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.
Diane
Delicious!
Marina
This was the best potato soup I’ve ever had. I didn’t have the ancho chili powder and I used half n half for the heavy cream. Will be making again soon. Big hit!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Marina! 🙂
Wendy
Really good will be making again
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Wendy! 🙂
Diana
This soup recipe is delicious!
The combination of flavors is superb, with just the right amount of tasty kick without overpowering the savory, creamy base. Even my fussy eater devoured a bowl and came back the next day for another big bowl of leftover soup.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Diana! 🙂
Nicole
Sooo good!!!! I added a cup of cheese into the soup while cooking and I will make this again and again. My son helped make it in the afternoon and once he tasted it he couldn’t wait until dinner time, he kept asking for sneak spoonfuls.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Nicole! 🙂
Mary Duaime
Made this today for my daughters family after her surgery and it smells delicious! I did make it before and wanted to make it again so it would be smooth on her throat. Can’t wait for her to try it! 💖💖💖
Sam
I wish your daughter a speedy recovery, Mary! I hope she loves it. 🙂
Terri
I’m a vegetarian and I’ve always thought I would like potato soup, but every time I attempted to order some, it was already loaded with bacon or made with chicken stock. I substituted the dairy and meat products and the recipe works great for me.
Thanks
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Terri! 🙂
Chey
Can I make this without heavy cream
Sam
Hi Chey! You can make it without the heavy cream but you will need to use milk instead. The soup won’t be quite as thick. 🙂
Savannah
I’m 35 weeks pregnant and have been craving this soup so bad! I made it once and it’s perfection. My husband is not a good cook (poor guy can’t follow a recipe) and I originally planned to make it and freeze it to have as an easy postpartum reheat meal but i read where it wouldn’t freeze well. If I made it closer to my due date, how long would it keep in the fridge?
Sam
Hi Savannah! Congratulations! I’m so excited for you! The soup will only last probably about 4 days in the refrigerator so I’m not sure it is the best make ahead option unfortunately. 🙁
Chris
Give the recipe to your mom or close friend, and ask then to make it when you first come home with your baby! I’m sure they would be thrilled you asked!
Claire
Just made this for the second time. It is AMAZING! Save this recipe now because I thought I had lost the link, and spent about 40 minutes looking for it online because it is WORTH IT! I never thought I could make potato soup taste as good as it does from a restaurant, but this tastes even BETTER! Love love love, I followed the recipe exactly and it was perfect. It looks like a lot of steps but it actually didn’t take long at all. Thank you for a delicious soup that is going in my recipe box to use again and again!
Sam
Thank you so much, Claire! I am so glad you enjoyed it so much. You can always print it and put it in a safe place, or bookmark the page so you don’t lose it again. 🙂
Kristen Sands
I made it tonight for dinner and it is sooo good! Will definitely save this for fall/winter dinners. I added a bit more bacon than the recipe called for and added more heavy cream because I forgot to buy sour cream 🤦🏻♀️But it tasted good anyway.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Kristen! 🙂
Rochelle
Can you make it without the bacon?
Sam
Sure thing. It just provides a lot of flavor here. 🙂
Shawna
Can this be made in the crockpot?
Sam
Hi Shawna! I’m not sure how that would work with all of the steps involved.
Shawna
Has anyone made this in the crock pot?
Colleen
How does this freeze?
Sam
Hi Colleen! I am not sure it freezes very well. I am afraid the heavy cream will separate.
Reia
This recipe is TDF! Made it for the second time tonight when my parents came into town and and blew their mind. They thought it was restaurant quality because it really does have that depth of flavor profile.
It takes a long while for me to make this because I made a double batch this time. The amount of prep involved, cook time and simply trying to get the amount of water required to boil is a nightmare lol (approx 2hrs total for everything). That’s my only downside but that’s my choice. It’s so worth it though!
Thanks for gifting us this wonderful recipe!
Sam
Thank you so much, Reia! I am so glad everyone enjoys it so much! 🙂
Felicia
Ho-ly crap!! This recipe is amazing! I didn’t follow everything exactly as written, but followed the main points. Easy to follow, simple to make, and it was the best potato soup I’ve ever had.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Felicia! 🙂
Susan
Absolutely delicious. Thank u for sharing the recipe. Yum
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Susan! 🙂