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.
Erica
This is the best potatoe soup I’ve ever had!!
Derrick
I iust made this tonight for the family and we’re all in agreement… it’s the best potato soup we’ve ever had! Without a doubt a new go to, thank you!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy everyone loved it Derrick! Thanks for the review ❤️
Brooke
I made this for the first time two weeks ago, and about 4-5 more times since because my 12 year old son is obsessed with it and literally texts me on the school bus home– “did you make THE SOUP?!” I don’t know whether to thank you or be mad that this soup is such a hit because I’m tired of making it 🤣. I add nutmeg and cholula hot sauce and a squeeze of lemon to give it some twang.
Jenna
Such a simple recipe and absolutely delicious
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed the soup, Jenna! Thanks for commenting 🥰
Leigh Ann Upton
I make this on the regular for my fiancé . He says it’s the best soup he’s ever had and he requests me to make it often. I agree with him, it’s delicious! Thank you 🙏 for this keeper of a recipe! ❤️😋
LOUISE O'SULLIVAN
I am making this soup right now to bring to my Aunt’s house she loves creamy potato soup. I’ve made this many times as well. Very delicious I make it exactly as the recipe calls.
Sam
Wonderful, I’m so happy to hear it’s been such a hit, Louise! Thank you for your feedback!
Diane
Best potato soup I’ve ever made! My husband loves it & raves about how good it is!!
Kimberly D Hoke
I started making this recipe long ago, but never commented. I’m back to make it again for the umpteenth time, and thought I should rate and comment since it is the best d*** potato soup I’ve ever made or eaten anywhere.
I follow the recipe for the most part, but I usually try to throw in some other fresh veggies. Today it will be celery and yellow squash!
Monica Barrett
Everyone goes nuts! There are no left overs in this house!
Owen
I used this recipe, and my friend called this “the best soup he’s ever had”
Kris
I made this for my family tonight, and itnwas a big hit. I will make this again. one thing I would likento change is to cook the potatoes in the microwave for a few min before put them in the soup. it took a long time for them to become fork tender.
La Shaundia Abner
I used this recipe last night. I purchased potatoes (BOGO) and thought what will I do with all these potatoes! Bam! I saw this recipe and I was like maybe I can try it, but I wasn’t too sure about the chili powder. It was a hit my family loved it. I did use Mexican-style chili powder less than a fourth of a teaspoon and blew it out the park. The bacon grease with the onions and the butter. My house smelt delicious, thank you so much
Gretchen W
Wonderful! I used whole milk instead of heavy cream and regular milk. Also added a bit of Cajun seasoning–fantastic!
Kate
This has quickly become a family favorite. Only thing I do different is substitute hot Jimmy Dean sausage for the bacon. But the original way is delicious too!
Elaine Manninh
I just made this for the first time,I made it for my granddaughter I liked it I hope she does! I will have to let you know the results! She likes baked potato soup,she’s picking it up tomorrow. Here’s hoping!❤️🌹
Andi Sims
Was 100% delicious, my only comment will be that it was really really garlicky. Kind of overpowering but not the worst thing in the world. Next time I’ll use less cloves but it was still a great easy recipe.
Tammy
I don’t have an onion so I used dehydrated onions. It was too strong. Just fyi. Other than that, the soup was delicious. Next time I will make Se fresh onion.