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.
Laura
Would this still be good with Russetts? I am trying to use up a large quantity of Russetts and soup is always my go-to when I have too much produce and need to use it up
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Absolutely! We hope you love it, Laura! 😊
Jenna
Amazing! I couldn’t find any ancho chili powder so I used regular chili powder and I was iffy about it, but it’s great! I will personally add more bacon next time, as my family loves bacon 🙂
I wonder what you think about adding different types of potatoes, like red and gold potatoes together?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you loved it, Jenna!
We like gold potatoes best, but a combination of red and gold would work too. Enjoy! 😊
Gina
I love potato soup. I think there is too much flour as it was VERY thick. I will use less next time and add more bacon.
Kristin Fossi
This looks amazing. I have about ten pounds of russet potatoes, can I use those instead?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Absolutely! We hope you enjoy this soup, Kristin 🙂
CL
Delicious!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks so much for your review! 😊
FD
Excellent soup and easy to make!
Pat
Amazing. Added. Little. Red pepper. Mmmmm thank you.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
So glad you liked it, Pat! 🙂
Jeannie
Very good! I served this with a french baguette. Will definitely make again!
Rodney V
How much is a serving size? I.e. the quantity? Very good recipe!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Rodney! A serving is about 1.5 cups. Enjoy! 🙂
Phyllis Lee
I made this for my lunch bunch and they love it. We call this a “Do Over”
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for letting us know this was a hit for you, Phyllis! ❤️
Nancy
First time I ever made potato soup! The best potato soup I ever had oh. Thank you for this wonderful easy recipe delicious!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so happy you liked it, Nancy! Thanks for commenting 🙂
Robert durst
A fantastic recipe. Any one tried a bkt of celery in it
Destiny
If there is no heavy cream? Is whipping cream optional? Pls reply. 😊
Sam
Hi Destiny! If you leave it out the soup will just not be as creamy.
Susan
Yes whipping cream will work as a substitute to heavy cream!
Catherine Simpson
Easy to make, and my sister loves it. It is quite delicious.
Carmen
Super delicious! The chicken broth and the creaminess with the bacon is perfect. I used regular chili powder because I wasn’t sure where to get Ancho chili powder. I also added a bit of Lawry’s seasoning.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you loved this recipe, Carmen! ❤️
Sylvia Lord
Have been trying to find best homemade Potato Soup for years traveling to many areas as military wife. This soup is at the top of my list. Found your video so helpful and followed your recipe except had to use heavy whipping cream instead of heavy cream which I couldn’t find. Was told main difference between the two is fat content so just increased butter by two tablespoons. Love it, love it 😋💖💖💖
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wow, we’re so pleased to hear that this was a winner for you, Sylvia! Thanks so much for your review. 🙂
Miriam Rose Blanar
Best potato soup ever! I only has a chance to eat 1 bowl because my husband devoured the soup. Very delicious!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks for letting us know how it turned out for you, Miriam. Sounds like you’ll just have to make some more! 😊
Claire
This is delicious!!! Can you freeze this?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Claire! We haven’t done this ourselves, but several reviewers have done so successfully. The soup might separate slightly when you thaw it. Enjoy! 🙂
Dania Mathis
I see some recipes people use cream cheese, rather than sour cream, what’s the difference is it better to see one and not the other l? Could us use both together?
TIm
This is a delicious recipe. Perhaps the best potato soup I’ve had. All the better that I made it!
DO NOT SKIP THE ANCHO POWDER. It is key!
Kelly J - MI mom
Make this!! Don’t be afraid to substitute out things you have- I used regular chili powder. My family cannot get this enough -so yummy!!!!
Dawn
Have you ever made this with ground sausage? I’m out of bacon and don’t want to grocery shop…
Sam
I haven’t tried it myself, let me know how it turns out 🙂
Angel Annetter Quillin
My family and I loved the recipe! I substituted paprika for the chili powder.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Sounds delicious! So glad you loved this one, Angel 🙂
Kris
Amazing flavor! Easy recipe. Thank you for sharing❣️
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you loved this recipe, Kris! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Johnny
OMG This is a recipe for the Gods.This is the first time I have used this recipe for tater soup. I have to puree a lot of foods because of a swallowing problem and it is fantastic. Thanks for sharing that gourmet recipe with this old Southern country boy.😋
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so glad you loved this recipe, Johnny! 🙂