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.
Jill
I’m trying this in the crock pot, we will see how it turns out!
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Jill! Keep me posted, I’d love to know how it turns out! 🙂
Jill
It turned out great! Just removed some potatoes and mashed a little put back in and stirred!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy that it turned out perfectly, Jill! Thanks for the feedback. Enjoy! 🙂
Joan phipps
I want you to know that your soup was the best I ever had. Instead of giving it a 5 star I give it 10 star. Thank you for a great meal. I put the chili in it and it was great.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy to hear how much you enjoyed the potato soup, Joan! Thank you so much for the 5-star review. I appreciate it! 🙂
Wendy
We left the chili powder out, and it was pretty good. Would have it again. Yum
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the potato soup, Wendy! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Deann Wiggans
Love it thank you
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you for commenting, Deann! I am so glad that you loved the potato soup! 🙂
Dina Smith
This recipe is fabulous! Our whole family loved it. I didn’t have heavy cream so I just used more milk. I also didn’t have ancho chili powder so I used regular chili powder and a little red pepper flakes. Next time I’ll try it with Aleppo pepper since I have that. We also used more bacon and added it after for garnish.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the potato soup, Dina! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Moriah
This was soo helpful and good
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you found the tips helpful and the potato soup delicious, Moriah! Thanks for trying my recipe! 🙂
Michael
Used thick cut bacon and will use less bacon next time made too much grease or will add more flower.
Overall it tastes great I did add red chili flakes to spice it up.
Will make again
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed the potato soup, Michael! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Valerie Grothoff
I have been looking at potato soup recipes all morning. I came across your’s and thought it looked to simple, so I kept passing it up. I watched the video and thought, “OK, I’ll give it a try! All those 5 stars gotta come from somewhere…One lick of the soup when I poured it out from the blender, and I was in love! So simple. yet loads of flavor. My MIL makes a version that is literally milk soup with potatoes. This was spot on a loaded baked potato. Can not wait to try some more recipes, thank you!
Sam
You’re very welcome! I’m so glad the soup was such a hit for you! Thanks for commenting, Valerie 🙂
David Rising
Being a true Idahoan I know a good potato soup when I find one. I have been making Idaho spud soup for over 50 years and you have created the best I have ever made. Just a few minor touches to make my way and I give your recipe 5 stars. Killer spud soup.
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, David! I am so glad that you enjoyed it! 🙂
NANCY BUCKMAN
Much quicker then the way Ive been going about it! Which was my moms plain recipe plus doctoring it up.) We like ours chunky so i just use a tater-masher a few times instead of puree. I havent looked up the difference of the chili pwdr since all i had was plain chili pwdr to use anyway. But i feel it still enhanced the flavor. I still added a lil of my “secret ingredient” that you could use in place of the bacon fat. Ham base adds a hint of a smokey flavor. My kids & I are all lactose intolerant, so if were pulling out the dairyeze pills, it has to be worth it. And since the were all wanting it again, it was definitely worth it! Thanks
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad to hear that you loved the potato soup and my recipe was quick to make. Thanks for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Micky
Fantastic recipe! I used turmeric instead of the pepper bc it is cold season. I also don’t think I would’ve needed the sour cream so I think I’ll leave it next time. I also just use bacon fat and did not add any butter and use gluten-free flour because we have to be gluten-free here. Overall it was fantastic and we loved every single spoonful
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that the potato soup was a hit, Micky! Thanks for trying my recipe. 🙂
Michele Lombard
Great flavor!
Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Michele! I am glad that you enjoyed the potato soup! 🙂
Sarah
If making the soup ahead of time do you still add the sour cream in? Or is it better to add when warming up the soup the the day you eat it?
Sam
I still add the sour cream. I’ve never had any problem with reheating it from the refrigerator. If you were freezing it I might advise differently but for just heating from refrigeration you’ll be fine 🙂
Brenda Gordon
OMG – I made this last night and it’s the most delicious potato soup recipe ever! I was a bit hesitant to use the ancho chili pepper but it added a whole new dimension to the soup. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to have found your site and try more of your recipes. Thank you for sharing with us!
ps ~ I’m going to make the Best Chili Recipe tonight – and am excited to see just how yummy it will be.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy that you have found my site too, Brenda, and that you have enjoyed the recipes you have tried so far. Thank you for commenting. Keep me posted on how your chili turns out. I hope that you love it just as much! 🙂
Colleen Emmett
I made this soup last night .
I have never made pot6soup before and was nervous.
Let me say it turned out fantastic ❤.
The instructions and hints were great.
This is a new family favorite for my house.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that your potato soup turned out perfectly, Colleen, and that your family enjoyed it! Thanks for commenting. 🙂