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    Home » Recipes » Soups & Chilis

    The Ultimate Creamy Potato Soup

    Updated: February 25, 2019 by Sam Merritt • 6,675 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
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    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 4648 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!

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      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. LouAnn

      October 02, 2019 at 12:41 pm

      Cane frozen potatoes be used in this recipe?

      Reply
      • Sugar Spun Run

        October 02, 2019 at 4:29 pm

        Hello, LouAnn! I haven’t tried frozen potatoes but I think it will work fine. I hope that you enjoy the potato soup. 🙂

        Reply
    2. kelly

      October 01, 2019 at 11:25 am

      I loved the soup! I added small cubes of carrots and courgettes in with the potato and peas towards the end. It was delicious!

      Reply
      • Sugar Spun Run

        October 01, 2019 at 12:16 pm

        Thank you so much, Kelly! I’m so glad that you enjoyed the potato soup. 🙂

        Reply
      • Rachel

        October 06, 2019 at 1:45 pm

        I don’t have ancho powder. Is there any substitute??

        Reply
    3. Hailey Jones

      September 29, 2019 at 7:53 pm

      5 stars
      So delicious and creamy! Very flavorful! I didn’t have the ancho chili seasoning but I used a half a tsp of chili powder and one fourth tsp red pepper flakes and it was perfect!!

      Reply
      • Sugar Spun Run

        September 29, 2019 at 7:59 pm

        Thank you, Hailey! I am so glad that you enjoyed the potato soup. 🙂

        Reply
    4. Dawn

      September 28, 2019 at 9:01 pm

      I just made this for dinner. Loved it so much as did my children. It has a great flavor and who doesn’t love bacon.

      Reply
      • Sugar Spun Run

        September 28, 2019 at 9:47 pm

        Thank you so much, Dawn! I am so glad that your family enjoyed the potato soup. Yes, Bacon makes everything better. 🙂

        Reply
    5. Kaye

      September 24, 2019 at 12:04 am

      5 stars
      Excellent, followed directions and the soup was delicious! Next time it will be accompanied with some homemade bread.

      Reply
    6. Marissa G

      September 15, 2019 at 6:17 pm

      5 stars
      I was reading review after review of how fantastic this was and it did not fall short of amazing! It was easy to make and SO delish!!! Never have I had a potato soup that had such depth in flavor and the perfect texture! I only blended half and it was wowzas!!!

      Reply
      • Sam

        September 15, 2019 at 9:07 pm

        I am so glad you enjoyed the potato soup so much, Marissa! 🙂

        Reply
    7. diana strock

      September 02, 2019 at 12:21 pm

      5 stars
      Delicious!! My daughter Loves it!!

      Reply
      • Sam

        September 02, 2019 at 1:05 pm

        Thank you so much, Diana! I am so glad you enjoyed the soup! 🙂

        Reply
        • Myself

          September 09, 2019 at 2:17 pm

          Sam is cute as a bugs ear😍😘

      • Sara

        September 08, 2019 at 4:57 pm

        5 stars
        Absolutely looooove this!

        Reply
        • Sugar Spun Run

          September 09, 2019 at 6:25 am

          Thank you, Sara! 🙂

    8. BJ

      August 07, 2019 at 9:15 pm

      5 stars
      Absolutely luv the potato soup recipe! This will be a keeper for me. Can’t wait to make when Winter comes on again in my area for a great comfort food. Thanks so much.

      Reply
      • Sam

        August 07, 2019 at 9:24 pm

        I’m so glad you enjoyed the potato soup, BJ! Thank you so much for commenting, I appreciate it!

        Reply
    9. Jon

      July 19, 2019 at 4:33 pm

      5 stars
      Great recipe! Loved every drop!

      Reply
      • Sam

        July 20, 2019 at 9:04 am

        So glad to hear you enjoyed the potato soup, Jon!! Thank you for commenting 🙂

        Reply
    10. Be

      July 16, 2019 at 11:04 am

      5 stars
      Co-worker made this recipe and brought it in…YUM! Best soup I’ve ever had, and one of the best foods I’ve ever eaten period! He added carrots to the recipe but I think that was the only change. It was so good I didn’t even add the cheese and bacon bits he brought it. He said it’s even better with it.

      Reply
      • Sam

        July 16, 2019 at 2:45 pm

        I am so glad you enjoyed the soup so much! Thank you for the comment. 🙂

        Reply
    11. Jessica

      May 13, 2019 at 5:10 pm

      5 stars
      My family adore this soup!! I made a few slight changes to it and omg!!! So tasty 😍😍😍

      Reply
      • Sam

        May 13, 2019 at 10:11 pm

        I am so glad everyone enjoys the soup, Jessica! 🙂

        Reply
    12. Hope

      May 13, 2019 at 2:40 pm

      This soup has become a favorite of mine and my husband’s. Absolutely amazing recipe 🙂

      Reply
      • Sam

        May 13, 2019 at 10:17 pm

        I am so glad everyone enjoys the soup, Hope! 🙂

        Reply
    13. Kathy morgan

      April 11, 2019 at 9:43 pm

      5 stars
      I making this soup again…. twice in two weeks !!!! I am in love!!

      Reply
      • Sam

        April 12, 2019 at 9:20 pm

        I am so glad you enjoyed the soup! I can never get enough either! 🙂

        Reply
    14. Amanda Alves

      March 30, 2019 at 8:51 pm

      Absolutely amazing! Family loved it. Added gouda in addition to cheddar and YUM!

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 30, 2019 at 11:57 pm

        Thank you so much Amanda! I am so glad you enjoyed the soup! 🙂

        Reply
    15. Cynthia Aldrich

      March 24, 2019 at 9:26 am

      5 stars
      My household has lost their minds over this reciipe! Do you have a version for cheesy broccoli potatoe soup?

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 24, 2019 at 11:03 am

        I don’t yet, but it’s definitely something I’m working on! I’m so happy to hear everyone enjoyed the soup, Cynthia! 🙂

        Reply
        • Cynthia Aldrich

          March 24, 2019 at 12:33 pm

          Well I am going to use your original recipe and just add the broccoli and cheese once the potatoes are cooked. Wish me luck!

        • Sam

          March 24, 2019 at 9:34 pm

          I hope you love it! 🙂

        • randy foster

          March 26, 2019 at 7:15 pm

          the potato soup was awesome. thank you

        • Sam

          March 26, 2019 at 8:32 pm

          Yay! I am so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂

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    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.

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