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.
Barbara
Holy Moly! This was SO easy to make…especially with the help of the video. It is FAN-FREAKIN’-TASTIC! I can’t wait to make it again!
Joy
Best potato soup ever! Made it for the first time and added 2 green onions I sliced up and it looked even nicer! Added this to my recipe book to make again (and again and again!)
Erika
We needed 6 servings so I halved the recipe and added that to the recipe. It was a whole lot more than we expected! 6 servings would be perfect for 2 adults and 2 kids for 2 meals. I followed the recipe exactly and everyone loved it!
Tracy
We love this soup, my kids request it often! Quick question: we have a T1D and need to dose for the carbs now. How much is considered a “serving”? Thanks for your help!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoys it so much, Tracy! A serving is about 1.5 cups. 🙂
Lynn
Thank you for this recipe it is absolutely amazing! I have already been asked to make it again. I think this time I might add a little more bacon and cut my potatoes a wee bit smaller. I also used Oat milk as I have one that has some lactose issues.
But I did use the cream asked for and it was soooo delicious. So a small note to those who are lactose intolerant you can use Oat milk or maybe try coconut milk which is my next try.
Cassie
Love this soup! Can it be made without the roux? I want to make for a carry in at work and cannot use gluten. I realize it will likely be thinner, but super thin or just a smidge?
Sam
Hi Cassie! You could probably get away with it since this is a thicker soup. It will definitely make it a bit thinner. 🙂
glasslass
I also have a gluten intolerant person and we thicken with cornstarch. Just decrease the milk portion and mix with cornstarch. Pour it in at the end when it’s simmering. Not at begging or you will have glue at the bottom when the heat builds up.
Patti
You can use gluten free flour. Like a flour called cup for cup. I use gluten free flour all the time
Anna
I’m not a big fan of sour cream. Does it make it creamier or just add the flavor?
Sam
Hi Anna! It adds a little depth of flavor and makes it a bit creamier. You won’t be able to taste it in the final product, but it could also be made without. 🙂
Belinda
how much bacon Grease is recommended..it seems that I have a lot after frying my pieces
Sam
Hi Belinda! I believe I usually have 1-2 Tablespoons left behind.
Sydne
Best potato soup hands down! The Ancho Chili Powder is the secret and blending half the soup. So good! I don’t think I’ll ever make a different potato soup.
Catherine
I host a weekly Girls Night for dinner. This was a huge hit, especially for a cold night! Thank you.
Rebecca Shockley
Love this potato soup!
CJ
Everyone loved it. Started with a double batch since there were 7 of us & I wanted leftovers.
One week later- I’m making another batch 😋
Rosie
ate we supposed to leave uncovered??
Sam
Hi Rosie! You don’t need to cover this soup at any point during cooking. 🙂
Brittany LaPorta
You’ll never need another potato soup recipe again! This is INCREDIBLE! I lightened it up a bit by using half and half, 2% milk and light sour cream. It was absolutely perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
Connie
This is the best potato soup I have had I. A while
Samantha
Delicious recipe! I was worried I messed up my roux but after I blended half, the soup was creamy perfection and the chunks of potato were perfect. Great recipe, thanks for sharing!