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This creamy potato soup is loaded with tender potatoes, crispy bacon, cheddar, and sour cream. Easy to make in one pot in about 45 minutes for a comforting family dinner.
The Only Potato Soup You’ll Ever Need
This creamy potato soup is rich, hearty, and loaded with tender potatoes, crispy bacon, sharp cheddar cheese, and sour cream. It comes together in one pot in about 45 minutes, making it an easy comfort-food dinner for a cold night.
The best part? You don’t have to choose between creamy potato soup and chunky potato soup. This recipe uses a combination of blended potatoes and tender potato pieces, so you get a thick, creamy broth while still having plenty of potatoes in every bite.
And because we’re using the bacon drippings to cook the onion and garlic, there’s plenty of savory flavor built right into the soup.
Ingredients You Need
Image shows ingredients needed to make this recipe including: potatoes, onion, garlic, bacon, flour, sour cream, cream, cheese, milk, salt, pepper.
- Potatoes: I use Yukon Gold potatoes for this soup. They have a buttery texture and hold together well as they cook, while still breaking down nicely when you blend them. Dice the potatoes fairly small so they cook evenly and you can get dinner on the table faster.
- Bacon: The bacon gets cooked first, and I leave the bacon drippings in the pot to cook the onion and garlic. That little bit of bacon fat adds a lot of flavor to the soup. The crispy bacon goes back into the soup at the end, with some saved for topping.
- Chicken Broth, Milk & Cream: I use unsalted chicken broth along with milk and cream for the base. You can adjust the milk and cream depending on how rich you want the soup. Whole milk can also be used in place of some or all of the combination.
- Onion: These build the savory base of the soup. The onion cooks in the bacon drippings until soft, then the garlic goes in right at the end so it doesn’t burn. Swap for leeks to get a nice earthy flavoring.
- Flour: These build the savory base of the soup. The onion cooks in the bacon drippings until soft, then the garlic goes in right at the end so it doesn’t burn.
- Sour Cream & Cheese: These go in after the heat is turned off. Sour cream adds a little tang and richness, while sharp cheddar gives the soup that classic loaded-baked-potato flavor.
Find the complete recipe card below with measurements and full instructions.
How to Make Creamy Potato Soup
- Cook the bacon, dice and sauté the bacon in a large dutch oven until it reaches your desired level of crispiness. Then remove the bacon and set aside. Keep at least 2 tablespoons of the grease for using to sauté the onion. Add the onion in and cook until softened. Then add the garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds.
- Add the flour, stir this together with the onion/garlic until a thick paste forms, this creates a roux and helps thicken our soup.
- Pour in broth and milks. Add seasonings. The seasonings can always be adjusted at the end to taste. Add the potatoes in and let this simmer until the potatoes are softened and easily mashed with a fork.
- Blend, to desired consistency. Then add in the sour cream and cheese, stir into the soup until combined. Stir the bacon back into the soup while leaving some set aside as an extra topping.
- Add the toppings! I love extra sharp cheddar, crispy bacon, sour cream, and green onion.
Expert Tips
- Dice the potatoes small for quicker cooking and faster dinner prep.
- Chunky vs. Creamy: Blend the soup to your desired consistency using an immersion blender or regular blender (before adding the bacon back). Be cautious when blending hot liquids.
- Lighten it up: Swap bacon for turkey bacon, add cauliflower, and replace cream with milk or sour cream with Greek yogurt. Check out my Secretly Healthy Potato Soup for more ideas!
- Season to taste: Adjust salt & pepper, or mix in your favorite seasoning (taco, Cajun, Italian) or a pinch of chili powder for heat.
- Sneak in more veggies: Peas and carrots work great for extra nutrition!
Frequently Asked Questions
That’s completely up to you. For a thicker potato soup, blend more of the potatoes into the broth. For a chunkier soup, blend less. If your soup ends up thicker than you want, gradually stir in some warm chicken broth until it reaches the consistency you like. One thing I wouldn’t do is keep blending in an attempt to make the soup smoother. Potatoes can become very thick and starchy when they’re overworked.
Store leftover soup in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3–4 days. The soup will thicken as it sits, so when reheating it on the stovetop, stir in a little chicken broth or milk if needed. Reheat gently and stir occasionally. Due to the potatoes and cream, I don’t recommend freezing this soup.
Yes! The soup will still be thick without flour. If you feel you need to add a bit more, you can make a slurry with some arrowroot powder or cornstarch if you need a gluten free option.
Favorite Topping Ideas
We love to treat this potato soup just like our baked potatoes and use all the toppings! Some of our favorites include:
- Bacon – Crispy and crumbled for a savory, smoky bite.
- Cheddar Cheese – Sharp or mild.
