Creamy potato soup is a classic recipe, and you can totally make it yourself at home.
Classic recipes are sorta my jam over here, and I was missing one very favorite one: creamy potato soup. I love ordering this in restaurants, but did you know how simple it is to make yourself? Spoiler alert: very!
I would definitely call this restaurant quality! I mean, just look. 😍
Ingredients
Always use the best quality ingredients that you have access to.
The ingredients for creamy potato soup are pretty standard too. Plus, feel free to adapt and make it your own! Here are some examples:
- To make this recipe vegetarian just leave out the bacon.
- To make this recipe vegan, use unsweetened full fat coconut milk or leave out the milk, it is still super creamy and delicious.
- You can substitute a pound of cauliflower for one pound of the potatoes, if you wish. Cauliflower gives this soup added nutrition and creaminess. I used all potatoes here, but you do you.
How to make creamy potato soup
Heat a dutch oven, or heavy-bottomed pot (at least 4 quarts) over medium heat. Cook the bacon.
Remove the cooked bacon with a slotted spoon, and transfer to paper towels. In the same pot, add a little oil and the celery and onion, and cook until tender.
Add the garlic, and stir to cook for about a minute. Then add the flour, stirring to form a paste. Cook until slightly browned, about a minute.
From there, stir in the stock. Then add the cubed potatoes.
Bring everything to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer until the potatoes are soft, which was about 15 minutes.
Next, remove from the heat. This is where it would be very handy (maybe even necessary) to have an immersion blender!
Pouring this mixture into a blender would be tricky. The immersion blenders are pretty reasonably priced, and they are well worth the investment, in my humble opinion.
As a personal preference, I like to semi-blend mine, leaving a little bit of texture. You can make yours totally smooth, if you prefer. Or you can skip blending altogether.
Stir in the milk + cream. You have lots of options for modification here: plant-based milks, low fat or full fat. Or, you can combine what you have, like I did here.
Side note: if you have whole milk on hand. it would totally work to just use that (3/4 cup total, rather than low fat milk plus half and half.
As always, check your salt and pepper levels, and add to taste.
Toppings for creamy potato soup
Toppings are sort of my jam over here. I went with the classic cheese, chives, bacon and sour cream.
Toppings can be a choose-your-own-adventure type situation, though, so feel free to make this your own!
Plain Greek yogurt works really well in place of sour cream. Plus, there are a myriad of dairy free sour creams to choose from out there.
Also, for more, be sure and check out my soup recipes archive over here.
Creamy potato soup recipe
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Creamy Potato Soup
Creamy potato soup is hearty, warm, comforting and delicious. Restaurant quality at home! Made on the stovetop.
Ingredients
For the soup
- 4-5 slices bacon center cut, low-sodium, or any bacon you choose, chopped - plus more for topping
- 1 Tablespoon avocado oil (or oil of choice)
- ½ onion diced - white or yellow
- ¼ cup celery diced - 1 to 2 stalks
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 4 cups low sodium chicken stock (veggie stock works too)
- 3 lbs of golden potatoes - peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes
- ½ cup milk of choice (I used 2%, any type works, including dairy free)
- ¼ cup half and half heavy creamy or coconut milk
For topping
- Sour cream or plain greek yogurt
- Chopped cooked bacon
- Chives
- Shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
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Heat a 4 quart dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot to medium heat.
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Add the chopped bacon and toss and cook until slightly crispy, about 4-6 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan and use a slotted spoon to transfer it to a paper towel lined plate.
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Add the oil to the same pan you cooked the bacon in. Once hot, add in the onions and celery. Toss and cook for a few minutes until the veggies are soft and translucent.
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Add in the garlic and toss it with the cooked veggies. Season everything with a pinch of salt and pepper.
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Stir in the flour and cook for one minute until it is slightly light brown. Pour in the stock while stirring everything together.
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Add in the potatoes. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce to a simmer on low heat for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.
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Remove the pot from the heat and use an immersion blender to blend the soup until it is smooth and creamy.
- Stir in the milk and half and half, season with more salt and pepper to taste
- Ladle into bowls and top with sour cream, chopped bacon, chives and shredded cheddar cheese.
Recipe Notes
Nutritional information is approximate and was calculated using a recipe nutrition label generator. Toppings were not included in the nutrition, since they can vary greatly, depending on preference.
Recipe Tips
- Use thin skinned potatoes for a lighter, smoother soup and cut the potato into 1-inch pieces to allow it to cook faster and make it easier to puree.
- You can substitute a pound of cauliflower for one pound of the potatoes, if you wish. Cauliflower gives this soup added nutrition and creaminess.
- To make this recipe vegetarian just leave out the bacon.
- To make this recipe vegan, use unsweetened full fat coconut milk or leave out the milk, it is still super creamy and delicious.
- To store this soup, let it cool completely and transfer it to an airtight container.
- Keep it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or transfer it to a freezer-friendly container and store it in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Julie says
This soup is decadent! I’ve been wanting to make some potato soup and your recipe showed up in my inbox today. Luckily, I had some time to make this today. Just yummy! Thank you.