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 soup was delicious and much easier than I anticipated. I have been in the mood for a good potato soup and this really hit the spot. The only slight change I made was I didn’t peel the potatoes, because I love the skin! Truly fantastic!
this soup is amazing, I haven’t made potato soup in a long time. followed this recipe to the letter and it turned out great. will keep this for the future.
Such a great recipe, and so easy to follow! Great for the fall day
can you switch chicken broth for vegetable broth ?
Hi Kate! Vegetable broth will work. It will just change the flavor of the soup. 🙂
I made this for the second time this week! I did edit the recipe as I didn’t have the chili powder but it was still delicious! I used smoked paprika, added some cone dash sausage when cooking the bacon, smoked Gouda, shredded Gouda, and cheddar cheeses. Super yummy! Thank you for sharing this recipe. It was my first time making potato soup from scratch and you made it so easy!
*connecah sausage 😆
What is the best potato to use? I really like the recipe but the potatoes seem to devolve or disintegrate.
Hi Joe! I recommend gold potatoes. 🙂
I just made this soup with Yukon Gold Potatoes. They hold their shape so I did use my immersion blender on half to add a creamy texture. It is a hearty soup & hit the spot after working in the cold at Farmers Market today.
I like to use red potstoes. they have more body and freeze well. I also add celery, and sometimes peas & calrrots,or or broccoli floretts.
I enjoy using red skin taters for the soup
I use this recipe, except everything is doubled. I add sliced baby carrots, pureed spinach, coffee, ginger, and oyster sauce (asian bbq) to the base and a quater block of velveeta. Amazing!!!
I like to use red potstoes. they have more body and freeze well. I also add celery, and sometimes peas & calrrots,or or broccoli floretts.
This has become a favorite in our family. My loved ones are already asking me for MY (your) FAMOUS POTATO SOUP! It is delicious, flavorful, comforting, and perfect for fall. Can’t wait to dig in!
Delicious potato soup. I’ve never cared for potatoes (not even fries), but when I made this for a friend I had to try it. Pure awesomeness!
By far my favorite potato soup recipe ever! i always add parsley and a little extra bacon 😋
Thank you for sharing!
Best homemade potato soup I’ve ever made!!! Definitely a staple in my family on a chilly day! Give it a try you won’t be disappointed!
Can this be made in a slow cooker? Thanks!
Hi Jamie! Unfortunately, I’m not sure how it will work as there are many steps in this recipe. It could be made and then kept warm in a crock pot.
This is the only kind of potato soup I enjoy. I do not purée the potato’s. I prefer the thinner base and chunks of potato. I also add celery and matchstick carrots.
Celery is a must to me for great potato soup too!
This is the only potato soup I make now! My kids always go back for seconds and it’s the meal my husband requests on the first cold day of fall! I add regular chili powder and ancho powder. This soup is definitely a fall family favorite!!
Amazing soup recipe! Always comes out really delicious! Made it again tonight and added broccoli. 10 out of 10 would recommend!!!
BLOWN AWAY. This was so perfect. The touch that the chili powder added was insane!
I made this soup exactly as it was written and my family and friends loved it! Fall is here again and they’re all asking when my (your) delicious soup is making a comeback! Thank you for this amazing recipe we all love it up here in Quebec 🙂 it certainly comforts us in the chilly weather!
This is our go to potato soup recipe! I add celery at the start when I’m cooking the onions/ garlic. I also add shredded carrots and a can of corn after the potatoes are done cooking and partially blended.