- Sour Cream – Adds a tangy creaminess.
- Green Onions or Chives – For a fresh, zesty finish.
- Croutons or Crackers – For crunch.
- Parsley – Fresh herbs to brighten up the flavors
- Cayenne or Chili Powder – For a spicy kick.
- Paprika – Adds both color and a hint of warmth.
- Blue Cheese – A bolder option for cheese lovers.
- Crumbled Sausage – For extra meaty goodness.
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Creamy Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon chopped
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tbsp all purpose flour
- 4 cups chicken broth unsalted
- 1½ cup milk
- ½ cup cream
- 3 lbs potatoes peeled and diced
- 1½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
Optional Toppings:
- green onion diced
- bacon cooked and diced
- cheese shredded
- sour cream
Instructions
- Cook Bacon: Add the bacon to a large dutch oven or pot and cook over medium high heat until the bacon is crispy. Remove the bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel and set aside, leave the grease in the pot.
- Saute Onion: Add the diced onion and cook until softened and translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add Flour: Stir in the flour and allow this to cook for about 2-3. This cooks the flour.
- Create Broth: Pour in the chicken stock, milk and cream. Add in the diced potatoes, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Simmer: Bring the pot to a simmer and cook stirring occasionally until the potatoes are softened and easily mashed.
- Blend: Turn heat off and using an immersion blender, blend the soup until some of the potatoes are blended, be careful not to overblend, leave chunks of potato in the soup. IF you don't have an immersion blender then carefully pour portions of the soup into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Return soup to the pot after blending.
- Add Final Ingredients: With the heat still off, stir in the sour cream and shredded cheese. Return the bacon to the soup. Stir to combine.
- Serve warm with any additional toppings of your choice.
Video
Equipment
Notes
- Milk & Cream: you can use any milk of your preference, I would recommend using a 2% since we are adding cream. You can of course use whole milk and not use the cream. Or use any combination.
- Onion: this can always be swapped out for leeks for a sweet, earthy flavoring to the soup.
- Flour: we are using this in combination with the sour cream and the potatoes themselves to make the broth thicker.
- Potatoes: Gold Potatoes are the best option due to their low starch, they hold their shape well when boiled. Dice them fairly small for quicker cook time.
- Cheese: for more flavoring use an Extra Sharp Cheddar, for a more mild flavoring use a Sharp Cheddar.
- Thickness: to create a thick, creamy soup blend more of the potato. If your soup becomes too thick, heat up extra chicken broth and pour into the soup until desired consistency is achieved.
- Leftovers can be stored sealed in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat on stovetop, while stirring.
- Freezing: Due to potatoes and cream I don’t recommend freezing this soup as the texture will change.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Soup Recipes
Recipe first published October 17, 2018. Updated August 20, 2021 and September 15, 2026.
Photography done by the talented @KJandCompany.co
Very good. I added 1 cup chopped carrots and celery. I also used potato masher instead of blender. Blended the cup of cheese into the soup which made it thinker.
My family said it was the best potato soup I ever made.
Thank you!
Excellent! The texture was perfect. Smooth and creamy. I added a little more pepper and paprika for added flavor. My husband and I loved it and we will use this recipe again.
Delicious!! Only thing I did differently was I added chopped celery in with the onions. Family loved the soup. Family loved it. Thank you.
My daughter is vegetarian so I didn’t add the bacon but this recipe is absolutely fantastic. I sautéed the onions and garlic then the flour in butter. I also have a ton of sweet corn from this summer so at the end I added about 3 cups frozen. Excellent recipe!
Love the addition of the corn! So glad you were able to adapt this recipe into something perfect for your family 🙂 Thank you for the wonderful review.
I’ve made this a few times now. We love it. We don’t peel the potatoes. There are lots of nutrients in the skin.
So happy you enjoy the recipe and love that you leave the peels for those nutrients!
Tastes amazing but at the bottom it says 1 serving is 195 calories but like, how much is one serving? I tried adding up the calories of all the ingredients and 1 serving is 1/8 of the soup but like, how much is 1/8 of the soup?
Tastes amazing. So rich in flavor!
Can you freeze this soup? It is the best for upset tummies! Would be nice to be able to have some on hand at all times! DELICIOUS!!
Nah, potatoes get weird when you freeze em. Really messes with the texture.
Yeah, well the “skip to recipe” button needs to be like 5 times bigger because it is so easy to miss. The recipe was good though once I found it must be appreciated thank you very much
Our tradition every Christmas Eve growing up was family all together. My mom would make a couple different soups. I have carried on this tradition with my own family. Last night I made this Creamy Potato soup. I will say this is so very good and simple. I like that you do not have to cook potatoes first. The only thing I did not add was cheese. So easy and delicious.