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!
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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
- 2/3 cup heavy cream 155ml
- 1 ½ teaspoon* salt
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder**
- 2/3 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!
Megan Lesneski says
This soup was sooooooo good! My husband has been asking me to make potato soup for a while and I stumbled onto your recipe on Pinterest. I’m so glad I did! It is definitely going into our rotation for whenever we feel like a hearty soup! We both loved it and it made quite a lot so we had it for several meals. It’s such a great way to use up a lot of potatoes. I didn’t have ancho chili powder so I used regular, and it was good. But afterward I bought some ancho chili powder especially to try in my next batch of this soup. It’s perfect for a cold and rainy day like you mention. Yummmmm! Thank you so much! Can’t wait to check out more of your recipes!
Sam says
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Megan! Hopefully you love everything you try! 🙂
Mara says
What could I sub for the milk? More chicken broth? Or more heavy cream?
Sam says
Do half chicken broth and half cream (so it’s not too thick/rich and not too thin). Enjoy!
Elizabeth says
Holy cow, this was the best soup I ever made! And maybe the best potato soup I’ve ever eaten. So rich and creamy, just wow! Note- I used my own stock (from my Thanksgiving turkey) and used regular chili powder and a tad bit of red pepper flakes since I didn’t have ancho chili powder. Definitely recommend it to anyone, even beginners.
Rhonda Geer says
If I make this soup for a work lunch will it stay fresh until the next day? Please advise.
Sam says
It will! Enjoy 🙂
Ken says
Made this to the letter of the recipie and it was a true delight. Will definitely make it again for company. My wife and I had seconds tonight and were happy to have leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch. Used 1/2 tsp regular chilli powder in the soup and used chilli flakes as a topper.
Sam says
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Ken! 🙂
Dimple says
I just made this today and added carrots and corn and it was delicious. I didn’t put bacon. And it was still very tasty. Thank you. This will be a great addition
Sam says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Acadia says
Allergic to peppers so used horseradish…pretty darn good. Will be my go to potato soup recipe
Sam says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Emily says
Delicious!! Added some leeks the second time. Mmm!
I also get ground bacon ends from a local butcher. They are perfect for adding to soup and, well, everything!
Sam says
So happy to hear the soup was such a hit, Emily! 🙂
Emily says
I’m going to tinker with adding other veggies. I usually throw a handful of quinoa in every soup I make too. I love ways to get extra protein and nutrients into my kids!
Glenn says
This soup was amazing!
Although I didn’t have the ancho, I subbed in hatch green chili powder and smoked paprika.
Thanks Sam
Sam says
I’m so glad you enjoyed, Glenn! 🙂
katherine l FRANKE says
Hi, Sam,
I do not have ancho chili powder for this recipe, what can I use in place of it?
or just not use anything at all?
thank You,
Kathy
Sam says
Hi Kathy! You can use regular chili powder or you can just omit it. Enjoy! 🙂
Carly says
Soooo good I just made this today! My first time making potato soup and I was delicious. Saving this recipe for the future. But didn’t realize how much it makes! Can I freeze it?
Sam says
Hi Carly! It doesn’t do well freezing. It tends to separate. 🙁 I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Brenda Wingerden says
Extremely easy to make, tastes amazing 👏 😋 👌 🙌
Sam says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Brenda! 🙂
Andrea says
The best potato soup I have ever had. I made his last winter and thought I lost the recipe. I found it today and will be my go to comfort soup.
Sam says
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Andrea! 🙂
Sherry says
Have tried many potato soup recipes and this is by far my family’s favorite. And it gives me another reason to use my immersion blender! 🙂
Sam says
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Sherry! 🙂
Nellie says
Me and my bf made this, was absolutely amazing! Is there a way to make it Gluten free? I want to make some for my family, but they cannot eat gluten.
Sam says
Hi Nellie! You could probably replace the flour with cornstarch here. 🙂
Hanna says
Best potato soup I’ve get had. I made it for my boyfriend who’s mom is a fantastic cook and he said it was better then hers!!
Sam says
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Hanna! 🙂