• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
Sugar Spun Run
  • All Recipes
  • Desserts
    • Cookies
    • Candy
    • Bars & Brownies
    • Cake
    • Pies
  • Breads (Yeast & Quick Breads)
  • Savory
  • Breakfast
    • Muffins
    • Scones
  • Seasonal
    • Cozy Winter / Holiday Treats
    • Easter / Spring
    • Fall Recipes
    • Summer Recipes
  • Shop
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipe Index
  • About Me
  • Contact/Work with Me
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Soups & Chilis

    The Ultimate Creamy Potato Soup

    Updated: Feb 25, 2019 • Published: Feb 2, 2018 by Sam Merritt • 6,555 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video
    potato soup in white bowl

    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.

    A close up view of creamy potato soup, topped with bacon, sour cream, chives, and cheddar cheese

    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).

    An overhead view of a bowl of potato soup]

    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!

    Two bowls of potato soup

    Tips for Perfect Creamy Potato Soup

    • Cut your potatoes into pieces no larger than ¾″ 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 ¼ teaspoon and then taste testing before adding more.

    Creamy Potato Soup, loaded with bacon and cheese

    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

    Potato soup in bowl, with toppings

    The Ultimate Potato Soup Recipe

    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.
    4.98 from 4602 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Course: Soup
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Servings: 8 servings (recipe makes 3.5 qts of soup)
    Calories: 521kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt
    YouTube video

    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

    Recommended Equipment

    • Immersion blender
    • Dutch Oven

    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

    *I recommend starting with a more reserved amount of salt and then adding more as needed, the amount of salt needed will vary depending on the type/brand of broth you use
    **If you haven't used ancho chili powder before, I recommend starting with ¼ teaspoon and then taste-testing before increasing to ½ teaspoon if you like the taste.  
    ***If you want a completely creamy soup you can puree all of it, just puree in batches, about half of the soup at a time.  I prefer my potato soup with actual chunks of potatoes and prefer to puree just half of it.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 521kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 1326mg | Potassium: 1176mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 897IU | Vitamin C: 50mg | Calcium: 182mg | Iron: 2mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

    More Soup Recipes

    • Bowl of roasted carrot soup topped with croutons.
      Roasted Carrot Soup
    • Pot of vegetarian chili made with sweet potato, beans, and more.
      Vegetarian Chili
    • Bowl of creamy southwest chicken soup made with beans, chicken, peppers, and more.
      Creamy Southwest Chicken Soup
    • Overhead view of a bowl of turkey chili topped with avocado, shredded cheese, and sour cream.
      Turkey Chili

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Heather

      May 01, 2023 at 8:37 pm

      This soup is so good. It’s a staple in our house. I’m curious as to how much a serving is as I’m trying to stay in a calorie deficit and want to make sure I am measuring accordingly

      Reply
      • Sam

        May 01, 2023 at 9:44 pm

        Hi Heather! A serving is about 1.5 cups. 🙂

        Reply
    2. Charlene

      April 24, 2023 at 5:16 pm

      Best soup ever!
      To make less calories, I would leave out the sour cream and cream. I also added corn. So good!

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        April 25, 2023 at 9:51 am

        We’re so happy you enjoyed ☺️

        Reply
    3. Beate Johnson

      April 23, 2023 at 9:00 pm

      5 stars
      Best Potato Soup indeed! Absolutely loved it! I forgot the sour cream, but put a little bit of shredded cheese at the end and my husband and I loved it!

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        April 24, 2023 at 4:54 pm

        We’re so glad it was a hit for you both, Beate! ☺️

        Reply
      • J Norris

        April 25, 2023 at 6:49 pm

        Does this soup keep well to use for leftovers the next day?

        Reply
        • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

          April 26, 2023 at 9:56 am

          Absolutely! Enjoy 🥰

        • Rcd

          April 28, 2023 at 12:58 pm

          5 stars
          Yes is keeps quite well. In fact it will increase in flavor so it will be even better the next day. Just pop it on the stove again and enjoy.

    4. Bob

      April 23, 2023 at 6:37 pm

      5 stars
      Excellent and easy to make.

      Reply
    5. Katrina

      April 20, 2023 at 5:48 pm

      5 stars
      Amazing soup. Glad I made it for a work function.

