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!
Very delicious and easy to make!
This recipe is awesome! We live in New Mexico so SW cuisine is a staple. I added 1 1/2 tsp of red chili, smoked paprika, and a good amount of roasted green chile. My husband loves it. This will definitely be a recipe I keep on file. Thank you! One thing I did do wrong was not wait for the portion of soup to puree to cool; thus, causing the lid to pop off – a bit of a mess, but worth the clean-up,
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Lisa! 🙂
This was so good! We will be making it often!! Thanks!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Tasha! 🙂
Can you use Russet potatoes?
Hi Kristen! That should work here. 🙂
I have two teenage boys that love this soup. They love the taste and I love that it fills them up! I used russet potatoes, peeled, and only 1/4 c flour. I cooked it well in the onion/ butter mix so it was not gritty later. I did puree half of the potatoes in my blender. It was the perfect consistency, I don’t like big chunks of potato. I left out the sour cream but added some shredded cheese at the end. The chili powder is a must!! Big hit in my family…Thank you for sharing!
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Nadine! 🙂
Made this tonight because I had all the ingredients handy. It was quick, easy, and super-delicious as the recipe suggests. THANK YOU. I’ll certainly make again since the entire family loved it (a feat difficult to accomplish!).
I am so happy to hear it was such a hit for the whole family, Deena! Thank you so much for commenting and letting me know how it turned out, I appreciate it! 🙂
It came out delicious but mine was a little dark in color. Not sure why. Any ideas?
Hi Jackie! Hmm, it could be the broth you used? Was it particularly rich in color?
Hi, I mashed the potatoes in the pot to avoid pouring hot liquid. Used old timey potato masher.
Great recipe!
Great idea! I’m so glad the soup was a hit, Dawn, thank you so much for commenting! 🙂
Made it EXACTLY by the recipe. The CHLI POWDER makes it FABULOUS! I couldnt find your brand so i use a ‘Six Chili Powder’ thats smoky and earthy….it was so FLAVORFUL!!
I am so happy you enjoyed, Pam! Thank you so much for commenting, I appreciate it! 🙂
Very delicious can you freeze this soup
Hi Earl! I would be worried about the soup separating in the freezer.
Great recipe! I just added one thing…cream cheese. I thinly sliced a block of cream cheese and added it to the soup before I mixed it in the blender. It is delicious and super easy. Thanks!
What will be lost without the Ancho chili powder. I haven’t been able to find it.
Hi Neal! You get a nice smokiness and depth of flavor if you use it, but lots of commenters have reported that they’ve just used regular chili powder instead and they’ve been very happy with the results! 🙂
Could you use smoked paprika instead? A little milder than most peppers but would add that smokiness.
It would definitely change the flavor but could definitely work. 🙂
Try a Tienda Mexicana. They should have ancho chili powder.
I have been making this soup for well over a year now! My kids, mom, sister EVERYONE LOVES IT!!! I am so glad I found and tried this recipe!! My kids literally ask for this at LEAST several times a month lol & I gladly make it because it is just SO AMAZING!!! Thank you for sharing this wonderful was with us!!
I am so glad everyone enjoys it so much, Christine! 🙂
Making this tonight. Do you have to use the sour cream, or is there something else you can use instead?
Hi April! You can leave it out but you will definitely lose some of the depth of flavor here.
I used your recipe and was the best potato soup and the creamiest I have ever made .
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Susan! 🙂
My bf said 5 stars. Creamy, flavorful and easy. A bit time consuming but worth it.