The Ultimate Creamy Potato Soup
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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 3/4″ 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 1/4 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
Equipment
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
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
I love this recipe. The only thing I changed was using cayenne pepper because I had no ancho chili powder; which I now have remedied and will use on my next preparation. I served this to several friends, both male and female and all raved at the taste. I also used all organic ingredients which I hope added to the nutritional value as well as the taste. Thank you so much!
So glad everyone loved it, Kim! Can’t wait to hear how you like it with the ancho chili next time 😊
Wonderful recipe. I love love that you indicate grams. It makes it so much easier when adding ingredients. Thank you. Looking forward to following you!!!
We’re so happy it’s helpful, Eve! Enjoy 😊
perfect 🙂 add wild rice and plant based milk tomatoes and peppers instead of bacon
Sounds tasty! Enjoy 😊
I have never eaten a creamier potato soup. It was delicious!!
We are so happy you enjoyed it! 😊
This truly is the best potato soup I have ever made. It took awhile to prepare but very much worth it. Pureeing 1/2 the soup….brilliant! The consistency is wonderful, seasoning delicious! I was skeptical of the garlic but was determined to march on with every step. So happy I did. My husband and I loved every bite.
We are so happy you both enjoyed the soup so much, Sandy! Thanks for coming back to leave a review 🩷
This is probably the best potato soup recipe. There is out there. Thank you for bringing it into my life.
We are so happy you love it, Tracy! 🥰
Wondering if there is a way to thicken the soup without a blender or immersion blender? I have a micro tiny kitchen and only have the basics.
Hi Jennifer! It should continue to thicken as it simmers and then even more as it cools. If needed, you could always try adding a little cornstarch. Others have added potato flakes or instant potatoes as well. Hope that helps 😊
Excellent recipe. Even my Hubby who doesn’t like potato soup thought it tasted more like a baked potato than soup. The cheese is a wonderful addition!
This is delicious! I was doing two things at once, so my measurements were off, but it was still a hit! I used 1lb bacon, and still threw in some leftover ham from Christmas. At the end I added about 2/3 cup grated pepperjack cheese. I live with someone who does not like creamed soups, but he ate two bowls of this. Thanks for a lovely cozy soup and Happy Holidays!
I’ve never ate or made potato soup. I cook a lot, and recently my grandma requested I make her some potato soup. I found this recipe and made it for her. She said it was delicious. I tried one bite and my eyes lit up. I’ve never had a soup so flavorful and delicious in my life. I craved it for days after I made it, and had to make it again less than a week later. I’m eating it right now, on my second bowl.
Thanks so much for the kind review, Brittany! We are so happy you both enjoyed it so much 🩷
Delicious!! Served this on Christmas Eve. It was a big hit with the family! I used Chili powder & smoked paprika in place of anchor chili powder.
We’re so happy it was a hit, Shelly! Thanks for using our recipe 🩷
The best!
Amazing!
Great recipe. This would be perfect for my daughter to bring back to school. Can I freeze the soup to defrost at a later date?
Hi Jeaneen! I don’t recommend freezing this soup as it could separate. 🙁
I have frozen this and it was fine!
Would you recommend making this the day of for a dinner party or reheating the next day?
Hi Sarah! It depends on your time availability. Either will work. 🙂