana ❤️
Ok, First of all Delish! Hubby was in the mood for potato soup so I found this one and made it. Only thing I did differently was I did a whole pack of thick sliced bacon in the oven on a flat tin foil. Got it nice and crispy. I still used the bacon grease for the sauteed onions etc. I chopped up 6 slices of bacon at the end and added it to the soup after the sour cream. The remainder was chopped up and added as a topper, along with sharp cheddar and chives. I also grabbed my good ole hand mixer and blended the most of the pototoes, most of the soup had a creamy texture……which was yummo! The kids said that it tasted like a twice baked potato!!!!!
We are so happy the soup was such a hit with your family, Shelby! Thank you so much for the review 🥰
OMG!!!This potato soup is great. I have to make 2 batches as my kids love it. My younger son don’t even like potatoes, but he loves this soup.
We’re so happy it was a hit for the whole family, Diana 🥰
Best potato soup ever!
Absolutely loved this soup. As an easier solution I used a potato masher the “S” kind and mashed everything up at the 10 minute mark, until there were just some chunks of potatoes left. I also used a whole head of garlic. Love garlic. And used 1/4 teaspoon of regular chili powder and a pinch of red pepper flakes, which seemed to be the consensus online for a substitute for the ancho chili powder.
Tonight is my second time making it in a week.
So I was going perfect and then added the sour cream with the other liquid ingredients by accident is that going to ruin the soup?
Hi Stephanie! The sour cream may end up separating and looking a bit piecey.
My very first Potato Soup attempt. Everyone loved it. Definitely in my soup rotation, right up there with my Ina Garten Ultimate Beef Stew. Truly comfort food.
We’re so happy it was a hit! Thanks for using our recipe, Lynda ❤️
I’ve never been much for potatoes, but this was truly a new favorite! So delicious from the first bite to the last. I’m so glad I found this recipe 😋
Huge fan! All my people liked it and I made it twice in one week! Yumm!
So glad it’s such a hit for your family, Aimee! Thanks for trying our recipe ❤️
Absolutely delicious! I’m not much of a cook, but this was very easy to make. Does it freeze well?
Unfortunately it tends to separate as it thaws, so we don’t typically recommend it. If this doesn’t bother you though, go for it! 😊
Oh. My. Goodness this soup was simply amazing! I added a can of cream of potato soup and a touch more chili powder. My family gobbled it all up. I’ll be doubling this next time I make it. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
So glad everyone enjoyed it, Sarah! ☺️
I accidentally got russet potatoes. Is that ok?
Absolutely! I just recommend peeling them first. Enjoy, Kandice!
Hi Sam, made your wonderful, delicious potato soup last night. I will make it many more times. My only concern is in the nutrition facts it says sodium 1326mg per serving. I have to assume it’s a typo. Please respond, I hope I’m correct.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Michael! The nutrition facts here are more of a guideline than a hard set number. Yours will vary based on your ingredients used (bacon, broth, butter). I do use a third party calculator so it may not always be 100% true to what you are doing in your kitchen. 🙂
This is hands down the best tasting potato soup, I’ve ever made! I highly recommend making this soup!! Make sure to add cheese, green onions and sour cream. Delicious!!!
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Paulette! Thanks for trying our recipe 😊
my favorite soup
So glad you love it, Nia! 🥰
This soup is amazing, I’m not a big fan of potato soup but when I have the craving,,,, this is the recipe I use. The family loves it .
Creamy, flavorful like the soup of my dreams. Thank you for sharing this recipe with all of us. My kids don’t typically like soup and the entire dutch oven of soup was gone and they were still asking for more. I have never made a soup without leftovers. Thank you!
We’re so happy it was such a hit for your family, Jennielle! Thanks for trying our recipe ❤️
This soup is so delicious
Oh so darn good..first time making potato soup..and your recipe stood out among others,…..Thank you….from Ontario Canada
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Carol! Thanks for trying our recipe 😊