The Best Potato Soup Recipe - Cooking Classy (2024)

Published March 2, 2021

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Potato Soup loaded with chunks of tender, hearty potatoes and made with a rich and creamy soup base. This soup is a reader favorite and for good reason – it’s easy to make and absolutely delicious! Top it with cheddar and bacon and no one will be able to resist.

The Best Potato Soup Recipe - Cooking Classy (1)

The BEST Potato Soup!

This is my idea of the perfect homemade potato soup! It’s creamy, it’s amazingly filling and it’s packed with goodness.

Growing up we had a lot of potato soup. It might have something to do with the fact that my grandparents were potato farmers so that just got passed down. My mom made it probably twice a month and now it’s the same for me, especially during cold winter months.

You’ll love that it’s something everyone in the family can agree on, and even get’s excited about when announced it’s what will soon await for dinner.

It’s also a very convenient recipe. Most of the ingredients are food staples you can keep on hand that don’t spoil quickly. The potatoes, carrots, celery and onions store well for weeks (and if you opt for bacon that keeps great in the freezer).

This easy potato soup recipe is one I would deem worthy of your recipe book! It’s an ultra comforting and cozy dish you’ll turn to time and time again.

Plus it makes great leftovers for lunch the next day if you happen to have any left.

Watch the Potato Soup Video!

The Best Potato Soup Recipe - Cooking Classy (2)

The Best Potato Soup Recipe - Cooking Classy (3)

Creamy Potato Soup Recipe Ingredients

  • Russet potatoes
  • Yellow onion
  • Carrots
  • Celery
  • Low-sodium chicken broth
  • Salt and pepper
  • Butter
  • Flour
  • Milk
  • Sour cream
  • Optional toppings (cooked bacon, cheddar cheese, green onions)

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How to Make Potato Soup

  1. Add veggies and broth to pot: Combine diced potatoes, carrots, celery and onions with chicken broth in a large pot and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Bring to boil: Cover pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat (it will take about 10 minutes to reach a boil).
  3. Let simmer until tender: Once it reaches a boil reduce heat to medium and continue to cook about 15 – 20 minutes longer until potatoes are very soft when pierced with a fork.
  4. Prepare white sauce in separate pan: Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan melt butter over medium heat, add flour and cook for 1 minute while whisking constantly. While whisking, slowly add milk and cook, stirring constantly until mixture begins thicken.
  5. Combine mixtures: Once potatoes are soft add thickened milk mixture to potato soup mixture and stir (potatoes should start breaking down into soup, if not cook a few minutes longer).
  6. Stir in sour cream: Add sour cream and mix well.
  7. Finish with toppings if desired: Ladle soup into serving bowls, top each serving with bacon or ham, cheddar cheese and green onions.

The Best Potato Soup Recipe - Cooking Classy (5) The Best Potato Soup Recipe - Cooking Classy (6)

Helpful Tips

  • Stick with russet potatoes. They aren’t firm and waxy like the red and yellow and they’ll start to break down and make the soup creamy.
  • Measure out the ingredients. If you have too many or too little potatoes it will change the consistency.
  • Don’t add other herbs or spices. I know that can be tempting but the simple flavors are perfect here.
  • Monitor texture of potatoes as they cook. You want potatoes that are tender but not completely mushy or you’ll have mashed potato soup.
  • For extra complimentary flavors add toppings. Cheddar and bacon are the flavor pairing to potatoes.
  • Try substituting heavy cream or half and half for the sour cream. It is also such a delicious option.

Variations

  • Try adding a few large handfuls of sharp cheddar cheese right into the soup (at the end off heat) for a cheddar potato soup.
  • Up the veggies. Include others such as peas or corn.
  • Make it meaty. Add cooked sausage (ground or slices of kielbasa) to the soup. Or go with the ham or bacon option, which you can mix right into the soup as well.
  • Serve with homemade dinner rolls for dipping, making it the ultimately hearty meal!

