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.
Connie
I just made this, didn’t use the chili powder and used yellow potatoes, so yummy . Pepper alone gives a kick and sinus cleansing lol
Rachel Jane MOWERY
THIS TURNED OUT VERY, VERY. VERY GOOD!!!
Easy to make with common ingredients. Will make again.
Easy
Sarah Gogulski
Just made this tonight after realizing I lost my old recipes for potato soup. Guess I don’t need that anymore because this recipe is perfect! So delicious and fool proof. Even my picky 11 year old loved it.
Terri White
I made this today and my husband agreed, it’s the best potato soup we’ve EVER had. Bar. None. As so as we started eating, I instantly regretted making a half batch. I followed the recipe to the letter and it was phenomenal! It’s so good, you don’t even need the cheese, but why not? Thank you for another hit!
Jen
can you use cream of chicken instead of chicken broth?
Sam
Hi Jen! I wouldn’t recommend it. It won’t be quite the same.
Rachael LaRue
OMG!!! I have made this recipe many times and it’s always a hit. It’s the only recipe I use for Potato Soup anymore. Thank You for this recipe!!!
Jane
I made this soup for the 2nd time tonight and my mom even loved it ..I just didn’t put in the ancho chilie .. I doubled up on the ingredients and used a big stock pot … we put Put shredded chedder and sour cream and bacon on top like a loaded bake potatoe ….. This recipe is definitely a keeper …
Rebecca
I have made this recipe multiple times and every time it is a hit both as is and with slight variations. The two variations that are most enjoyable is adding diced ham when adding the potatoes and using 2-3 whole dried ancho chilies vs ancho chili powder – remove chilies before serving. The whole chilies deepen that flavor that my family loves.
Becca
Hands down, my families favorite soup. We have had it 3 times this winter already and my boys (8 and 5) ask weekly if we can have it again. Thank you for sharing it!!!
Lauren
I added freshly grated cheddar cheese after blending and then Tony’s creole seasoning and it was a HIT!
Tommy Chappetta
OMG this recipe is outstanding!!! I made it last week and I’m making again today. My wife said it’s the best potato soup she’s ever had. I did leave out the ancho chili. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Kylie
Hey, can i use this recipe in a crockpot?
Sam
Hi Kylie! There are many steps involved in this recipe so I’m not sure how you would do it in a crockpot. Keeping it warm in the crockpot will work. 🙂
holly h
you don’t have to puree do you
Sam
Hi Holly! You don’t have to puree it if you don’t want to. The soup will be a bit thinner.
Denise Yohe
This recipe is amazing. My picky eaters had two bowls. I did add more salt, pepper and garlic. the recipe is awesome!
babymagic
yes, you can use this in a crockpot. I’m a dump and go girl. It works wonderful in a CrockPot;)
Karen
Can I freeze the soup?
Sam
Hi Karen! I don’t recommend it as it could separate upon freezing. 🙁
Dan
used your recipe today, turned out awesome.
J.D.
My fam loved this soup! I added carrots 🙂
MJK
We love this recipe. I also add a carrot or some chopped red pepper for color and nutrition.
Valerie
Easy to make and tastes delicious