This easy potato soup recipe is creamy, comforting, and always a crowd favorite.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made this delicious, creamy potato soup! It’s simple and easy to make and so perfect on a chilly, damp day.”
– Katrina
Like A Warm Hug In A Bowl
Love a cozy bowl of homemade potato soup. ♡
It’s the kind of comfort food I grew up eating on chilly Midwestern nights — simple, hearty, and always so nostalgic. I spent years tweaking this recipe, and it’s now a forever favorite in our house. And after tens of thousands of you have made it (and raved about it!) over the past decade, I’d say it’s officially a reader favorite here too!
This homemade potato soup recipe is wonderfully creamy (without needing heavy cream), layered with cozy garlic and cheddar flavor, and easy to customize to your taste. Even better? It’s quick and unfussy and ready to go in just 30 minutes. Perfect for busy weeknights or lazy Sunday dinners or anytime you’re craving a cozy bowl of soup. One batch never lasts long in our house!
So if you’ve been searching for a tried-and-true potato soup recipe to keep on repeat, this is it!
Cheers,
Potato Soup Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Potato Soup Tips
Before you get cooking, here are a few simple tips to help your potato soup turn out extra creamy and delicious:
- Dice potatoes evenly: Smaller, uniform pieces will cook more quickly and evenly.
- Warm your milk: This helps prevent curdling and keeps the soup smooth.
- Grate cheese by hand: Pre-shredded cheese is often coated with anti-caking agents that can make the soup grainy — freshly grated melts much creamier.
- Add cheese slowly: Stir it in a handful at a time off the heat to avoid clumping.
- Storage tip: Cool leftovers before refrigerating in a sealed container for up to 3 days; rewarm gently to keep the texture creamy.
Recipe Variations
This homemade potato soup recipe is endlessly flexible, so feel free to try one of these fun twists:
- Make it vegetarian: Skip the bacon and use butter or olive oil instead of bacon grease. For extra flavor, stir in 2–3 teaspoons Cajun seasoning.
- Make it gluten-free: Omit the flour and instead whisk 1 tablespoon cornstarch into the cold milk before adding it to the soup. Or skip thickener altogether and simply puree half the soup to create a naturally creamy base.
- Lighten it up: Reduce the grease/butter by 2 tablespoons, skip the flour, and puree half the soup to thicken. Use skim milk and turkey bacon (adding a drizzle of olive oil or butter for sautéing if needed).
- Add extra seasoning: Stir in 1 tablespoon of your favorite blend for a new twist — Cajun, Italian, za’atar, or taco seasoning all work great here.
- Mix up the potatoes: Try a blend of Yukon gold and sweet potatoes for a sweet-savory spin.
- Add more veggies: Toss in chopped cauliflower and/or broccoli with the potatoes for extra nutrition and texture.
More Potato Soup Recipes To Try
Love a cozy bowl of potato soup? Here are a few other reader favorites you might enjoy next:
The BEST Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 5 slices bacon, diced
- 3 tablespoons (reserved) bacon grease or butter
- 1 cup diced white or yellow onion
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 2 cups milk, warmed
- 1.5 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, diced
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
- optional toppings: thinly-sliced green onions or chives, extra shredded cheese, extra bacon, sour cream
Instructions
- Heat a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add diced bacon and cook until crispy, stirring occasionally. Transfer the bacon to a separate plate, using a slotted spoon, reserving about 3 tablespoons of bacon grease in the stockpot. (Discard any extra grease, or you can substitute butter in place of the 3 tablespoons of bacon grease. Also, if you are short on time, you can dice the potatoes and onion while the bacon cooks to save time.)
- Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. Stir in the garlic and sauté for an extra 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant. Stir the flour into the mixture and sauté for an additional 1 minute to cook the flour, stirring occasionally. Then stir in the stock until combined, followed by the milk and potatoes.
- Continue cooking until the mixture just reaches a simmer, before it begins to boil. Then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft, being sure to stir the soup every few minutes so that the bottom does not burn. (The smaller you dice your potatoes, the faster your soup will cook.)
- Once the potatoes are nice and soft, stir in the cheddar cheese and Greek yogurt (or sour cream), salt, pepper and cooked bacon bits. Taste and season with extra salt and pepper, if needed.
- Serve warm, garnished with desired toppings. Or, transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Be sure to also check out our Slow Cooker Potato Soup recipe too — made easy in the crock pot!
- This recipe was originally shared here in December 2014.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Delicious! I cooked the potatoes on my quick pot for 6 minutes and after draining the water left added to my soup, 15 minutes later everything came together. Definitely will be making again.
Delish and simply quick to make! I will keep this recipe!
This is a GREAT recipe!! I made it gluten and dairy free.
I did tweak it a little bit too. I used a bone broth I made for the 4 cups chicken broth.
My bone broth was made with a grass-fed organic chicken, a few grass-fed organic chicken livers (with some blood) for Vitamin A, about 4-5 fresh organic carrots, 4-5 stalks of fresh organic celery, a medium size organic yellow onion, some fresh organic rosemary and fresh organic thyme.
I used non-GMO unsweetened almond milk for the milk and non-GMO almond/coconut milk for the heavy cream. I used millet instead of flour.
I sautéed the onion in the butter. Then I stirred in the millet in until it was thickened. Then I added the chicken broth, heavy cream and milk and let it mingle a little. THEN I added the potatoes. I put a dash or two of organic chili powder. I didn’t add garlic because my kids would herx on it too bad. I did however tell them when we have leftovers I might let them add garlic powder on their plate.
We couldn’t add sour cream or yogurt because I didn’t have any dairy free sour cream on hand. We didn’t even add the bacon because I didn’t have any on hand.
Both kids LOVE it. And my kids are really picky. They both said it tasted AMAZING.
Thanks SO MUCH for sharing.
Made it and loved!
So easy to make and very delish !! My go to potato soup recipe now !!
Love this recipe! I make it all the time; its easy, delicious, cheap. And all ingredients I have on hand all the time.
Can I get the nutritional information of this?
I make life easier on myself by using the plain diced hashed brown potatoes from the freezer section. That way they’re the same size and cook up faster. Delicious!
Wow this was delicious and my 2 picky eaters loved it. My husband said it was up there with Schlotzky’s potato soup ?. I followed the recipe exactly except I had to double it for my guys plus I added 1/2 cup of celery to saute with the onion. I’ve tried a lot of potato soup recipes but this is the best and I had all the ingredients on hand. I will definitely make this again. Thanks for sharing with us!
I loved this! I cut out the flour, cut the dairy down by half (didn’t add any sour cream or cheese while cooking, but did it when I served it (a dollop of sour cream in each bowl and about 2T of fresh grated cheddar). I used veg broth and added a large bunch of brocolini at the end of the cooking process and lightly puréed to a lightly chunky texture. I topped with the aforementioned sour cream and cheese, as well as green onions from my garden, the bacon and a healthy dash of my fav local hot sauce… we all loved it, even the baby! :)