      Reply
    6. alex

      April 17, 2023 at 6:42 pm

      haven’t made it yet. wanted to know what are “gold” potatoes and can you use russets? thank you.

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        April 18, 2023 at 8:46 am

        Hi Alex! Gold potatoes are simply another variety, just like russet or red. Russets will work just fine here too 😊 Enjoy!

        Reply
      • Lucille I

        April 21, 2023 at 4:42 pm

        5 stars
        I like the Yukon or gold better than russets. They hold their shape better. Best recipe I’ve ever used. Although, I didn’t try the ancho. And I added some diced celery.

        Reply
        • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

          April 21, 2023 at 4:54 pm

          We’re so happy you enjoyed it Lucille!

      • Bailey

        April 23, 2023 at 8:12 pm

        I couldn’t find “gold” potatoes either. I found some that were called yellow potatoes and it came out bombbbbb

        Reply
    7. Linda Robinson

      April 16, 2023 at 7:07 pm

      I usually wing it when I make potato soup. Try to make it the way my mom made it. Results weren’t always great since I didn’t have an actual recipe to follow. Thought I would give this a try! It was excellent. I did not add the heavy cream though-trying to cut the fat content. Just used whole milk. Fresh herbs make the difference. This will be my go-to recipe from here on out. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        April 17, 2023 at 10:04 am

        Thanks for giving our recipe a try, Linda! We’re so happy it was a hit for you 😊

        Reply
    8. Todd

      April 13, 2023 at 1:31 pm

      5 stars
      Absolutely the best I’ve used!!! Normally, I make it according to the directions as written. Today, I need to feed 15 people how do I adjust the recipe for that many?

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        April 13, 2023 at 5:15 pm

        Hi Todd! We’re so happy you love the recipe. You’ll need to triple everything to feed 15 people 😊

        Reply
    9. Michelle Bryan

      April 12, 2023 at 8:20 pm

      5 stars
      I made this tonight. Holy cow! So so good! Best potato soup I’ve ever had! Followed the recipe exactly except didn’t have the ancho chili powder. My family is sick so decided to stick with the milder regular chili powder. Will definitely make it with the ancho next time! So delicious!!

      Reply
    10. Summar

      April 08, 2023 at 4:53 pm

      5 stars
      Hands down best soup I make!! Always follow the recipe and it’s always perfect! I’ve been making this recipe for years and it’s highly requested by my family and never disappoints 😋

      Reply
    11. Gracie K

      April 06, 2023 at 11:22 pm

      5 stars
      AMAZING!!!! First time ever making potato soup, I love soups, especially potato, always been nervous to try that one though. Grew up with my mom’s and this is just as good, which is the highest compliment since I could eat my mom’s every day for a year and never get tired of it. I only had regular chili powder, but added a pinch of cayenne pepper with it like called for and it was perfect!! Saved to my favorites folder and absolutely will be making this again.

      Reply
    12. Peter J Hoehn

      April 05, 2023 at 8:42 pm

      5 stars
      Made this tonight it’s off the chain. I made it with a minor change with the ingredients I had on hand. The changes were 1 cup of butter milk with 1 cup of milk instead of 2 cups of milk and 1/4 tsp Chipotle chili powder to replace the Ancho powder.
      I made it for a friend and she couldn’t get enough of it.
      Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe.

      Reply
    13. Linda B

      April 03, 2023 at 10:58 am

      5 stars
      I made this precisely according to the recipe, and I wouldn’t change a thing! I can’t stay out of this soup! I’m glad I bought McCormick’s Ancho chili powder for this, as it is pure ancho without any added spices. This soup was perfection!

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        April 03, 2023 at 1:41 pm

        We’re so happy it was a hit, Linda! The ancho really does make a difference ❤️

        Reply
    14. Nicole

      March 31, 2023 at 2:09 pm

      5 stars
      I was on a quest to find the creaminess, tastiest, most lit potato soup and this recipe is hands down the best. I think its use of gold potatoes is what really makes it, so don’t sub them out for another variety.

