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.
Ben
This is amazing soup. Was apprehensive about the bacon fat separating when cooled but it did not. Do you have a substitute for Ancho powder? I used a little cayenne powder last time and while it was great, I wasn’t sure if it detracted from the taste…
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you liked it Ben! Ancho is our preference here, but you could try using a blend of regular chili powder and smoked paprika instead. Hope that helps!
Tawnie Munoz
This has turned into a monthly family dinner! love it so tasty! 10/10♡♡
Connie Franklin
Excellent!!! I added Velveeta cheese to pot while cooking in the last stages, it was fantastic. I have made both ways it is delicious either way! Thank you 😊
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yum! Enjoy, Connie 🥰
Robby L Warnick
I added one cup buttermilk, and one cup 2% milk to give it a more buttery flavor and it turned out amazing. That is the only change I made to your recipe.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Robby!
Michelle
Hi! What kind of milk is recommended?
Sam
Whole milk. 🙂
Gene
Can I use powdered milk? I have no whole milk here on hand.
Sam
Hi Gene! I think if you rehydrated it, it could potentially work, but without having tried it I can’t say for sure. 🙁 Let me know how it goes if you do try it. 🙂
Chanteau
Hey Sam. Could you please email the potato recipe? Would love to make it seeing the great reviews.
Sam
You can find the recipe right above where you leave a comment. 🙂
Adam
amazing
Lauren
Can I use russet potatoes?
Sam
Sure. 🙂
Sara H.
I made this about a few ago and it was a hit. It was requested again for tonight’s dinner. I totally recommend.
Laura K
Excellent soup, huge find, will make again
Alma rivera
lI love this soup. I had never had potatoes soup until I tried this one. I think is a favorite for my girls.
CHRISTOPHER JOHN MALTBY
Fantastic! This is going in my permanent recipe file. I do, however, use a full teaspoon of ancho chili. Oh, and I wouldn’t plan on leftovers if I were you. I’m alone and I’ve had three bowls already.
Clarence
I want to make a big batch of soup, can I freeze it ??
Sam
Hi Clarence! I don’t recommend it as the soup could separate. 🙁
Dave
how much is one serving? is it 1 cup or 2 cups?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Dave! A serving is roughly 1.75 cups 😊
Len
A family favorite recipe in our household. Tastes amazing and kids always ask for it!
Save this recipe, there’s no need to find another – this one’s a keeper. Simply the best!
Alana Theis
This potato soup was the best I think I’ve ever had.
H S
Oh, baby good!!! My husband just said “That’s some fine tasting soup!” I totally agree!
Outstanding taste, easy to make, easy to adjust the recipe yield. I fully recommend!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so happy it was such a hit! Thanks for trying our recipe 🩷