Description
A creamy and comforting Ultimate Potato Soup recipe featuring crispy bacon, tender gold potatoes, and a rich blend of milk, cream, and spices. This hearty soup is partially pureed to combine smooth texture with chunky potato pieces for the perfect balance. Topped with cheddar cheese, chives, sour cream, and crispy bacon, it’s an ideal comforting dish for any occasion.
Ingredients
Scale
Soup Base
- 6 strips uncooked bacon, cut into small pieces
- 3 tablespoons butter (unsalted or salted)
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped (about 1.5 cup / 200g)
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (42g)
- 2 ½ lbs gold potatoes, peeled and diced into pieces no larger than 1” (about 6 large potatoes / 1.15kg)
- 4 cups chicken broth (945ml)
- 2 cups milk (475ml)
- ⅔ cup heavy cream (155ml)
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt (adjust to taste)
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- ¼ – ½ teaspoon ancho chili powder
- ⅔ cup sour cream (160g)
Toppings (Optional)
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Chives
- Additional sour cream
- Additional crispy bacon pieces
Instructions
- Cook Bacon: Place the bacon pieces in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat and cook until the bacon is crisp and browned. Remove the bacon pieces and set aside, leaving the fat rendered in the pot for flavor.
- Sauté Onion and Garlic: Add the butter and chopped onion to the pot, cooking over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until the onions are tender. Add the minced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
- Add Flour: Sprinkle the flour over the onion and garlic mixture and stir continuously until smooth and combined, using a whisk if needed to avoid lumps. This forms the base for thickening the soup.
- Add Potatoes and Liquids: Add the peeled and diced potatoes along with chicken broth, milk, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and ancho chili powder. Stir everything well to combine.
- Cook Potatoes: Bring the soup mixture to a boil, then cook for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.
- Blend Half the Soup: Reduce the heat to a simmer. Carefully remove about half of the soup (approximately 5 cups) to a blender and puree until smooth. Alternatively, use an immersion blender directly in the pot to puree half the soup. This creates a creamy texture while leaving some potato chunks intact.
- Combine and Add Sour Cream: Return the pureed soup to the pot and stir in the sour cream and the reserved crispy bacon pieces.
- Simmer Final Soup: Allow the soup to simmer gently for 15 minutes to blend flavors thoroughly and heat through.
- Serve and Garnish: Ladle the soup into bowls and top with additional sour cream, crispy bacon, shredded cheddar cheese, and chopped chives as desired. Enjoy warm.
Notes
- Start with a conservative amount of salt, as saltiness will vary depending on your chicken broth brand or homemade broth.
- If you haven’t used ancho chili powder before, start with ¼ teaspoon and adjust up to ½ teaspoon to taste for a subtle smoky heat.
- For a completely creamy soup, puree all of the soup in batches instead of just half.
- Use an immersion blender for a quicker and safer method to puree soup directly in the pot.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 700mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7g
- Trans Fat: 0.2g
- Carbohydrates: 29g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 9g
- Cholesterol: 55mg
