Easy Potato Soup Recipe: Old Fashioned Flavor

This easy potato soup recipe is an old fashioned favorite — just like Grandma used to make. It’s so simple that you can have it on the table in less than 30 minutes! This homemade, creamy, cozy, comfort food will warm you up on the chilliest day. Don’t want to use heavy cream? I have a tip for you!

For this recipe you’ll need: Potatoes, onions,  whole milk, heavy cream, butter, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley –  

I love serving this yummy soup with homemade cloverleaf rolls

Homemade Potato Soup Backstory

This is the potato soup recipe I grew up with. It’s the recipe my mom grew up with. I’ll even bet you that my grandmother, who was born around 1890, grew up on it, too.

When I was small we lived in Pennsylvania for a time and potato soup was on the menu a lot in the wintertime. Back then we played outside no matter what the weather was like — and we’d play out there until the streetlights cast a warm, pinkish-orange glow on the snow that crunched under our boots and soaked through our mittens. It didn’t matter that we couldn’t feel our fingers and our cheeks were numb, that our toes burned, or that our words were slurred because our faces were frozen. Outside meant freedom and friends and fun and we were determined to soak up every moment. There is no better food memory I have than walking in the garage door (after carefully removing my boots and any snowy, wet outerwear) and smelling the aroma of this elixir wafting down from the kitchen. We lived in a tri-level house and the kitchen was on the mid-level. I’d run up the stairs as fast as my frozen legs would allow hoping that my grandmother’s potato soup was as ready to eat as I was to eat it.

Easy Potato Soup Recipe Variations

There aren’t a lot of fancy ingredients but don’t let that fool you into thinking that this isn’t a dish full of flavor. It’s simple comfort food, a foundational recipe that you can use as is or build on. For example, at one time or another I’ve added one or more of the following:

• diced ham – add with the potatoes.
• crumbled cooked bacon – sprinkle on top
• chipotle – stir in chipotle powder or mashed chipotle just before serving.
• celery – saute and add to the soup with the potatoes.
• onion – saute and add to the soup with the potatoes
• cheese -either stir it in to the soup just before serving or serve the soup with cheese on top.
• sour cream – stir into the potato soup just before serving or put a dollop on top of the soup when serving.
• cream cheese – warm it in the microwave until it’s soft and then stir into the soup.
• cooked ground beef – add with the potatoes
• cumin – mix into the broth
• clams – add with the potatoes
• jalapenos – saute and add with the potatoes
• garlic – saute and add with the potatoes
• cooked chicken – add with the potatoes
• leftover cooked vegetables – stir in just before serving
• chives – sprinkle on the soup just before serving
• butter – I like to serve it with a pat of butter melting on top

Cut the Fat for a Healthier Potato Soup Recipe

I prefer potato soup with heavy or whipping cream but there are several ways to cut the fat in this recipe if you’d like to. Try them all and see which one you like best.

• Use all whole milk instead of milk and cream
• Use half and half instead of heavy cream
• Adjust the amount of butter to your liking
• Use 2% milk, and double the potatoes. Blend about half the potatoes up in a blender with some of the hot milk. Pour it back into the pot. The blended potatoes will thicken the soup and make it creamy without the fat. You may even need to thin it out with a little more milk
• Use chicken stock for part of the liquid

Creamy Potato Soup FAQs

Here are the questions I am most frequently asked about this recipe.

How do I make the best potato soup?

Don’t use russet potatoes. Use the buttery Yukon Gold potatoes or the red potatoes. They have less starch and will give you a creamier soup.

How do I make healthy potato soup?

You can substitute milk for all or part of the cream, adjust the amount of butter (or leave it out), and cut back on the salt, depending on your tastes and dietary needs. Blending some of the cooked potatoes with the milk helps to thicken it and make it creamy without flour or extra fat.

Will potato soup freeze well?

This potato soup recipe does not freeze well at all! I don’t think any creamy soups do. Still it’s so quick and easy to make there’s really no need to freeze it.

How long will potato soup last in the fridge?

Potato soup is best if you eat it within 3 or 4 days.

More Comforting Homemade Soup Recipes

• Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup
• Hatch Chile Corn Chowder
• Homemade Cream of Tomato Soup (Campbells CopyCat)
• Mexican Street Corn Soup
• Stuffed Pepper Soup

And… I’m drooling over this chicken and wild rice soup recipe from Deb at Bowl Me Over!

You May Need…

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You can use an immersion blender to easily blend the potatoes in this soup to your preferred consistency! I love my immersion blender for all kinds of quick tasks.

Homemade Potato Soup Recipe

I promise this is the best potato soup recipe ever invented. It’s thickened by blending a cup or so in the blender and then adding it back into the soup pot. It’s a great way to give it more flavor and richness without the flour so the soup is lighter and more flavorful than most other recipes. Add your favorite toppings – sour cream, bacon, chives – whatever you like. Personally I’m partial to just a pat of butter!

This is so good with a slice of this easy bacon fougasse bread!
If you like this recipe please give it 5 stars!

3.78 from 18 votes

Gramma’s Easy Potato Soup Recipe

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Creamy and comforting, this potato soup recipe has been in our family for decades, if not centuries. It’s thickened by blending up a cup of it or so in the blender and then adding it back to the pot. This gives it both flavor and richness without the heavy,pasty flavor of flour. Use any potatoes you like – I like to use Yukons or baby red.

Course Soup

Cuisine Comfort Food

Keyword creamy,dairy,potatoes,rich

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 6

Calories 241

Author Marye Audet

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Ingredients

• 1 pound potatoes washed, , peeled if desired.
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1/4 cup butter plus 1 tablespoon per serving
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, (whipping) cream or half and half
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, , optional
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley or chives

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Dice the potatoes to desired size.
• Bring water to a boil in a pot and add the diced potatoes.
• Simmer until tender.
• Meanwhile, slowly cook the onion in 1 tablespoon of the butter.
• Drain the potatoes and add them back to the pot.
• Add the cooked onion, butter, milk, and cream.
• Taste and add salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder to taste.
• Serve in shallow bowls with a pat of butter and a sprinkle of parsley on top.

Nutrition

Calories: 241kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 119mg | Potassium: 480mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 770IU | Vitamin C: 12.4mg | Calcium: 138mg | Iron: 2.6mg

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