Homemade Creamy Potato Soup
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Warm up during the colder months with a bowl of my homemade creamy potato soup topped with crispy bacon and melted cheese. I love that I can prepare everything in one pot to create the ultimate comfort food that is perfect for weeknights or lazy Sunday dinners.
Soup has always been my first love, and I never get tired of making it. And my creamy potato soup today is seriously another level of delicious and so easy to prepare, and since my family loves soup just as much as I do, it is on our table at least twice a week during the colder months. If your family is the same way, I highly recommend you to make my ham and bean soup or my authentic tortilla soup recipe, since both are comforting and perfect for soup season.
Potato Soup
Creamy potato soup is a comforting American staple made with potatoes simmered until tender and finished with a rich smooth texture, and topped with bacon and cheese. It became common in the United States as European potato soups made their way into American home kitchens and were adapted into simple hearty meals.
I fell in love with potato soup when my college friend took me to a little restaurant in Queens, and it was the best bowl of soup I had ever had in my opinion, so of course I had to create my own version and here I am. I cook the veggies in bacon fat, simmer the potatoes in chicken stock, then add cream and thicken it. I blend half for a smooth texture and finish with toppings. So good!
This is one of my favorite homemade soups because it delivers a lot of flavor and is incredibly satisfying. I make this soup on repeat because my daughter is a serious potato fan, and seeing her enjoy it makes it even better. I hope you gives this one a try.
Ingredients and Substitutions
These are the ingredients I use to make this classic potato soup recipe, along with a few swaps I have tried in the past that work great too.
- Bacon – I usually use regular bacon sliced thin, but smoked bacon, applewood, or thick cut bacon all work well too, so feel free to use whatever you like.
- Onions – I use yellow onions because they turn sweet and mellow as they cook. Vidalia or other sweet onions are good options for a milder flavor.
- Garlic – I always add fresh minced garlic for the best flavor.
- Celery – I chop the celery and add it to the onions while they cook to build extra flavor into the base of the soup.
- Potatoes – I usually use russet or gold potatoes, but red bliss or even a small amount of sweet potato also work well.
- Chicken stock – I use homemade chicken stock to create a rich and savory broth. Vegetable stock is a good substitute if needed.
- Cream – I prefer heavy cream because it gives the soup the best texture and richness.
How to Make Creamy Potato Soup
Cook the bacon: I render the bacon fat and cook it until the bacon lardons are crisp. Then, I remove the bacon and set it aside.
Caramelize: I add the onions to the pot with the rendered bacon fat and caramelize them on low heat for 40 to 45 minutes.
Add the vegetables: I stir in the celery and garlic and cook them for 4 to 6 minutes over low to medium heat.
Add: I stir in the flour and mix until it is completely combined.
Add potatoes and stock: I pour in the potatoes and chicken stock, then bring it to a boil.
Incorporate cream: I add the cream to the mixture and keep it at a boil to make sure the soup thickens properly.
Blend the soup: I puree half of the soup with a hand blender or in a blender.
Season and serve: I mix in the seasonings and serve the soup with optional toppings.
Chef Tip + Notes
Controlling the thickness of this soup is essential for a good potato soup. Once the potatoes are fully cooked and half of the soup is blended, I check how it coats the back of a spoon and adjust it with a small slurry if needed, adding it gradually while the soup simmers so the cream incorporates smoothly without making the soup heavy.
- Caramelize the onions: I take my time cooking the onions in the bacon fat because this builds the flavor of the soup.
- Add cream last: I add the cream after the potatoes are fully cooked. This keeps the soup smooth and balanced.
- Choose the right potatoes: I use starchy potatoes like russet, Idaho, or even sweet potatoes because they naturally help thicken the soup. These varieties break down well as they cook.
- Mash in the pot: I mash half of the potatoes directly in the pot to release their natural starches into the soup. This adds body without extra steps.
- Make a slurry: I mix 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water, then stir it into the soup and bring it to a boil. This activates the thickening and finishes the soup perfectly.
Serving Suggestions
When I have people over, I load this soup up with crispy bacon, and green onions, then let everyone finish it with salt, pepper, or Tabasco if they want. Toppings are where you can really make the soup your own, and I always encourage people to have fun with it.
