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 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.
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
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
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
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.
Rose Mitchell
I made this today after my husband and I tested positive for Covid. Potato soup is my ultimate comfort food. I basically followed the recipe although did add a little celery and carrots and used stock made from our Christmas turkey . It was wonderful! Not too much work, even when you’re sick.
Thank you for your excellent recipe.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Oh no! We hope you are both feeling better soon. Luckily soup always helps! Thanks for the comment and review, Rose ❤️
Chels
I can’t count how many times I’ve made this recipe! I always double it because everyone in my family (parents, grand parents, brother in law, etc) all want some. I’ve made it so many times I don’t even measure my ingredients anymore and it never disappoints!
I’ve taken this to church functions, family events, etc and have yet to find someone who doesn’t like it!! Thank you for the best potsto soup recipe!
Barb
Can this be made in a crock pot?
Sam
Hi Barb! It’s going to be tough to make in a crock pot because of all of the steps. It’s best made on the stove top and transferred to a crock pot if desired. 🙂
Cheryl S
This recipe is absolutely amazing. I just made this for our supper this evening, 12/31/23, and everyone raved about it. It literally is the best potato soup I’ve ever had. I was leery of the chili powder, but it added a whole new level of flavor. This soup will be a regular in this family. Thank your for sharing it with us.
Sam
I’m so happy to hear this, Cheryl! Thank you so much for trying my recipe, and letting me know how it turned out for you!!
KENNY
just now finished making your potato soup recipe. probably the best I’ve ever had. DKelicious
Carol
Can I freeze the leftovers?
Bigmamajean
Easy to make. I normally have all ingredients in my kitchen. Definitely will make again.
Dylan
Everyone I’ve made this for loves it.
For the potatoes though, I personally like using the petite golds and just quartering them. I like the texture a lot better than larger potatoes.
Tisha
I had to make a couple small changes due to what I had on had. I used russet potatoes and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper in place of the ancho chili powder. This soup is like a hug in a bowl. So creamy and tasty. It’s potato soup perfection. The only, ultimate potato soup recipe for me!
GiGi
I’ve never made potato soup before today. It is the best soup I have ever had. I only modified it a little; Instead of 2 cups of milk, I used 1 cup milk and 1 cup heavy cream and only added a teaspoon of flour to thicken it a bit. I planned on eye balling that part, but once I puréed about half the soup, it was perfectly creamy. I also added celery. I love this recipe! I’m going to try mashing them in the pot next time as one of the comments suggested.
Candice
I was so sad when Costco stopped selling my favorite loaded baked potato soup….until I found this recipe!! I have made it twice in the past two weeks, and I can’t get enough of it! I wouldn’t buy the Costco version even if they brought it back! My whole family loves it! Thanks for sharing!
Yolanda
yummy good comfort food
Brad
Can I cook this in advance and leave on the stove low heat? Will it thicken too much?
Thanks.
Sam
Hi Brad! It will certainly thicken the more it sits. You can always add a little more broth if it becomes too thick. 🙂
Candice
I have kept it on low for a while, and it doesn’t get too thick but it naturally produces the thick film over the top. I simply stir it in.
Brent S.
Delicious!! I love this recipe! thank you!
Phyllis
I made this soup recipe Christmas Eve but doubled to accommodate my guests. I cooked a lb of bacon to allow some for garnish. Soup was a real hit. Everyone loved it. I will make again this month for my pokeno group and know it will be just as well received. Thank you so much for sharing it.