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.
Chad
Really good soup, but completely understated time to make. Allow for double the “total time”. (Prep time is equal to total time and does not include cook time). Otherwise, I’d give it 5 stars.
Jude
My children helped me cook this and it was delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Jude! 🙂
Tracee
Absolutely delicious!
My son and I really enjoyed this cozy soup.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Tracee! 🙂
Geddy’s Uncle
Easy to make and so hearty!! We loved it!!
Sam
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed, thank you so much for commenting! 🙂
Synita
This soup is amazing. The flavor and consistency is just right. Perfect dinner with some crusty warm bread on this frigid day.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Jessica
Could you use russet potatoes instead of gold?
Sam
Yes that will work! Enjoy! 🙂
Lucas Terry
Great soup!
Susie
Added a small amount of a white wine also.
Donna Joiner
Best soup EVER
I’ve made this several times! Love it! Thank you!!
Sam
I’m so glad you have enjoyed it so much, Donna! 🙂
Vanessa Youngblood
My family loved this recipe. I wouldn’t change a thing! How can I save this.
Sam
Hi Vanessa! You can print the recipe or you can save the page to your favorites. 🙂
Raven
So I rarely write reviews on recipes but this one is so special I just have to! This is my first time ever making and eating potato soup and it was phenomenal! The thing that is so special is that my 7 year old son ate not just one but two full servings of this soup. He’s a very picky eater and rarely ever finishes his dinner. It made me so happy to see him actually enjoy his food😭♥️ Thank you so much for this recipe! It will now be a regular menu item in our house.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much! I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a review. Sounds like you’ll be making lots of potato soup for that young boy growing. 🙂
Debra
Simply Fabulous!!!
Pamma
Definitely the best potato soup I’ve ever made or had!!!
Nichole
Just made this and it’s SO GOOD! I was looking for a potato soup recipe to try and use up some ingredients I had laying around, and this was perfect. Especially since it’s supposed to start snowing soon, so cozy
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Nichole! 🙂
Erica Denise Hunt
I first tried this recipe last week and even though my husband said he wanted none, he ended up eating alot of it. Guess what…? We’re having it again tonight! Super delicious! We added waaaay more bacon and opted out of the puree step. Thank you for sharing, this is now a house favorite!
Sam
That is so awesome! I’m so glad everyone enjoys it so much, Erica! 🙂
Cathy Wilkinson
I made this soup and it is fabulous! It’s the first time I have made potatoe soup. My husband loves it, me too!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it, Cathy! 🙂
Jamie
Can I freeze the leftovers?
Bea
I make this soup every time it snows. It’s the perfect warm up dinner. I have passed it along to others too. My granddaughter 6 was in love with this soup!!
Sam
I am so glad everyone has enjoyed it so much! Thanks for passing it along. 🙂
Chan
Hi there, can I reheat in crockpot for large family? I wondering if starches would break down too much and thicken if it’s kept hot too long… thanks for your help
Sam
Hi Chan! Reheating this in a crockpot should work fine. 🙂
Suzette
Just made this and it is awesome. Didn’t have the ancho chili powder but will make sure it is on my shopping list for next time.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Suzette! 🙂
Jean
WOW! I made your potato soup! I used half and half instead of milk plus heavy cream, omitted the chili powder and added 1/2 can of salmon. It was “sensational “! Thanks for sharing a great recipe.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jean! 🙂
Jane Brown
Just made this soup! Was/is delicious. I added frozen corn and regular chili powder. So nice on this chilly day!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jane! 🙂
Lynn
I was thinking of adding salmon, too!
Courtney
I have never found a potato soup recipe that was over the top good. I was hesitant that this would be mediocre like all the others I made. Let me tell you I was completely wrong. This is THE BEST potato soup recipe I have ever tasted! Thank you for sharing this. I am adding it to my recipe box. Make it, you won’t be disappointed!
Sam
Thank you so much, Courtney! I am so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