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More Ways to Make Potato Soup

  • Cheddar Broccoli Potato Soup
  • Ham Potato and Corn Chowder
  • Instant Pot Potato Soup
  • Slow Cooker Potato Soup
  • Potato Sausage White Cheddar Soup

More Delicious Soup Recipes You’ll Love

  • Broccoli Cheese Soup
  • Vegetable Soup
  • Corn Chowder
  • Chicken Noodle Soup
  • Chicken Tortilla Soup

16 Quick & Easy 30 Minute Recipes! (plus weekly recipe updates)

The Best Potato Soup Recipe - Cooking Classy (8)

4.96 from 315 votes

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Potato Soup

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One of my go-to soup recipes and a reader favorite! It's such a creamy, hearty, comforting soup. While the toppings (cheddar, bacon, and green onions) are optional I highly recommend them for that loaded baked potato style flavor!

Watch the video

Servings: 5 servings

Prep20 minutes minutes

Cook30 minutes minutes

Ready in: 50 minutes minutes

Ingredients

Optional Toppings:

  • Cooked chopped bacon or chopped cooked ham, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped green onions or chives

Instructions

  • Combine diced potatoes, carrots, celery and onions with chicken broth in a large pot and season with salt and pepper to taste.

  • Cover pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat (it will take about 10 minutes to reach a boil).

  • Once it reaches a boil reduce heat to medium and continue to cook about 15 - 20 minutes longer until potatoes are very soft when pierced with a fork.

  • Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan melt butter over medium heat, add flour and cook for 1 minute while whisking constantly. While whisking, slowly add milk and cook, stirring constantly until mixture begins thicken.

  • Once potatoes are soft add thickened milk mixture to potato soup mixture and stir (potatoes should start breaking down into soup).

  • Add sour cream and mix well.

  • Ladle soup into serving bowls, top each serving with bacon or ham, cheddar cheese and green onions.

Notes

  • *Try substituting heavy cream or half and half for the sour cream. It is also such a delicious option.
  • Toppings not included in nutrition estimate as these are optional.
  • Note that the soup will thicken as it rests so if you happen to have left overs you can thin with a little water or milk).

Nutrition Facts

Potato Soup

Amount Per Serving

Calories 441Calories from Fat 189

% Daily Value*

Fat 21g32%

Saturated Fat 12g75%

Cholesterol 56mg19%

Sodium 486mg21%

Potassium 1177mg34%

Carbohydrates 54g18%

Fiber 4g17%

Sugar 12g13%

Protein 10g20%

Vitamin A 6155IU123%

Vitamin C 16.5mg20%

Calcium 220mg22%

Iron 2.3mg13%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Best Potato Soup Recipe, How to Make Potato Soup, potato soup

Author: Jaclyn

The Best Potato Soup Recipe - Cooking Classy (2024)

FAQs

What can I add to potato soup to add flavor? ›

Cheese: I recommend a good sharp cheddar cheese here for maximum flavor. Greek yogurt or sour cream: To make the soup extra-creamy. Salt and pepper: Add in as much as you need at the end to season your soup well.

How do you make potato soup not taste bland? ›

Try adding a little more salt. That's usually the answer to any issue of blandness, no matter the recipe in question. A basic Appalachian style potato soup uses only a handful of simple ingredients, leaning on milk and water and often bouillon to create the brothy soup base.

What is a good thickener for potato soup? ›

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

You can thicken soup by adding flour, cornstarch, or another starchy substitute. For the best results, never add flour or cornstarch directly to your soup. If you do, it will clump up on top. Instead, ladle a small amount of broth into a separate bowl and let it cool.

Why does my potato soup have no flavor? ›

Perhaps the simplest approach is to flavor your soup with salt throughout the cooking process. Instead of waiting until the end of cooking to realize your soup lacks taste, you can add a bit of salt during each phase of cooking. Doing so will help bring out the flavors of each of the ingredients.

