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’ve had quite a few potato soups, but this is the best so far. I made it for a church women’s event, and it was gone so fast I couldn’t believe it! Full of flavor, creamy and no guesswork! Getting ready to do it again for a larger group. The only question now is…how much?!
I am so glad that everyone enjoyed the soup, Michelle! I hope the guests at your next gathering enjoy it just as much! 🙂
Fantastic soup. Trying to please my family with a good soup is hard. This one worked wonderful, real thick and creamy. If my family likes it, it’s a real hit. I used real ham chunks instead of bacon, family preference. Now, do you also have a good broccoli soup recipe? Thanks again for such a great recipe.
I am so happy to hear you and the family enjoyed! I don’t yet have a broccoli soup but I do hope to perfect one over the winter and I’ll definitely let you know if I’m able to manage that! Thank you so much for commenting, Cathy!
I just finished making this. My grandkids really like it. I made it according to directions, except my grandson is celiac, so I omitted the flour and added 1/4 cup of cornstarch, didn’t peel the potatoes, and instead of sour cream I added 8 oz of Colby Jack blend shredded cheese. So, creamy and good!!!! I also didn’t have the ancho chili powder, so I substituted regular chili powder and some red pepper flakes. Since I didn’t have cream, I just made it with 2 2/3 cups of milk. It was still super creamy and delicious. Certainly a keeper!!!
Thank you, Birdie! I am so glad you enjoyed the Potato Soup. I am happy that you were able to adjust the recipe to accommodate your family’s dietary restrictions. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Hi my name is Andrew.. I made this soup for my family today and i gotta say it is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe..look forward to more in the future..great job
Thank you so much, Andrew, for trying my recipe. I am so glad that your family enjoyed the soup. I can’t what to hear what you make next. Enjoy! 🙂
This was amazing. I did tweek it a bit and added some franks red hot. This is so good! Thankfully this is a smooth process…My 10 year old helped me make it. Im definitely saving this one!!! Great job!!!
Thank you, Donna! I am so glad that your family enjoyed the potato soup and your daughter joined it to help make it. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Made this last night… yum. The guys loved it (husband and roommate). I added some shallots, because I had some on hand that needed to be used. We also love garlic, so I used 6 cloves. Great recipe, thank you.
So glad everyone enjoyed the potato soup, Andrew! No such thing as too much garlic, right!?
Thank you so much for commenting 🙂
This is the best potato soup ever!! I love potato soup but hands down the best recipe I have found!
Thank you so much, Lana! I am so happy that you enjoyed it! 🙂
Absolutely the best creamy potato soup ever. Perfect comfort food for a cold snowy night. Paired it with baked hot ham and cheese sandwiches! My 3 sons demolished this soup. If I could give this more than 5 stars I totally would. BIG HIT!! Thanks for sharing. I will definitely be adding this to the book. Looking forward to more great recipes.
Thank you so much, Shawna! I am so glad that the Potato Soup was such a hit! I hope you enjoy my other recipes just as much. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
If doubling the recipe to make for a larger crowd would everything just be doubled? I am worried it would be too much liquid. Can’t wait to make this, the reviews alone have me chomping at the bit. Thank you for sharing.
Hello, Shawna! Thank you for trying my recipe! I personally have not doubled the recipe, however, others have and have had success. I hope everyone enjoys the Potato Soup! 🙂
I made it last night and it doubled fine!
I’m peeping and peeling potatoes to make this right now. Quick question… sautéing the onion, garlic flour etc. in the bacon grease, does it give the soup a bacon flavor like you fried it in bacon grease? So excited to make this and sounds delicious but my
husband isn’t big on bacon so trying to find out before I get started. If this does give it a strong bacon flavor could I use just oil in place of bacon grease? Thank you bunches 😊
Hello, Christy! The soup does not have a strong bacon flavor. The other ingredients tone it down. To be sure… you can always drain some of the bacon grease out of the pot before sautéing. I recommend keeping some in there because it really adds so much flavor. Let me know how it turns out. I hope that he enjoys the Potato Soup. 🙂
This was the most delicious potato soup I have ever had and my family totally agreed! I recommend it to everyone, you will not be disappointed.
So glad you enjoyed, Robin! Thank you for commenting!
Absolutely delicious! I added a bit of cornstarch towards the end but 10/10!
My only complaint is that I had a potato soup craving in the middle of the South African summer.
I felt like melting in my little, overheating kitchen 😀 …
But it was TOTALLY worth it!
I am so glad that you enjoyed the Potato Soup Recipe, Toinette, and that you found it completely worth the extra heat. Have a wonderful day and thanks for your comment. 🙂
Picked Janie liked it!
This is the best potato soup recipe – bar none. I made this several times this past winter & idk who is craving it more…the family or me.🤣 So glad I found you!
Thank you so much, Lori! I am glad you found my recipe as well and am so glad that you enjoy it. Potato Soup is my go-to soup recipe during the winter months as well. Thanks for commenting. I hope you try more of my recipes soon. 🙂
Most amazing potato soup ever. Followed it exactly. Delicious!
Thank you so much, Jennifer! I am so glad that you enjoyed the Potato Soup! I hope that you try more of my recipes soon. 🙂