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
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 –8 servings 1x
Description
This easy potato soup recipe is creamy, comforting, and always a favorite for chilly nights.
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.
This soup looks great. I’m going to try it this weekend. What do you recommend to serve with it? Thanks.
Thanks, Kathy — we hope you enjoy it! We would serve this with a nice salad and some bread, but it’s totally up to you! :)
All year I’ve been expanding my favorite go-to soups with new recipes. Some made the cut, others not. This looks delicious. Can’t decide if I should use the Smoked Monterey Jack or Smoked Havarti with Dill I bought recently. Love freezing into smaller portions for a quick, easy lunch or dinner. Thanks for sharing.
We hope you enjoy this, Gayle — and we think either one of those cheeses would be incredible in this! :)
Made this for lunch today and WOW!! Totally delish!! There are some restaurants that hubby and I refer to as “the one with great potato soup,” but that won’t matter anymore lol! Love this so much, thank you for sharing!
Yay, so glad you liked it! :)
Can you cooked the potatoes first and if I don’t put onions in do I need the flour
Hi Mary, you don’t need to cook the potatoes first for this, and you’ll still need flour whether you add the onions or not. We hope you enjoy!
This was awesome even second day! I doubled it and added celery, 2 crushed garlic cloves and a little more flour. Definitely making again!
We’re glad to hear that, Alicia! :)
I made this soup with a few changes, having to work with what was on hand. I had some cream that was going to go to waste, so I replaced a cup of milk with it, and I only had beef broth instead of chicken stock.
Still quite delicious! (That said I do look forward to doing this recipe later the right way).
Thanks for sharing with us — we’re glad you were able to improvise and that you enjoyed it! :)
I cooked this last night. It was so easy and delicious! I didn’t have the onion or sourcream but it was still great without it. I added some Cajun seasoning to give it a nice kick. Thanks so much for a great recipe! This is definitely a keeper!
We’re glad you enjoyed it, Summer, and we bet the Cajun seasoning was a nice addition! :)
I made this tonight and it was so good. Hubby had a tooth pulled so I needed to make something that he didn’t have to chew. The only thing I did different was when the potatoes were done, I took my potato masher and mashed the potatoes up a bit. I definitely will be making this again. Thank you for the recipe.
Awesome, so glad you enjoyed it! (And hope your husband feels better soon!)
I made a vegetarian version of this with homemade veggie “bacon” (although I think a commercial veggie bacon, like Morningstar or Lightlife would be just as good) and added a dash of liquid smoke to the soup to replicate that bacon-y goodness. Served with a side of roasted broccoli – perfection! Thanks for this recipe. Once fall finally arrives in the Bay Area, I’ll be making this again.
Thanks for sharing with us, Leslie! We’re glad you were able to make this vegetarian, and your adaptations sound delicious! :)
Make this wonderful potato soup this eve. My husband and I loved it. So creamy, and so flavorful. The only change I made to it was to add 1/8 cup of buttermilk ranch dressing to the soup as I did not have sour cream or yogurt. Thank you. B
Sounds delicious! :)