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    Home » Soup

    The Ultimate Creamy Potato Soup

    February 2, 2018 Updated February 25, 2019 BySam 5,543 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
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    potato soup in white bowl

    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.

    A close up view of creamy potato soup, topped with bacon, sour cream, chives, and cheddar cheese

    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).

    An overhead view of a bowl of potato soup]

    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!

    Two bowls of potato soup

    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.

    Creamy Potato Soup, loaded with bacon and cheese

    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

    Potato soup in bowl, with toppings

    The Ultimate Potato Soup Recipe

    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.
    4.98 from 4066 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Soup
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Servings: 8 servings (recipe makes 3.5 qts of soup)
    Calories: 521kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    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

    • Immersion blender
    • Dutch Oven
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    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

    *I recommend starting with a more reserved amount of salt and then adding more as needed, the amount of salt needed will vary depending on the type/brand of broth you use
    **If you haven't used ancho chili powder before, I recommend starting with ¼ teaspoon and then taste-testing before increasing to ½ teaspoon if you like the taste.  
    ***If you want a completely creamy soup you can puree all of it, just puree in batches, about half of the soup at a time.  I prefer my potato soup with actual chunks of potatoes and prefer to puree just half of it.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 521kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 1326mg | Potassium: 1176mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 897IU | Vitamin C: 50mg | Calcium: 182mg | Iron: 2mg

    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.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lisa

      March 11, 2024 at 6:47 pm

      5 stars
      Love this potato soup! I use low-sodium chicken broth. I just use a potato masher at the end right in the dutch oven. Saves on clean-up. Not too much though. I like chunks of potatoes in my soup. Great flavor! (I may add some shredded carrot in the future just for color.)

      Reply
    2. Tonia Lafave

      March 11, 2024 at 3:54 pm

      5 stars
      Best potato soup ever! It’s easy and delicious! I use leftover bacon grease if I don’t have bacon. Plus I add cayenne pepper and carrots if I have them. This is so delicious. Also I use whatever kind of potatoes I happen to have.

      Reply
    3. Coco

      March 10, 2024 at 9:32 pm

      5 stars
      I made it for the first time today and it came out delicious! Thank you for another great recipe! This is perfect for cold nights!

      Reply
    4. Kristin Reis

      March 10, 2024 at 9:15 pm

      5 stars
      So good! I did add some celery salt and black pepper to the onions when cooking, but I think it would’ve been good without. Highly recommend

      Reply
      • G

        March 11, 2024 at 9:20 pm

        5 stars
        Wonderful recipe as is! Followed recipe to a T. Awesome.

        Reply
    5. Melinda Reese

      March 10, 2024 at 4:04 pm

      For my mother in law, I’m afraid the chili spice will be too spicy for her. Any suggestions for a replacement of the ancho chili?

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 10, 2024 at 8:55 pm

        Hi Melinda! Ancho chili powder should not be very spicy. It adds a great flavor, but if you have concerns, you can just leave it out. I don’t know of a great substitute.

        Reply
        • Melinda Reese

          March 10, 2024 at 10:20 pm

          5 stars
          This soup had so much flavor! Made exactly as the recipe called for, except my husband and I sprinkled the ancho chili powder on our individual bowls of soup because my mother in law can’t have anything resembling spice. Thank you for this recipe, it’s a real keeper!

    6. The Carmenator

      March 08, 2024 at 4:51 pm

      5 stars
      This is my first time with the recipe! I’m making it for meatless Friday today. It’s delicious AND easy! TY for this!
      P.S.
      I did use low sodium broth, but controlled the salt when ingredient asked for it😉😉

      Reply
    7. Laurie R

      March 08, 2024 at 2:26 pm

      5 stars
      My boyfriend rated this a 15 out of 10!!! We added diced ham as well. We love this recipe! Thank you for publishing it!

      Reply
      • Renea A Powell

        March 10, 2024 at 11:07 am

        I prefer not to puree any of the soup. My family prefers chunks of potato throughout. I love the recipe though.

        Reply
      • Donna

        March 10, 2024 at 12:08 pm

        Can I use extra chicken broth ??

        Reply
        • Sam

          March 11, 2024 at 10:25 am

          Hi Donna! Your soup will be a little bit thinner, but it will still turn out. 🙂

    8. Dana

      March 08, 2024 at 4:43 am

      5 stars
      I used ingredients I had on hand substituting milk with coconut milk and flour with almond meal flour. Delicious will definitely make again!

      Reply
    9. Cara Malone

      March 07, 2024 at 9:32 pm

      5 stars
      My boyfriend claims it is the best soup he has ever had!

      Reply
    10. Colleen

      March 07, 2024 at 1:13 pm

      5 stars
      Delicious soup! I make it regularly as the requests are frequent. I like the half puree and half potatoes to be chunky. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 07, 2024 at 4:43 pm

        Thank you so much for trying my recipe, Colleen! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

        Reply
    11. Ginny

      March 07, 2024 at 10:19 am

      Can you make this soup ahead of time and heat it the next day to eat?

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 07, 2024 at 4:35 pm

        Absolutely, my family does it all the time. Enjoy, Ginny!

        Reply
    12. Stevie M

      March 05, 2024 at 9:19 am

      Is there a way to make this gluten free?

      Reply
      • Sam

        March 05, 2024 at 12:18 pm

        Hi Stevie! Unfortunately I am not familiar with making gluten free dishes so I wouldn’t be able to advise on how to do it.

        Reply
      • Lori

        March 05, 2024 at 9:34 pm

        Use corn starch or Rice flour for thickener.

        Reply
    13. Diana

      March 04, 2024 at 8:13 pm

      5 stars
      This was easy to make and was DELICIOUS!!

      Reply
    14. Sara

      March 04, 2024 at 12:09 pm

      5 stars
      I follow the recipe to the letter and it is always superb. One thing I did notice was that there is a slight difference between the video and the text recipe. The video you simmer the soup 30 minutes somewhere along in the recipe; whereas the text recipe does not mention that. Also I do use a tad bit more flour. Thank you for this awesome dish!! 😻👌‼️

      Reply
    15. RVA Lady Bug

      March 03, 2024 at 7:18 pm

      5 stars
      Delicious! I made this tonight and it was a hit. Followed directions exactly as written. Adjusted seasoning for personal preference.

      Reply
      • Christina

        March 03, 2024 at 9:20 pm

        Made this X3…. Thought it wasn’t going to work out… in the end it did. Next time I will adjust how I cook the potatoes so it doesn’t stick to yhe bottom of the kettle.
        flavor was good!!!

        Reply
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    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

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