I still love serving this soup in a artisan bread bowl or adding sweet potatoes, inspired by a bowl I once had with friends at a local restaurant during college. To balance the richness of the soup, I usually add a classic Caesar salad, though a tomato onion salad or a cucumber salad works just as well.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: I serve up this soup as soon as it is made. I make this soup up to 2 days ahead of time and simply reheat when I am ready to serve it.
How to Store: I cover and store the soup in the refrigerator for up to 6 days. To freeze, I cover, and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for up to 1 day before reheating.
How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of soup to a medium-size pot and heat over low heat until hot. You may need to add a little water if it is too thick.
More Soup Recipes
Video
Homemade Creamy Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 12 ounces of chopped bacon
- 3 peeled and small diced yellow onions
- 3 small diced celery stalks
- 4 finely minced cloves of garlic
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 pounds peeled and medium diced russet potatoes
- 3 quarts chicken stock
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- Worcestershire sauce to taste
- tabasco sauce to taste
Instructions
- Add the bacon to a large pot over medium heat and cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the crisp bacon lardons and set them aside.
- Pour in the onions and caramelize over low heat until well browned for about 40 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Next, mix in the celery and garlic and sauté for 4-6 minutes.
- Mix in the flour until completely combined.
- Pour in the potatoes and stock and bring to a boil to thicken.
- Pour in the cream and cook for 3-4 minutes and then puree half of the soup to smooth out and thicken more but still have chunks in it.
- Season with salt, pepper, Worcestershire, and tabasco sauce.
- Add on optional toppings of sour cream, crispy bacon, shredded cheddar cheese, and sliced green onions.
Is there a cook time for the potatoes once they go in and boil? And then add the cream?
Just bring the mixture to a boil. Once it’s there, you’re good.
Usually potatoes take about 20 minutes to cook all the way through so I would back it down to 16-20 minutes and maybe check to see how done the potatoes are with a fork.
I’m making this for dinner tonight! You mentioned in the lead-up to the cooking portion of the video about a pub that made potato soup with the inclusion of sweet potato. I’d like to try that but I wonder what the ratio of white to sweet potato was in the version you mentioned. Do you have a ballpark idea? I’d be curious to see you do a version of that.
maybe 1/4 sweet potatoes to 3/4 russets.
As I was reading your recipe, I noticed that you recommended using a cornstarch slurry for further thickening. Would it be advisable to use potato starch, which I often use, instead? Thanks for your hard work bringing us these fabulous recipes and info.
I just found it 🤦🏻♀️1/2 cup.
I do have another question would the soup be good using all sweet potatoes?
Would I cook it the same way as the russet potatoes?
Would probably be a little overkill, but you could do 1/2 and 1/2. Same cooking time.
My first recipe of yours. I have to say, it was worth every bit of effort I put into it. My immersion blender was MIA so I had to use a sausage smasher on half the potatoes, but it was no problem. The onions being caramelized is the star of this soup. I put on some tunes and did all my prep and enjoyed myself making this. I will be making many more of your recipes. I especially like your low-key approach. Some Chefs are absolutely neurotic about things, and you are the polar opposite. Still, when you say do it this way, I do it.
I used Better than Bullion Chicken broth and the broth in the potatoes was off the chain. You are my new hero! Thank you Chef!
My 87 year old mother and I enjoyed an afternoon making this delicious soup together. A wonderful time to enjoy each other’s company and a fantastic meal. Thank you!
I found this recipe yesterday, had all the ingredients already and it sounded so perfect for a cold night that I made it right away. Wow! My husband and I loved it! I used Yukon Gold potatoes and they took longer to cook tender but it was midday when I made the soup so it didn’t delay meal time. The only thing the recipe needs is to say when to add the bacon back into the pot. I added it back right after step 6 as I didn’t want to puree any of it. Great recipe! I love soups and stews for dinner as I can make a big batch early in the day and then just reheat.
Hey Linda! You actually don’t add the bacon back in, you use it as a garnish at the end when serving it.
Very amazing, I loved it! and watched the video on Facebook, and the way to prepare it is not difficult, and nutritious and gives us energy with this cold weather, especially there in Chicago the snow covers everything, this recipe will give them energy and warmth. It is a amazing recipe with the mixture of these colors as if it were a painting. You are great at everything Chef, you are an artist too, thank you.
Making this today.. looks so good
Love your recipes