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!
Can I freeze this?
Hi Amy! I don’t recommend it. The cream is likely to separate out.
Hi. This soup was a hut with my husband (and me!). I actually made it for my grown daughter who is having dental work tomorrow, so I pureed the whole thing.
It’s super creamy, and very thick. What would you recommend to thin it out. Sure don’t want to mess with the flavor!
Ever since returning from Christmas in Ireland, I’ve tried to recreate the best potato soup I’d ever had. After several attempts, this one is the closest to a dead ringer!
I am so glad everyone has enjoyed it so much, Patti! 🙂
Wow, probably the best soups I’ve ever tasted. Thk you so much for sharing. The Wife & I love it. Best soup ever..
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Michael! 🙂
It was a big hit with my family! Loved the little extra taste of chili powder, it was just enough! And I threw it together in a hour!!! My 5 year old grandson said , I was the best cook ever! He actually ate a whole bowl 🍲!!!
When dinner is grandson approved you found a winner! I am so happy to hear how much everyone enjoyed it, Cinda! Thank you for commenting. 🙂
Turned out really good 😀
I am so glad that you enjoyed it, Debra! 🙂
Made this today for just two of us, I will have to take the leftovers to work and share it is so delicious! Plus, I don’t think it will be good for me to keep eating it since I don’t exercise much lol. I did substitute Trader Joe’s “Everything But the Elote” seasoning for the ancho chili powder and it worked out great. Thank you for sharing!
I am so happy to hear how much you enjoyed it, Trish! I hope that your co-workers will too. 😉
This recipe was soo good !!! Everyone in my family ate had seconds !
I am so happy to hear how much you enjoyed it, Jessica! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Family LOVES this recipe!
I am so happy to hear that it was a hit, Ryan! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
I’m haven’t topped it yet with the toppings but the soup itself is wonderful. I second guessed the chili powder but it gives it extra flavor. Two thumbs up!
I am glad that you enjoyed it, Erin! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Made this today. I didn’t have ancho chili powder so I used smoked paprika, a dash of cayenne, and a dash of chili powder. I also added corn. Huge hit with the family! Thanks for sharing!
I am so happy to hear that everyone enjoyed it, Carolyn! 🙂
i just made this but i didn’t use milk or sour cream just the potatoes, bacon, onions, garlic, 4 cups of beef bouillon and a can of tomato puree plus an extra cup of water. i also added 4 carrots, fresh parsley, basil leaves, and a slew of other spices including ground ginger, cumin, and smoked paprika. i blended most of it. set aside more parsley bacon and cheddar for toppings. toasted up some rolls to go with it. fingers crossed this will be a hit!
I hope that everyone loves it, Renate! 🙂
It was very tasty!!! Thank you for the recipe
I am happy to hear that you enjoyed the soup, Kim! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Just made this & it is delicious! I dud not puree any potatoes but, I did add some instant mashed potatoes to thicken a bit.
I am so glad that you enjoyed it, Maureen! 🙂
Made this today, it is delicious. Didn’t have any bacon so I am sure that would have added another layer of flavor. Also I used only half and half. Didn’t have heavy cream. I might use just a little less sour cream next time around, just my personal preference. Great recipe and relatively easy. Thanks,
I am so glad that you enjoyed it, Darlene! 🙂
With the weather changing I was totally craving potato soup, and this definitely hit the spot! The only *changes* that I made were adding broccoli and doubling the recipe (lol 😂)! I’m going on day three of eating it, and it seriously gets better each day! Definitely one for the recipe book! Thank you SO much!
I am so happy to hear it, Kayla! Thank you so much for trying my recipe and for the feedback. 🙂