      I didn’t have and couldn’t find ancho chile powder, so I made my own substitution: I combined 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes with 1/2 teaspoon (it may have been one whole teaspoon, I honesly can’t recall) of regular chili powder, and wow, the result of that small amount of red pepper flakes and chili powder was perfecto. I’ve never put red pepper in potato soup before, but now I will forever be doing that. It made it fire – not in the sense of “this is way too spicy/too much heat” kind of fire, but chef’s kiss perfect kind of fire. So, if you don’t have ancho, try what I did – don’t leave it out altogether – you’ll be missing out!

      When it comes to making it hella creamy, I used an immersion blender and blended about four cups of the soup, which was about 1/3 of the soup, because I like a lot of potatoes, but it was still creamy af.

      All in all, this was a reasonably easy recipe; fairly quick to make with a short list of ingredients that as a whole, really make this recipe worth keeping and making again and again.

      Reply
    15. Deborah Winkler

      March 29, 2023 at 8:43 am

      5 stars
      First attempt, it was delicious. Only adjustment I had to make was extra milk, we don’t like it too thick!!

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        March 29, 2023 at 9:42 am

        So glad you enjoyed, Deborah! Thanks for the review 🥰

        Reply
        • Jayson

          March 31, 2023 at 12:51 am

          5 stars
          I’ve tried SEVERAL different potato soup recipes…even Rachael Ray’s. And they’ve all been…..ok. Tried this one tonight and it was easily the best I’ve made yet. My 12 year old son ended up having 3 full bowls! I followed recipe and it was spot on. Only thing I did different (and I highly recommend you try) is that I soaked the potato skins in water while I prepped the soup, dried them fully, and fried them up all nice and crispy and served them on top of the soup. Great extra flavor and texture! Thanks!

        • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

          March 31, 2023 at 7:37 am

          Yum–love that idea! We’re so glad everyone enjoyed the soup, Jayson 😊

      • Jennifer in Ohio

        March 30, 2023 at 6:17 pm

        5 stars
        Guys at work wanted potato soup. Found this recipe and it was amazing!!! Cooked it down in one pot, then transferred to a crock pot to take in. I got Hugs and Thanks for a great soup. Thank you so much!
        PS. I made exactly as recipe called for and I would not change a thing.

        Reply
        • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

          March 31, 2023 at 7:38 am

          We’re so happy it was a hit, Jennifer! Thanks for coming back to leave a review ❤️

        • Patty

          April 10, 2023 at 10:35 pm

          5 stars
          After reading all the reviews, I made minor adjustments, including the addition of 2 cups chopped ham leftover from Easter dinner. All three of us LOVED IT, especially my daughter who doesn’t like soups or potatoes unless they are french frues. I couldn’t belive she had two full servings. Thank you for an amazing recipe I will make over and over!

    « Older Comments
    Newer Comments »
    4.98 from 4602 votes (2,119 ratings without comment)

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

    Warm Weather Recipes

    Serving of blueberry cobbler topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a white dish.

    Blueberry Cobbler

    Lemonade in glass pitcher

    Homemade Lemonade Recipe

    Two slices of chocolate zucchini bread on a plate.

    Chocolate Zucchini Bread

    Closeup of shrimp pasta salad

    Shrimp Pasta Salad

    Overhead view of an ice cream scoop resting in a container of homemade key lime pie ice cream.

    No-Churn Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

    Overhead view of a serving bowl of cucumber salad made with dill and red onion.

    Cucumber Salad

    More Spring Recipes

    Most Popular

    flaky biscuit on white cloth

    Easy Homemade Biscuits

    Pizza dough in glass bowl, after rising

    The Best Pizza Dough Recipe

    Slice of cheesecake

    The Best Cheesecake Recipe

    Potato soup in bowl, with toppings

    The Ultimate Creamy Potato Soup

    one bite missing from a slice of vanilla cake with chocolate frosting

    The Best Vanilla Cake Recipe

    Stack of cookies made from this chocolate chip cookie recipe with melty chocolate chips and a bite missing from the top cookie

    The WORST Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

    places sugar spun run has been featured (Women's Day, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Country Living, the huffington post, People, Delish, MSN, TLC, Parade, Better Homes & Gardens, Buzzfeed)
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Youtube

    Privacy Policy

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    ABOUT

    • About Me
    • Policies, Disclosure & Privacy
    • Terms of Use

    CONTACT

    • Contact
    • Work with Me!

    © 2020 Sugar Spun Run. All Rights Reserved

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.