You’re going to love my creamy and delicious potato soup recipe! This easy-to-make hearty soup is made in one pot, start to finish, and can be on your dinner table in about an hour.
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The creamy texture of the potatoes, along with the added flavor of the onions and bacon, makes my loaded potato soup the ultimate comfort food. I know after one bite, you’ll agree this is the best potato soup recipe you’ve ever tried.
My soup recipe is sure to be a hit with your family, and it’s easily adaptable to the flavor profile you love. Add sharp cheddar cheese or your favorite chees and make a cheesy potato soup.
It can also become a vegetarian soup by leaving out the bacon and using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. I also have a slow cooker version of this soup.
Ingredients
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Potato Soup. In Chef Speak, this is called the “Mise en Place,” which translates to “Everything in its Place.”
Not only does setting up your ingredients ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
Made with simple ingredients
- Yukon gold potatoes
- bacon
- onions
- garlic
- butter
- all-purpose flour
- chicken broth
- whole milk
- heavy cream
- salt
- black pepper
What are the best potatoes to use?
- White potatoes are low in starch and hold their shape better if you want to see chunks of potatoes in your soup.
- Yukon gold potatoes and red potatoes are both medium in starch and are all-purpose potatoes, which makes them perfect for a soup that is creamy but still has some chunks in it.
- Russet potatoes are high in starch and are better suited for making mashed potatoes or cream of mushroom soup that will be smooth with no chunks of potatoes.
How to Make Potato Soup
Follow along with my numbered instructions below to see how to make potato soup in your own kitchen.
- Add the butter and bacon to a large pot and cook over medium heat until the bacon begins to crisp up.
- Add the chopped onion to the pot and continue to cook over medium heat until the onions are tender (3-4 minutes).
- Add the chopped garlic to the pot and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add the flour to the pot.
- Stir the flour together with the butter and bacon grease. This is a roux that will thicken the soup.
- Let the mixture cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes to cook the flour.
- Add the chicken broth (or vegetable broth) to the pan and whisk until well blended. Bring to a light boil over medium heat.
- Add the milk to the pot and whisk together.
- Add the diced potatoes, salt, and pepper to the pot, mix together, and bring to a light boil, then reduce to low heat and cook for 30-45 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender. *Depending on how thick the soup is, add 1 – 2 cups of water to thin the soup out while the potatoes cook.
- Remove half of the potatoes and set aside.
- Add the heavy cream to the soup.
- Puree the soup using an immersion blender, food processor, hand mixer, or potato masher.
- Return the potato chunks to the soup pot – reseason with salt and pepper to taste. *If the soup is too thick, add water to thin it out.
Do I have to puree the potatoes?
No, you don’t. If you let the soup cook for another 10 – 15 minutes, the potatoes will break down and can easily be whisked into the soup. That’s really all you have to do to make this soup smooth and creamy.
Bring the soup to a light boil and serve piping hot.
Garnish the soup with sour cream, crispy bacon, sharp cheddar cheese, or chopped green onions and serve with a side salad and crusty bread. This hearty soup can be a main course or an appetizer.
Recipe FAQs
This soup is made with potatoes, onions, and bacon cooked in a rich, buttery cream sauce.
Cream soups are usually made with a roux, a mixture of butter and flour that is cooked over low heat. Stock and/or milk is then added to the roux to make the creamy base for the soup. Cooking the potatoes in the cream sauce will also help thicken the soup.
More Soup Recipes You’ll Love!
Potato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 strips bacon diced
- 3 tablespoon butter unsalted or salted
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 1 clove garlic finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 2 cups milk
- 2 lbs potatoes peeled and diced
- ½ teaspoon salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper to taste
- 1-2 cups water start with one cup and add more if needed though the simmering process.
- ½ cup heavy cream
- bacon optional – diced and cooked for garnish
- cheddar cheese optional – shredded for garnish
- sour cream optional – garnish
Instructions
- Add the butter and bacon to a large pot and cook over medium heat until the bacon begins to crisp up.
- Add the chopped onion to the pot and continue to cook over medium heat until the onions are tender (3-4 minutes).
- Add the chopped garlic to the pot and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add the flour to the pot and stir to blend together with the butter and bacon grease. This is your roux which will thicken the soup.
- Let the mixture cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes to cook the flour.
- Add the chicken stock to the pan and whisk until well blended. Bring to a light boil over medium heat, then add the milk to the pot and whisk together.
- Add the diced potatoes, salt, and pepper to the pot, mix together, and bring to a light boil, then reduce to low heat and cook for 30-45 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender.*Depending on how thick the soup is add 1 – 2 cups of water to thin the soup out while the potatoes cook
- Remove half of the potatoes from the soup and set aside.
- Add the heavy cream to the soup and puree the soup using an immersion blender, food processor, or hand mixer.
- Return the potato chunks to the soup pot – reseason with salt and pepper to taste.*if the soup is too thick add water to thin it out.
- Bring the soup to a light boil and serve.
- Garnish the soup with sour cream, bacon, cheddar cheese, or your choice of toppings.
Edie says
I have 3 leeks and was wondering if I could add them to the onion mixture. If so, should I decrease the amount of onions? Also I was wondering if the pot should be covered when cooking the potatoes. Re the salt, I began with 1/2 tsp of salt (your recipe says 1/2 salt, not indicating tsp. or tbsp. so I assumed your ‘to taste’ begins with 1/2 tsp.) Thank you so much, Dennis.
Chef Dennis Littley says
You can definitely use the leeks, and three will probably be more than enough without the onions. I have a cup listed, so see how much your three leeks make. Luckily I did have to taste on the salt, but it was 1/2 teaspoon of salt.