Potato Soup

Soup is one of my favorite meals to cook because it all comes together in one pot, and the recipes are always pretty versatile, so I feel like they’re easy to adjust for my family.

I especially love making this potato soup because it’s so satisfying and comforting, and a little goes a long way. It’s full of hearty potatoes, chunks of bacon, and rich cream. It’s perfect for a cozy night in with the family!

Ingredients

For the soup:

• 6 strips of bacon
• 1 small onion
• 6 large Yukon gold or russet potatoes
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 2 cloves of garlic
• ⅓ cup flour
• 32 oz. low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups whole milk
• ½ cup greek yogurt or sour cream
• ¼ teaspoon (or just a sprinkle) smoked paprika
• Salt
• Pepper

Toppings:

• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Greek yogurt or sour cream
• Chives
• Additional bacon (yum!)

How to Make a Creamy Potato Soup

What makes this soup special is its creamy, thick texture. You don’t want a brothy soup with some chunks of carrots and potatoes. You want it to be as rich and luxurious as a soup can possibly be. 

To get the creamy texture, utilize those starchy potatoes! They are the best way to thicken a soup. Once everything has cooked, and the potatoes are soft, use them to thicken your soup by using a potato masher, immersion blender, or blender to create a thick, creamy soup.

You don’t want to blend or mash all of the potatoes, maybe about ⅓ of them just to create a thicker texture.

Instructions

Here are the step-by-step instructions on how to make this creamy potato soup recipe.

Step 1 – Cook the Bacon

In a large dutch oven or soup pot, cook your bacon over medium heat until it starts to brown and just become crispy.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon and place it on a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve the fat.

Step 2 – Cook the Vegetables

To the pot with the bacon fat, add the onion along with some salt and pepper, and sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the carrots and cook for another minute. Add in minced or grated garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.

Step 3 – Add the Flour and Spices

Sprinkle a bit more salt and pepper, the paprika, and the flour over the cooked vegetables and cook until the flour is bubbly and golden, about 2 minutes.

Step 4 – Add the Potatoes and Liquids

Get the cubed potatoes into the pot and then pour in the chicken broth, milk, and cream into the pot.

Note that your flour mixture is going to be lumpy. You will see lumps in the liquid, but rest assured that once you bring the mixture to a boil in the next step, the lumps will dissipate and create a creamy soup.

Bring everything to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are tender. 

You can check their doneness using a fork to see if it slides completely through the potato easily. If it does, they’re done!

Step 5 – Thicken the Soup

Use a potato masher or immersion blender to blend up the potatoes until you reach your desired creaminess for the soup. 

Alternatively, you could ladle about 2 cups of the soup into a blender. Be sure to leave the lid vented before you blend to allow the steam to escape and then blend until smooth. Add it back to the pot. 

Step 6 – Finish Up the Flavors

Stir in the Greek yogurt, add the cooked bacon, and sprinkle in a little bit of shredded cheddar cheese. Simmer for another 5 minutes.

Step 7 – Serve It Up

Ladle the hot soup into bowls and top with your desired toppings. All that’s left to do is enjoy!

Cookware Used

Dutch Oven: I love a dutch oven for soups. They cook evenly, and the walls are high enough that the soup doesn’t splatter, especially when cooking the bacon in the first step. A large soup pot works well, too.

Vegetable Peeler: A high-quality vegetable peeler makes peeling potatoes quick and easy. Some peelers also have a shredding blade, so you can also make quick work of shredding your carrots.

Immersion Blender: This is a quick and easy way to thicken your creamy potato soup recipe. I prefer it to an actual blender because there’s less risk of a mess, but ladling it into a blender makes a perfectly creamy soup, too!

Potato Masher: If you don’t have a blender or immersion blender, that’s okay! You can use a potato masher to manually smash up your potatoes and stir them into the soup. It may take a little more effort, but it works just as well.

The Best Potatoes to Use for Soup

I like to use Yukon gold or russet potatoes in soups. Gold potatoes are a bit waxier and will hold their shape, so you’ll get full bites of potatoes. Russet potatoes are starchier and will fall apart while cooking in your soup (which isn’t a bad thing here).

The potato you choose is entirely up to you! If you like the potatoes to start to fall apart and become a part of the delicious soup, go with russet. If you prefer to have bites of potatoes throughout, go with the gold potatoes. 

Creamy Potato Soup Tips

Here are a few tips to make this potato soup as delicious as possible.

• Cut all of your potatoes the same size so they cook evenly, and you don’t have some underdone potatoes in your potato soup.
• Be sure to cook your flour for at least a couple of minutes. If you don’t cook it before adding your liquids, it will have a raw doughy taste and may clump and not evenly distribute to thicken the soup.
• Make sure you add the bacon back to the soup after using the blender, if that’s how you’re pureeing the soup.
• To make this soup vegetarian, omit the bacon and use unsalted butter or olive oil as the fat to help cook the vegetables and flour. Use vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth.

Slow Cooker Creamy Potato Soup Recipe

You can easily make this potato soup recipe in the slow cooker. With just a few changes to the steps above, you can have a simple potato soup in the crock pot.

Cook your bacon and add it to the slow cooker along with all of the other ingredients except the cream, milk, yogurt, and flour. 

Cook the soup on low for 6-8 hours (or on high for 3-4 hours) until the potatoes are tender.

Once the soup is cooked, melt ⅓ cup of butter in a saucepan on medium heat and then add the flour. Cook until golden and bubbly for about 3 minutes.

Add the milk and cream and whisk until thick and creamy. Add this to your soup and stir to combine.

Follow steps 5 to 7 above to finish the slow cooker potato soup and enjoy!

Now, It’s Your Turn!

Time for you to whip up this hearty, rich soup for yourself. It all comes together in just under an hour, and it’s a filling, flavorful one-pot dinner.

Don’t forget the toppings! Crispy bacon and shredded cheddar cheese on top make this a perfect cheesy potato soup to enjoy with your family.

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