Creamy Potato Soup
This easy and delicious creamy potato soup, loaded with bacon and creamy goodness, can be made in just one pot and has become a favorite comfort food in my household.
Something savory today!
Savory, creamy, and loaded with bacon, sour cream, and cheese, this dish shows that we don’t exactly do healthy food around here, right?
Even when I don’t share desserts, the food I make is always comfort food—usually best served with extra cheese and typically comes with a few calories, but let’s not think about that too much, alright?
I know I mentioned this potato soup recipe when I posted my Oreo Balls, made it for Zach during his bad cold, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since—my food obsessions run deep, as the photo below will show.
Zach usually eats healthy, so while the soup was a nice change from baked chicken, I know I’d likely indulge in creamy foods every night if I lived alone, making this more of a rare treat for us.
Potato soup is on the menu this weekend because it’s so frigid outside that I feel I need it to survive, though I may be a bit dramatic.
If you’re experiencing a cold spell (or even if you’re not), I think you’ll really enjoy this creamy potato soup, so 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 ensure they’re around the same size to avoid the disappointment of biting into a crisp surface with a raw inside.
- To achieve a nice and creamy texture in the soup, I recommend pureeing about half of it, either with an immersion blender or by transferring a portion to a blender and stirring it back into the pot, as I think this method balances taste and texture while keeping some pieces of potato.
- After puréeing some of the soup, you should wait to return the bacon to the pot, as it’s best not to blend the bacon.
- In my humble opinion, the ancho chili powder is a must for giving the soup the perfect depth of flavor, so I blend it in and sprinkle some on top before serving, starting with just a ¼ teaspoon and taste testing before adding more.
This comforting dish is perfect for a cold weekend, with a pot of soup simmering on the stove. Even though I don’t follow football, it’s great to make ahead for the big game.
Who really cares about football when you can just whip up a delicious Super Bowl of soup?
Enjoy!
Print
The Ultimate Creamy Potato Soup
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 6 strips of uncooked bacon, cut into small pieces
- 3 tablespoons of unsalted or salted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped (approximately 1.5 cups or 200g)
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (about 42g)
- 2 ½ lbs gold potatoes, peeled and diced into pieces no larger than 1 inch (approximately 6 large potatoes or 1.15kg)
- 4 cups chicken broth (about 945ml)
- 2 cups milk (approximately 475ml)
- ⅔ cup heavy cream (about 155ml)
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon ancho chili powder (adjust to taste)
- ⅔ cup sour cream (approximately 160g)
- Optional toppings: shredded cheddar cheese, chives, additional sour cream, and bacon
Instructions
- Cook the bacon pieces in a large Dutch Oven or soup pot over medium heat until crisp and browned, then remove them and set aside while leaving the fat in the pot.
- Cook chopped onion in butter over medium heat until tender, about 3-5 minutes, then add garlic and cook until fragrant, approximately 30 seconds.
- Sprinkle the flour over the ingredients in the pot, stir until smooth using a whisk if needed, then add the diced potatoes along with chicken broth, milk, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and ancho chili powder, stirring well to combine everything.
- Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, which should take about 10 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer and, carefully removing about half of the soup—approximately 5 cups but simply eyeballing it is fine—puree it in a blender until smooth, or use an immersion blender.
- Return the pureed soup to the pot, stir in the sour cream and reserved bacon pieces, and mix well.
- Allow the soup to simmer for 15 minutes before serving it topped with additional sour cream, bacon, cheddar cheese, or chives for added enjoyment.
Notes
- I recommend starting with a reserved amount of salt and adjusting it as needed, since the amount required will vary based on the type or brand of broth you use.
- If you’re new to ancho chili powder, I suggest beginning with ¼ teaspoon. Taste it first, and then you can increase it to ½ teaspoon if you enjoy the flavor.
- If you’re looking for a smooth and creamy soup, you can puree the entire mixture in batches, doing about half at a time. Personally, I enjoy my potato soup with some chunks of potatoes, so I like to puree just half of it.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 521kcal
- Sugar: 7g
- Fat: 32g
- Trans Fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 47g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 12g
- Cholesterol: 87mg
