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.
Lydia
Absolutely luxurious. You really can’t go wrong with this recipe! It’s the potato soup to beat all potato soup recipes.
I did make a couple of (very small) changes. I added two diced carrots in with the onion because I love carrots, and I only had about 2 pounds of potatoes (instead of the 2.5 listed in the recipe), so I added some frozen corn to make up the difference. Finally, I didn’t add the bacon back into the soup and just reserved it for toppings instead (personal preference). And it turned out so good. So so good.
Russell
First time making potato soup. Shhhh better than mom’s lol. I like to make a meal to reheat during busy week. I’m hoping it lasts?
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Russell! It will last about 4 days in the refrigerator. 🙂
Susan O
Really good soup. I didn’t have any bacon so I used some kielbasa instead. Your recipe is very close to what I used to make. The addition of garlic added a nice touch. My husband Mikey likes it too. Thanks for posting your recipe. It’s a keeper.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We love the kielbasa idea, Susan! So happy it was a hit for you 😊
Mellie wilson
Wow! It’s the best potato soup I’ve ever tasted! One extra thing I did it I added fried hash browns along with the gold Potato’s . It gives it a little more texture and flavor .
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Love that idea! Thanks for sharing, Mellie ❤️
Melanie Barbiea
Delicious.
Donna Rivera
When do you add the cheese initially???
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Donna! The cheese is just a topping–you can add it if you wish, or just leave it out. Hope that helps!
erin
ive never rated a recipe before, this one was so dang good i had to. so so so good
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you came back to leave a review, Erin! It means a lot to us. Thanks for trying the soup 🥰
Jason Rober Minto
love it my wife asks me to make it all the time easy to make best recipe I have found
Shawny
Great recipe
Virginia I Buckley
Can you make this in a crockpot?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Virginia! It could be warmed in a crockpot later, but there are several steps that would make it difficult to make in a crock pot by itself.
Morgan Vinson
What is the best way to reheat this soup? I’ve made it multiple times and love it, but can’t find a way to reheat it without it becoming completely gelatinous.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Morgan. You can reheat it on the stove or in the microwave. Adding more broth will help thin it out. Hope that helps!
Sandra Nii
Absolutely delicious!!
Deb
My MIL will go crazy for this! Quick Q; does it freeze well?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Deb! We don’t recommend freezing this soup as it could separate. Enjoy! 🙂
pam
Best potato soup recipe. Better than any restaurant soup!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for giving it a try, Pam! We’re so happy you enjoyed the soup 😊
Becc
I’ve made this recipe probably about eight times now. I add extra bacon to it but other than that it is some of the best potato soup I’ve ever had. Definitely my go to when I need some hearty soup.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks so much for the review, Becc! We are so happy our recipe has become a staple in your home 🥰