The trick to creamy potato soup is not more cream. It is mashing about a third of the potatoes directly in the pot so their starch does the thickening, which leaves you with something spoon-coating and still chunky. Add a roux built in bacon fat and a handful of sharp cheddar at the end, and you have a bowl that eats like a loaded baked potato.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Creamy Potato Soup
It is one pot, start to finish. The bacon crisps in it, the onions cook in the rendered fat, the roux happens in the same pot, and the potatoes simmer right there. Nothing else to wash.
It is cheap in a way that does not taste cheap. Three pounds of potatoes, six slices of bacon and some milk feed six people generously, which puts it in the same useful category as the rest of our budget-friendly soup recipes.
And it is done in under an hour, most of which is a quiet simmer. This is a genuine weeknight soup, not a weekend project.
Ingredients for Creamy Potato Soup
6 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped. Both a topping and the fat you cook everything else in. Thick-cut renders more slowly and stays chewy rather than shattering.
3 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Yukon Golds are the right choice. They are waxy enough to hold their cubes through a twenty-minute simmer but starchy enough to thicken the pot when you mash some of them. Russets break down further and give a smoother, more uniform soup if that is what you want.
1 large yellow onion, diced, and 3 cloves garlic, minced. Cooked in the bacon fat, which is where a lot of the smoky flavor comes from.
1/4 cup all-purpose flour. Stirred into the fat to make a roux. This is what keeps the soup from being watery under the cream.
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth. Added gradually to the roux. Low-sodium, because the bacon and cheddar are both salty.
1 cup whole milk and 1/2 cup heavy cream. Both go in near the end, off a hard boil. Using milk for most of it keeps the soup from being cloying.
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar, grated from a block. Grate it yourself. Pre-shredded cheese has anti-caking starch on it that will not melt smoothly into a hot soup.
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Thyme and potato is an old pairing and it works quietly in the background.
Sliced scallions and sour cream, for serving.
How to Make Creamy Potato Soup
- Crisp the bacon. Cook 6 slices chopped thick-cut bacon in a large pot over medium heat for 8 minutes until crisp. Lift it out with a slotted spoon onto paper towel and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat.
- Soften the aromatics. Add 1 diced onion to the pot and cook for 5 minutes until translucent. Add 3 minced garlic cloves and cook 1 minute more.
- Build the roux. Sprinkle in 1/4 cup flour and stir constantly for 1 minute, scraping the bottom of the pot.
- Add the broth gradually. Pour in 4 cups chicken broth about 1 cup at a time, whisking smooth after each addition.
- Simmer the potatoes. Add 3 lb cubed Yukon Gold potatoes, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 18 to 20 minutes, until a knife slides into a cube with no resistance.
- Mash a third of it. Use a potato masher directly in the pot to break down roughly a third of the potatoes. This is what makes the soup creamy. Leave the rest in cubes.
- Add the dairy on low. Reduce the heat to LOW and stir in 1 cup whole milk and 1/2 cup heavy cream. Warm through for 5 minutes without letting it boil.
- Finish off the heat. Take the pot off the burner and stir in 1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar a handful at a time until smooth. Serve topped with the reserved bacon, sliced scallions and a spoonful of sour cream.
Tips for Success
Never boil the soup after the dairy goes in. This is the failure that catches most people out. Milk and cream held at a rolling boil separate into a curdled, watery mess, and once the proteins break you cannot whisk them back. Turn the heat to its lowest setting before the milk goes anywhere near the pot.
Mash, do not blend. A hand blender turns potato starch gluey within seconds — the same reason you never put mashed potatoes in a food processor. A potato masher gives you the thickening without the wallpaper-paste texture.
Cut the potatoes to an even size. Half-inch cubes across the board means everything is done at the same time. Mixed sizes give you a pot where the small pieces have dissolved and the big ones are still hard in the middle.
Creamy Potato Soup Variations
Loaded baked potato. Double the cheddar and bacon and serve with sour cream and chives. It is essentially a baked potato in a bowl and no one will object.
Vegetarian. Skip the bacon, cook the onion in 3 tablespoons butter, and use vegetable broth. Add 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika to replace the smokiness the bacon was providing.
Potato and leek. Swap the onion for 2 large leeks, white and pale green parts only. Milder, sweeter, and slightly more elegant.
Extra vegetables. Stir in 2 cups of broccoli florets for the last 8 minutes of the simmer, which nudges it toward our broccoli cheddar soup territory.
What to Serve With Creamy Potato Soup
Bread with a firm crust is what you want — sourdough, a baguette, anything sturdy enough to survive being dunked. Soft sandwich bread turns to mush immediately.
A sharp salad with a vinegary dressing does more for this meal than most people expect. The soup is rich and starchy, and something acidic on the side keeps the third bowl as good as the first. Our cottage cheese flatbread makes a lighter dunking option.
If you are feeding a crowd, a tray of roasted vegetables alongside rounds it out without adding another pot to wash — the same approach as our sheet pan chicken and veggies.
FAQs
Should I peel the potatoes? With Yukon Golds, no. The skins are thin, they hold the cubes together during the simmer, and they add a bit of texture. Scrub them well. If you use russets, peel them — those skins are tough and separate into papery flakes.
Can I make Creamy Potato Soup in a slow cooker? Yes. Crisp the bacon and cook the onion on the stove, then move everything except the dairy and cheese to a crockpot and cook on LOW for 6 hours. Mash, then stir in the milk, cream and cheddar during the last 20 minutes.
How do I store Creamy Potato Soup? Fridge for 4 days in an airtight container. It thickens a lot as it cools because of the potato starch, so add a splash of broth or milk when reheating and warm it gently over low heat.
Can I freeze Creamy Potato Soup? Not really. Potatoes go mealy and the dairy separates, so you get a grainy soup with a strange texture. This is a make-fresh, eat-within-the-week recipe.
Final Thoughts
This is the soup for the week when the weather turns and you want something that costs almost nothing but tastes like it should cost more. The mashing step is the whole recipe in one move.
Make it once with the bacon and once without and you will find the version your house prefers. Either way, keep the heat low after the milk goes in and it will come out right.
Creamy Potato Soup
Equipment
- large soup pot or Dutch oven
- slotted spoon
- whisk
- potato masher
- wooden spoon
- chef’s knife
- cutting board
- box grater for grating the cheddar
- measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
- 6 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated from a block
- 3 scallions, sliced
- 1/2 cup sour cream, for serving
Instructions
- Cook the chopped bacon in a large pot over medium heat for about 8 minutes until crisp. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon and leave about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the pot.
- Add the diced onion to the pot and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
- Sprinkle in the all-purpose flour and stir constantly for 1 minute, scraping the bottom of the pot.
- Gradually whisk in the chicken broth about 1 cup at a time until the mixture is smooth.
- Add the Yukon Gold potatoes, dried thyme, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 18–20 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Using a potato masher, mash about one-third of the potatoes directly in the pot while leaving the remaining potatoes in chunks to naturally thicken the soup.
- Reduce the heat to LOW and stir in the whole milk and heavy cream. Warm for about 5 minutes without allowing the soup to boil.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the grated sharp cheddar one handful at a time until melted and smooth. Serve topped with the reserved bacon, sliced scallions, and a spoonful of sour cream.