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.
Amber
I have made many potato soup recipes and this one is not only the easiest but also my family’s favorite! My teenage son said it’s the best he has ever had. I have made it couple times now and didn’t change a thing, well I did put cheese right in the soup the same time I added the bacon and sour cream at the end.
Sam
I am so glad everyone has enjoyed it so much, Amber! 🙂
Jennifer
This is the best potato soup recipe ever. I’ve made it multiple times and my family loves it. I didn’t have ancho chili powder when I made it the first time so I used some cayenne pepper in place. It gives it a little kick, which we love, so I’ve been using it ever since. All of your recipes that I have tried have always come out perfect, and I’ve shared your site multiple times with family and friends. I made your Oatmeal Cookies for the first time earlier this week (and added raisins, sorry, I know you said you prefer chocolate, lol) and they were better than any I have ever had from any bakery. Thanks so much for your website and recipes! I’m trying to get brave enough to try a bread recipe in the near future, but I know it will be a challenge since bread has always been a challenge for me. I may start with biscuit recipe first, and ease into it. Lol!
Sam
I am so glad you have been enjoying everything, Jennifer! I think you’ll really surprise yourself when you make the perfect bread. It’s so rewarding when it comes out so nicely. The biscuits are definitely a great option. Good luck! 🙂
Tiffany
What can I do if I don’t have a blender and don’t take out half the mixture? Is it ok to skip that step?
Sam
Some people have used a potato masher to mash half of the soup, but yes you can absolutely skip that step. The soup won’t be as thick/creamy, but it will still be great!
Dawn
Super yummy! Easy to follow recipe! Came out perfect! First time ever making potato soup and I will only use this recipe. No need to try others because this one was perfect. I added a little dry mustard and it tasted fabulous!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Dawn! 🙂
Shelia
This soup is so simple to prepare and it’s absolutely delicious! It is so hardy and perfect for a supper meal after work. Thank you! Shelia
Karen Proctor
Absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing.
Jan Ciz
Delicious!!! Especially when topped with cheese, bacon, green onions and sour cream.
donna
I made this as directed without pulvirising the potatoes. It’s delious.
Cindy
Excellent!!!
Amelia Casillo
I agree it is excellent. I added carrots and celery. I did not blend half the soup as it is thick enough as is. I did use a 3 lb bag of potatoes. I added half the bacon during cooking and held out the other half till after blending, but I didn’t blend, so added it at that point along with the sour cream and a half a cup of sharp cheddar.
dan
Perfect soup on a cold winter day! Absolutely perfect recipe. Thank you
Erin B.
I forgot to peel my potatoes. I wanted to use up a bag of small creamer potatoes and onions I had sitting on my counter. Turned out perfect ! Great recipe and easy to do.
Kathryn
Can this potato soup recipe be frizen?
Sam
Hi Kathryn! I haven’t tried it myself, but I would be worried the cream would separate out.
Kathy
Boiling for 10 minutes made the potatoes stick to the bottom and the potatoes got burned and ruined the soup and my LeCreset!
Sam
Hi Kathy! O no I’m so sorry this happened. I’m sure it’s frustrating. You want to make sure to stir it occasionally while it’s boiling. 🙂
Amelia Casillo
Next time reduce heat to boil, to like med high. Even at 5hat I had to stir it every 3 minutes.
Linda
Best potato soup ever! My family and friends love it! Thanks for the recipe!!!
Auntie Rachel
Okay So Im goi g to Try this recipe this Evening. ALOT of wonderful reviews. Im really EXCITED and cant wait to make it. I will send my review. After making and family trying and get there comment’s!! Wish me luck !! Cant wait!!
Sam
I hope everyone loves it! 🙂
Leah
First time ever making potato soup. Homerun! Thank you. It was perfect for a snowy New England winter day.
Only tweak I made was to cook it at least 10 minutes longer than recommended. But that’s me. I like my potatoes super soft.