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).
]
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.
Izzy
I am eager to try but allergic to sour cream. Is anyone aware if there a substitute??
Sam
Hi Izzy! I haven’t tried greek yogurt, but it does work as a substitute in many recipes, so greek yogurt may work here. Adding cream cheese may also work, but I haven’t tried that either. I hope this helps. 🙂
Jenny Beth
This was amazing! My 14 and 8 year old helped make it and they loved it too. Below is a message from my younger daughter who read the entire article, recipe, and all the comments while we were cooking and was so excited to try it.
I love this potato soup. It was very good! Thank you for the recipe.😁👧🏼🤤
Sam
Well thank you so much! I really appreciate the feedback I’m happy to hear it was such a success! Thank you for commenting, it means a lot to me 🙂
Jessica Dunn
Wow! I followed you recipe almost exactly and WOW!! It is so rich and creamy and probably 1000 calories per serving of greatness! I absolutely love it!! The only thing I didn’t follow was the peeling of the potatoes- I didn’t think of it until after I cut them up. I don’t think it made a bit of difference in the outcome!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy that you enjoyed the creamy potato soup, Jessica! 🙂
Martha
Absolutely delicious! I used a potato masher instead, easier to clean than my blender 🙂 I love the tips, they are always so helpful, thank you! Each one of your recipes that I have tried have been a success.
Sugar Spun Run
You are so sweet! Thank you so much, Martha! I am so happy that you enjoyed the potato soup and have had such success with my other recipes. I greatly appreciate your support. Thanks again! 🙂
Sarah
Is it ok to boil the milk with the potatoes? Thanks!
Sam
Hi Sarah, yes the milk is boiled with the potatoes. Enjoy!
Rachael
So I decided to make some potato soup because I work 5 12 hour days in a row every other week and take college courses. So I was looking for something I could make in bulk and eat for several days. I decided to try something different from my norm. Chose this one, and let me tell you I’ve never loved a soup so much. It’s fantastic. Grandma is going to be upset that I’m going to stop using her recipe and forever use this one. Thank you for sharing. I love it.
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Rachel. I am so glad that you enjoyed the potato soup. Good luck with your courses. 🙂
Cassandra
Tip for anyone in the future. I just use my left over mashed potatoes. I always freeze them for a snowy day like today 🙂
Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for the tip, Cassandra! 🙂
Holly Scaff
Made this last night and so amazing! Great amount for left overs! They only thing I changed was I did not cook bacon instead I used bacon bits bag from Costco to put on top when ready to eat! lol I only did this because I cannot cook bacon I snack on it too much! I have printed recipe and this is now my go to Potato Soup! Thank you!
Holly Scaff
Made this last night and so amazing! Great amount for left overs! They only thing I changed was I did not cook bacon instead I used bacon bits bag from Costco to put on top when ready to eat! lol I only did this because I cannot cook bacon I snack on it too much! I have printed recipe and this is now my go to Potato Soup! Thank you!
5 Stars!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Holly! I am so glad that you enjoyed the potato soup. I love bacon too! I also tend to sneak a few pieces in the process. lol. Enjoy! 🙂
Terrie
Can the cream of potato soup be frozen?
Sugar Spun Run
Hello, Terrie! This soup isn’t ideal for freezing. I would be worried the cream would separate out while in the freezer. 🙁
Caitlin K Banks
This was fantastic. My husband said it was better than anything he’s had in a restaurant. Perfect meal for a cold, rainy day.
Sugar Spun Run
What an amazing compliment! Thank you, Caitlin! I am so happy to hear that you found the potato soup so delicious. 🙂
Shannon Hickerson
I made this soup and it was delicious! It turned out a little salty for me but it was still good. Next time I’ll just use a little less 😊
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the Creamy Potato Soup, Shannon. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Melinda
Try useing low sodium bacon and low sodium chicken broth.
Estera Triscas
So satisfying for my pregnancy craving! Thank you so much! Yummm delicious! Love the garlic addition 😃
Sugar Spun Run
Congrats on the little one, Estera! I am happy that the potato soup satisfied your pregnancy craving! Enjoy and best wishes to you! 🙂
Lisa Stromski
I absolutely loved this soup. I am currently on chemo treatment for breast cancer and every thing tastes awful. I tried this soothing dreamy creamy potato soup… it’s a miracle and I can taste it.
Thank You so much 😊
My family loves it too!!!
Sugar Spun Run
Lisa, thank you so much! I am so sorry to hear about what you are going through, but happy to know that the potato soup brought you some comfort. Sending my thoughts to you.
Jennifer Venable
This has quickly become a family favorite!
Sam
I’m so happy to hear this! Thanks for letting me know how you liked the potato soup, Jennifer 🙂
Amy
Absolutely the best! So tasteful!!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Amy! I am so happy that you enjoyed the potato soup! 🙂