How do you make soup taste richer? ›

"If your broth is lacking in savory richness, try adding roasted onion, tomato paste, mushrooms, seaweed, soy sauce, or miso. These ingredients add umami flavor and depth to broth," she says. The choice of ingredient depends on the recipe, though.

What is the key to flavorful soup? ›

All soups and stews must have three major components in order to be tasty: an undercurrent liquid, aromatics, and volumizing ingredients.

How do you doctor up bland potato soup? ›

To serve it up, sprinkle on a little extra parsley before adding some of the grated cheese… And—you'd better believe it—some of the crispy bacon. You can also add sliced green onions, a dollop of sour cream—anything you want! This soup will warm your ever-loving heart and soul.

What not to put in soup? ›

The Worst Things to Put in Your Soup
  1. By Sara Butler. If there's one good thing about fall and winter, it's soup. ...
  2. Heavy Cream. Heavy cream creates an inviting texture for soups but that's where its positive contributions end. ...
  3. Juice. ...
  4. Turkey Bacon. ...
  5. Cheese. ...
  6. Croutons.

What to add to bland potato soup? ›

Some ingredients I like to include in potato soup:
  1. Cooked, chopped bacon.
  2. Corn.
  3. Shredded cheddar (or similarly medium strong cheese)
  4. Cabbage or broccoli.
Jan 17, 2013

Will cream cheese thicken potato soup? ›

Cream cheese can be a delicious and tangy thickener for mashed potatoes so it stands to reason that it can also be used to add body to your favorite silky potato soup recipes — right? The answer is yes. It only works well if you do it carefully, though.

Can you use instant potatoes to thicken potato soup? ›

Honestly, if you just stir in a little instant mash, like Smash, your soup will thicken up in no time at all. Now, you may end up needing more than a spoonful, but it's best to add a little at a time, because remember, you can always add more of it, but you can't take it away.

Can I use instant potato flakes to thicken potato soup? ›

This soup-thickening hack couldn't be easier. Unlike using flour, which requires either making a little roux before you start cooking or a beurre manié afterwards, or using a cornstarch slurry that can create a gloppy texture, the instant mashed potato flakes can simply be sprinkled into the finished dish.

Does soup taste better the longer you cook it? ›

Just know the longer you cook it, the more flavor that will come out of the food and into the soup. Think of marinara sauce. Though it's not a soup, it's the same concept. Allowing it to cook for awhile marries all the flavors together.

What vegetables can you not put in soup? ›

any veggie can be used in soup, but unless you're making a very delicate, exceptional soup, I'd steer clear of lettuce. some veggies have a strong flavor, so you may enjoy using them, but in moderation. For me, parsnips and rutabaga fit this category.

How can I add flavor to tasteless soup? ›

Perk up a Bland Soup With Simple Pantry Staples

Add a splash of vinegar (any kind!), or a squeeze of citrus. Chances are, you could use a little more salt. Go ahead—it's ok. Salt perks up flat flavors and helps balance out bitter-tasting ingredients.

How to jazz up canned potato soup? ›

Add swirls of pesto, chili crisp, hot sauce, sour cream, or salted yogurt. Garnish your bowl with fried shallots, garlic chips, croutons, or a mish-mash of toasted seeds. Douse tender, fresh herbs—like cilantro, dill, parsley, or basil—in good-quality olive oil and vinegar and pile them on top.

How to spice up store bought potato soup? ›

A pinch of seasoning can make all the difference to freshen up the flavors in a ho-hum soup. Most canned soups have plenty of sodium, so skip the salt and stick with spices like cumin or curry powder or try dried herbs like basil or rosemary.

How do you spice up boring soup? ›

The key here is using the right herbs. Choose tender, leafy herbs for topping soup, like parsley (flat leaf or curly), cilantro, chives, or even mint. Skip the woody herbs, like rosemary and thyme — or add them in the beginning of the cooking process — otherwise they will dull, rather than brighten, the flavor.

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