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.
Beth
Used russets instead of gold, cayenne instead of ancho-chili and cut the broth with water to reduce the salt. It was honestly the best soup I’ve ever had. Thanks!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Beth! 🙂
Sarah
This recipe came out delicious! I added smoked paprika, Chipotle chili pepper, and slap ya mama Cajun seasoning for an extra kick. 10/10 will make again!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Sarah! 🙂
Cian Sexton
Perfect compliments of the spice and the potatoes. Had 3 bowls of it myself and I cooked it as a 13 year old.
So its quite easy.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Cian! 🙂
Anna
Easy. Quick. Utterly delicious.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Anna! 🙂
elaina
best potato soup !
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Elaina! 🙂
Lindsay
This soup was a huge hit in my house; I was grateful I made a double batch or there would’ve been none left to enjoy later! I wouldn’t change a single thing about this soup, although my husband suggested adding carrots, which I may have to try next time. Thank you for the perfect recipe, it will definitely have a place in my favorites pile.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Lindsay! 🙂
Chef Papa
Absolutely delicious! Added mushrooms to mine but the recipe was full proof. Thanks!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Stephanie
My 1st time making potato soup and I really like this recipe.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Stephanie! 🙂
Ashley McElroy
This turned out amazing! Def will make again.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Ashley! 🙂
Valerie R.
I used white potatoes instead of gold. I was worried about chili powder because I don’t do spicy foods, but it does add just the right flavor! It is delicious! Will definitely be making this for years to cone! Thank you for sharing..
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Valerie! 🙂
Andrew
I have personally made a few supplements. I added 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and instead of the chilli powder I used Harissa.
Definitely delicious!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Andrew! 🙂
Audrey Hois
Can I substitute a can of evaporated milk instead of heavy cream
Sam
Honestly I am not sure how it would turn out. 🙁
Olivia
I used fat free evaporated milk instead of heavy cream and it turned out amazing. I live this recipe and it will be a weekly thing now
Sam
Thank you so much for the feedback! I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Jamie Hays
So easy and absolutely delicious! The chili powder gives it a special flavor!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jamie! 🙂
Elizabeth
I was surprised at how easy this was to make and quick after working all day. It was very tasty. I didn’t have Ancho Chili powder so I used regular chili powder and it was still good. I will definitely be making this again.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Elizabeth! 🙂
Judith
Best Potato soup ever
Sam
Thank you so much, Judith! I am so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