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!
This was a very good soup no changes to the ingredients but used no flour and baked half the potatoes then purée with an immersion blender.
End result a great soup.
I am so glad that you enjoyed it, James! Thank you for sharing your method with us. I appreciate the feedback. 🙂
Excellent!
I am so glad that you loved it, Megan! 🙂
Best soup ever!
Thank you so much, Nona! I am glad you liked it. 🙂
Made this today, no chili but used a small amount of smoked paprika. Also when adding sour cream added cheese to make it like a loaded baked potato. So good
I am so glad that you enjoyed the soup, Donna! The sour cream and cheese sound perfect! 🙂
Delicious! Made so much, can it be frozen?
Hi, Pat! I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe! Unfortunately, I don’t recommend freezing it as it becomes too mushy when reheated. 🙁
I love the comments so far. I’m halfway through cooking it, and I can’t wait. Using bone broth and a 2″ chunk of beef bone to boost immunoproductivity for the family (I’m doing that with everything these days), but staying true to the rest of the recipe. The shelter-in-place made my wife really happy that I’d have more time for cooking.
Stay safe, all!
Thanks for trying my recipe, Craig! I hope that your family enjoys it! 🙂
That’s exactly what I’m doing today. We have been stuck in the house for weeks now, I had a new baby feb 10th so even before then the kids and I have been stuck home. I’ve become creative w my food lately too and I have lots of potatoes lol. It’s nasty and rainy again today so potato soup will be the perfect food. At least for me anyways! Stay safe everyone and enjoy being stuck at home w your family. Even if it seems hard sometimes.
This is a winning recipe. I like the way the chili powder lifts the flavors. Simple one pot dinner!
I am so glad that your family enjoyed the soup, Kelli! Thank you for commenting. 🙂
This soup is never a let down in my house! Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe!
I am so glad that the soup has been such a hit in your house, Erica! Thank you for commenting. 🙂
I wouldn’t drag out the blender for this! I would just smash some potatoes against the sides of the pot. That creates a more rustic texture!
You are welcome to use whatever method that works best for you! 🙂
Very yummy!
I substituted roasted chopped jalapeno for the chilie powder.
I also added half a packet of Ranch seasoning and some pan fried chicken – chopped.
Very filling!
I love your choice of additions, Jenny! I am so glad that the soup was a hit! 🙂
This recipe is outstanding! I’ve never made potato soup before and now I never have to try another recipe because this was truly the best. Next I’m going to make your mac and cheese recipe. Thank you! This was wonderful.
I am so glad that you enjoyed the soup, Jenn! I hope that you love the mac and cheese recipe just as much! Thanks for commenting! 🙂
A great recipe! In the interest of adding a fragrance and some depth I added fresh Thyme while frying off my bacon and a little Italian seasoning while sweating the Onions. Very good!
Dan
I am so glad that you enjoyed the soup, Dan! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Best potato soup ever!
Thank you so much, Liz! I am so glad that you enjoyed it! 🙂
Rather than using a blender I just whisked my soup a little slightly mashing some of the potatoes with the whisk! Worked great! Also did not use the sour cream, still tastes good. Sour cream probably adds that extra cream oomph to it though! Yum!
I am so glad that you enjoyed the soup and the whisk worked well for you, Des! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
I just made this for my family and I, and it is AMAZING!
VERY flavorful!
Thank you, for this wonderful recipe!
I am so glad that the soup was such a hit with your family, Shawn! Thanks for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