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.
Lynn
I am thinking of adding a couple carrots, or will that be a breech of etiquette?
Sam
Definitely not, go for it! 🙂
Deborah K
I’ve made great potato soup for years but your video caught my eye so had to try it out & I must say this is soup is AMAZING & my new favorite! I added a few stalks of thinly slice celery with the onions & a chipotle Chile powder since that’s what I had, I topped mine with green onions & cheddar cheese with the bacon.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Deborah! 🙂
Deb
I was looking for a recipe for baked potato soup as i never had made it before.. I came across yours and i must say it was absolutely delicious!!!!!!!!! No leftovers unfortunately!!! Will definitely make this many times over! Thanks so much!!!!!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Deb! 🙂
Vee Tiemann
Where do you find ancho chili powder, I haven’t been able to find any, I did Improvise and just cut the tip of a dried ancho pepper left over from tamales and let cook then removed the pepper piece before serving
Sam
It’s typically in the spice section. You can use just regular chili powder if you can’t find it but your substitution sounds tasty too. 🙂
James "Figgy" Hardwick
I just found it at Kroger’s today. This is amazing soup.. just waiting for the Wolfe n son to come home so I can dig in!!!!
James "Figgy" Hardwick
That’s supposed to be wife, not Wolfe… hope she doesn’t see this!
Sam
🤣 I hope everyone loves it! I promise not to tell her what you called her. 😉
Neil
Great recipe to make amazing comfort food.
Toni
This came out very creamy. I added some sharp cheddar cheese to the soup along with the sour cream. This is a good recipe it’s a keeper!
Mary
Do you leave the lid on for simmering ? It doesn’t say
Sam
Hi Mary! You don’t need to cover the soup at any point. 🙂
Mehrdd ghanimifard
Merry i try ur recipe it came out the best creamy potato supe i ever had thank you
Carol
Just adding my compliments to the list! There was no need to purée for me. The potatos were cut small enough and the soup was thick enough. I added chopped green onion and sautéed mushrooms as a topping. Thank you!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Carol! 🙂
Alyssa
Amazing recipe!! Used greek yogurt instead of sour cream, and added some sauteed mushrooms and small broccoli flourets at the end. Used sodium-free broth, and just 1 tsp of salt- was enough for us. Also added a bottle of Corona. Very versatile! Will go back to this recipe again and again.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Alyssa! 🙂
Judith Montalvo
I plan to mash some to be thicker , but it’s looking good and I used chili powder. Can’t wait for it to be complete ❗️
Ashley
This is an amazing recipe! My first time making homemade potato soup and omg it’s so delicious! My family love it 😊! I will definitely be making this more often now.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Ashley! 🙂
Lee Ann
My neighbor just shared this recipe with me. She said it was tasty! I’m wondering if anyone knows how to convert to making in a Instant Pot?
Cheryl
Sweet Jesus thank you. This soup is the absolute best!!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Cheryl! 🙂
Cait
Hi there, is there any way to make this without the bacon or would it totally ruin the recipe?
Sam
Hi Cait! You can make it without bacon, you will just lose a good bit of flavor. 🙂
Me Mary Nestoros
Hey Cait!
Not true!! U can use Turkey bacon or a liquid bacon flavor and just the onions n garlic will do. Most recipes do not call for bacon. And as Mary said u loose a good bit of flavor because we like the fat. 😂
Ray Miera
Great recipe. The only thing I did different was I baked the potatoes , then scooped them out of the skins. I did your version and I did a version substituting pureed green chili.
Carrie
Would it be ok to use russet potatoes?
Sam
That should work. 🙂
Lindsay
Hi Sam! Great recipe! Will this recipe freeze well for later?
Sam
Hi Lindsay! I haven’t tried it, but I would be worried about the cream separating out when freezing. 🙁
Heidi
Wow. This is seriously the BEST potato soup I have ever tasted! Followed exactly except added corn. I LOVE the little kick chili powder gives it! Thank u!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Heidi! 🙂
Gina
I came across your recipe a couple months ago and have made it 8 times already! I have my own recipe that I have used for years, but this one has been my go to lately! Thanks so much for sharing!
Sam
That’s a lot of soup! I’m so glad you have enjoyed it so much, Gina. 🙂
Lizbeth Gonzalez
Can I use regular russet potatoes?
Sam
That should work here. 🙂