Homemade Potato Soup Recipe
Published January 27, 2021. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Warm-up during those cold winter months with this delicious creamy Homemade potato soup recipe that is topped off with cheese and bacon!
Soup is and has always been my first love! I love the comfort; I love being able to graze on it all day and have always enjoyed making it. If you are the same, then please check out my Mulligatawny or Pork Pozole.
Potato Soup
Potato soup is a very simple to make a thick and hearty soup that sticks to the bones. It has few ingredients and can come in the form of a thick creamy chowder or smooth and creamy, or even a combination of the two. In addition, it can be made from a russet, Yukon gold, red bliss, or even with a little sweet potato thrown into the mix.
Here are the basic ingredients in a classic potato soup:
- Bacon
- Onions
- Garlic
- Celery
- Potatoes
- Chicken Stock
- Cream
How to Make Potato Soup from Scratch
Follow along with these easy to prepare steps for making a potato soup recipe:
Render the bacon fat and cook until the bacon lardons are crisp. Remove the bacon and set it aside.
Add the onions to the pot with the rendered bacon fat and caramelize on low heat for 40 to 45 minutes.
Next, stir in the celery and garlic and cook for 4-6 minutes on low to medium heat.
Stir in the flour and mix until completely combined.
Pour in the potatoes and chicken stock and bring to a boil to thicken up.
Add the cream to the mixture and keep it at a boil to ensure that it is thick.
Puree half of the soup with a hand blender or in a blender.
Mix in the seasonings and serve with optional toppings.
How to Make it Thicker
If you get to the point in your soup when after adding cream and pureeing it that it is still thin, then you should make a slurry and mix in it. here is how to do it:
- Whisk together a ½ cup of corn starch with 1/3 cup of cold water until completely mixed together.
- Stir it into the soup and bring it to a boil to activate.
What Can I Add for More Flavor?
The most important thing to add to a potato soup to add more flavor is of course salt and pepper. The other things I like to add in are Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce. To take it even a step further place on the following toppings when serving:
- Crispy Bacon Lardons
- Sour Cream
- Shredded Cheddar
- Sliced Green Onions
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can make this up to 2 days ahead of time but is perfect to serve up as soon as it is made.
How to Store: Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 6 days. To freeze, 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 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
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Video
Homemade Potato Soup Recipe
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.
Notes
- Make-Ahead: You can make this up to 2 days ahead of time but is perfect to serve up as soon as it is made.
- How to Store: Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 6 days. To freeze, 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 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.
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