Best Potato Soup Recipe
Posted Feb 20, 2023, Updated Feb 14, 2024
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This potato soup recipe is easy to make in 30 minutes. This hearty, rich and creamy potato soup is a delicious way to warm up from the inside out!
This creamy potato soup recipe is made completely from scratch. It’s a flavor-packed, hearty soup that every absolutely goes crazy over!
It only takes 30 minutes and one pot (if using an immersion blender) to make and is the perfect main or side dish to serve on chilly nights!
This potato soup recipe is even more delicious than your favorite restaurant! It’s loaded with bacon, vegetables, and is so rich and creamy it’s absolutely irresistible!
Potato Soup Recipe: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Bacon. Choose your favorite variety, I don’t suggest omitting the bacon.
- Salted Butter. Unsalted butter is a great choice.
- Yellow Onion. Red or white onion also works well in this recipe.
- Minced Garlic. Freshly minced or jarred are both great choices.
- Yukon Gold Potatoes. I love the silky smooth, buttery flavor of Yukon gold potatoes. If desired you can use red potatoes.
- Chicken Broth. Vegetable broth can be used in place of chicken broth.
- Heavy Cream. Half and half or whole milk both work well, I don’t recommend substitutions with lower fat content.
- Sour Cream. full-fat, plain Greek yogurt works well!
- All-purpose Flour. to make this recipe gluten-free, use all-purpose gluten-free flour.
How to Make Potato Soup
Let’s walk through how to make potato soup step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video!
Begin this recipe by cooking the bacon over medium heat in a large pot or dutch oven until lightly browned.
Then, use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel and set aside, but keep the bacon grease inside the pot.
Please do not discard the bacon grease! It adds tons of flavor to this potato soup recipe!
Once the bacon is cooked, add 2 tablespoons of butter, onion, celery, (and optional carrots) minced garlic, and potatoes to the Dutch oven with the reserved bacon grease.
Then, stir to combine, cover and cook on medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes, until the onions are translucent and vegetables are slightly soft, stirring often.
Next, add the broth, salt, pepper, and paprika and bring the mixture to a boil.
Once the mixture comes to a boil, continue boiling with the lid slightly ajar (to avoid it spilling over) for 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.
Note: Cook time will depend on how large you cut your potatoes. Smaller diced potatoes will cook faster.
When the potatoes are soft, carefully ladle about half of the soup into the container of a high-powered blender (Vitamix), then add the heavy cream, ¼ cup of the cooked bacon, flour and sour cream to the blender.
Blend, starting on low speed an increasing to high until the mixture is smooth.
Alternatively, you can remove half of the soup from the dutch oven and set aside. Then blend the soup that remains in the dutch oven with an immersion blender until smooth.
Return the blended mixture to the Dutch oven and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until the soup is thickened.
Or, if you used an immersion blender, return the unblended portion of soup to the dutch oven.
Serve
Serve topped with remaining cooked bacon, cheese, chives, etc.
We love serving this with crusty bread like this no knead bread or homemade french bread. Or homemade biscuits or cheese biscuits!
Store
Store leftover potato soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freeze
Or, you can freeze this potato soup recipe for up to 2 months. I recommend freezing it in individual portions for easy reheating.
These silicon cubes are a great way to freeze soup in 1-cup portions. You can also use small glass storage containers.
Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Potato Soup Recipe FAQs
Yes, I suggest peeling the potatoes for a soup with an extra-creamy texture.
The potatoes and flour both act as thickeners in this recipe.
No, you do not have to soak the potatoes before using them to make this recipe.
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Best Potato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 oz bacon (diced small)
- reserved bacon grease
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter
- 1 small yellow onion (finely diced (1 cup))
- 3 ribs of celery (finely diced)
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes (about 6 small/medium potatoes, peeled and diced to ½” cubes)
- ½ to 1 teaspoon sea salt (depends on how salty your bacon is)
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- Toppings: cheddar cheese (chives, green onions, bacon, etc.)
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until lightly browned. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel and set aside, but keep the bacon grease inside the pot.
- Add 2 TBS butter, onion, celery, (and optional carrots) minced garlic, and potatoes to the Dutch oven with the reserved bacon grease. Cook on medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes, until the onions are translucent and vegetables are slightly soft.
- Add the broth, salt, pepper, and paprika and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil with the lid slightly ajar for 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft (this will depend on how large you cut your potatoes. Smaller diced potatoes will cook faster).
- Carefully ladle about half of the soup into the container of a high-powered blender, then add the heavy cream, ¼ cup of the cooked bacon, flour and sour cream to the blender.
- Blend, starting on low speed an increasing to high until the mixture is smooth.
- Return the blended mixture to the Dutch oven and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until the soup is thickened.
- Serve topped with remaining cooked bacon, cheese, chives, etc.
Video
Notes
Add 2 large carrots, dice them and cook them with the potatoes/veggies. The only note is that the soup will have an orangeish tint because you will be blending carrots in with the potatoes when you blend half of the soup mixture. But I love the flavor the carrots add to this soup! Ingredient Substitutions
- Bacon. Choose your favorite variety, I don’t suggest omitting the bacon.
- Salted Butter. Unsalted butter is a great choice.
- Yellow Onion. Red or white onion also works well in this recipe.
- Minced Garlic. Freshly minced or jarred are both great choices.
- Yukon Gold Potatoes. I love the silky smooth, buttery flavor of Yukon gold potatoes. If desired you can use red potatoes.
- Chicken Broth. Vegetable broth can be used in place of chicken broth.
- Heavy Cream. Half and half or whole milk both work well, I don’t recommend substitutions with lower fat content.
- Sour Cream. full-fat, plain Greek yogurt works well!
- All-purpose Flour. to make this recipe gluten-free, use all-purpose gluten-free flour.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
One of my faves! Making it for the 4th time tomorrow! The steps are easy to follow and it is so tasty and warming. A family favorite and definitely 5 starts! I love it! Together with it I am also making my fave from here, easy Dutch oven bread! De-lish!
Love it so much! I’m about to make it for the 4th time! It’s delish, warming and such great comfort food! I am going to make it with my fave Dutch oven no knead bread (the ONLY bread I make!)
This soup was fantastic and very filling. It was easy to make and the family loved it!
Love potato soup. I’ll defintely try this soup.
Hi, can this be made the day before and then just reheated in a crockpot the next day. Thank you,
Yes absolutely!
Awesome!
Thank you, Karen!
I can’t express just how amazing this soup was! It had such incredible flavor!!!
I’m so glad you love it!
WOW, I thought I had a good potato soup recipe until I made this one! It seriously came together so easily and it is insanely good! It’s supposed to be for dinner but I can’t stop eating it out of the pot and my toddler is on her 2nd bowl! Hands down better than Zupas or takeout! New go-to soup recipe for sure!!
I’m so glad you love it, Kelsey! 🙂