This creamy potato soup is loaded with classic baked potato flavors. A simple, satisfying bowl of comfort food, the whole family will love. Vegan-adaptable and gluten-free.
You’ll Love This Comfortingly Classic Recipe for Potato Soup
This comforting potato soup stands out as a timeless classic, perfect for any occasion. What makes this recipe unique is its versatility: it can be effortlessly lightened up or transformed into a delicious vegan meal without compromising that rich, comforting flavor we all love. With wholesome ingredients and simple steps, you’ll find yourself returning to this recipe time and again. It’s not just a meal; it’s the ultimate cozy embrace in a bowl, and I can’t wait for you to try it!
As a chef, one of the most satisfying feelings is creating something luxurious out of simple, humble ingredients… like potatoes! It’s a wonderfully abundant feeling- knowing that a wholesome meal doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. Potatoes are enough.
Our ever-popular potato leek soup, is the perfect example of this- just read all our reviews and a solid 5-star rating from readers.
Creamy Potato Soup Recipe Ingredients
- Potatoes: Use Yukon gold potatoes or russet potatoes.
- Leek and garlic cloves: Or sub the leek with a small onion, for aromatic flavor and depth.
- Fresh rosemary: For fresh, herby flavor with a woodsy aroma.
- Butter: Or sub olive oil for a vegan version.
- Chicken stock: Or vegetable broth.
- Milk: Or cream. You can use a plant-based alternative to make this vegan.
- Greek yogurt: Or sour cream. (Or use vegan yogurt or sour cream.)
- Toppings: Crispy bacon crumbles (turkey bacon, bacon bits, coconut bacon, or tofu bacon), Greek yogurt (sour cream or vegan sour cream), grated sharp cheddar cheese, and scallions (green onions or chives).
How to Make Homemade Potato Soup
Before you get started, prep all of your toppings. The toppings are key!
1. Sauté aromatics and add potatoes. In a large pot or dutch oven, sauté leeks or onion with butter or olive oil over medium heat for until tender. Add garlic and rosemary and stir for 1 minute. Add potatoes, kosher salt, pepper, and chicken broth.
2. Simmer. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.
3. Blend. Add the milk or cream. Use an immersion blender to pulse the soup until mostly smooth. Avoid over-blending to prevent a gluey or gummy texture. Or you can blend the soup in batches in a regular blender. Don’t fill up the blender all of the way with hot liquid, or you will have a soup explosion! Hold the lid down firmly with a kitchen towel just to be safe.
4. Serve. If needed, warm the soup back up before serving. Add in Greek yogurt or sour cream and serve with desired toppings.
Tips for Making the Best Potato Soup Recipe
- Avoid over-blending. When blending the soup with the immersion or regular blender, simply pulse the soup to avoid a gummy or gluey texture.
- Add milk or cream to taste. You can adjust the creaminess of the soup, keeping it light or making it extra creamy depending on your preference.
- Use homemade broth. For extra depth of flavor, use homemade chicken stock or vegetable stock.
- Make it vegan! Use olive oil, vegetable broth, plant-based milk, and vegan yogurt or sour cream. For toppings, use coconut bacon or tofu bacon and vegan cheese.
How to Thicken Potato Soup
To thicken the soup, add milk or cream until achieving your desired consistency. There’s no need to add cornstarch or flour, as the blended potatoes create a creamy base, especially with the milk or heavy cream. Plus, this keeps it gluten-free!
How to Serve the Ultimate Potato Soup
Serve this creamy potato soup with warm, crusty bread like sourdough or a toasted baguette. A light and refreshing salad makes a tasty pairing, like our Waldorf Salad or Rainbow Salad. Or serve with a side of crunchy vegetables, like Roasted Brussels Sprouts or Roasted Root Vegetables.
Potato Soup Toppings
You’ll also want to load up your potato soup with lots of toppings for added texture, more creaminess, or for cheesy or herby flavor!
- For crispy texture: Crispy bacon bits, turkey bacon, coconut bacon, or tofu bacon
- For creaminess: Greek yogurt, sour cream, or vegan sour cream
- Cheese: Use grated sharp cheddar cheese or your favorite
- For herby, aromatic flavor: Scallions, green onions, or chives
Storing Leftover Creamy Potato Soup
To store, let the soup cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Place in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat on the stovetop until warm.
Can you Freeze Potato Soup?
You can freeze potato soup, but we don’t recommend it. The texture will change quite a bit once it has been frozen. Any dairy in the soup will separate as well. If you wish to freeze the soup, leave out the dairy and add it in when thawed and ready to reheat.
FAQs
This potato soup recipe is made with leeks, garlic, potatoes, stock, milk, yogurt. Our lightened up potato soup recipe can easily be made vegan too!
The blended potatoes already create a creamy base, especially once the milk and yogurt are stirred in. There is no need for a thickener, like cornstarch or flour, in this recipe.
We keep it simple here with salt and pepper. Fresh rosemary adds a cozy, woodsy aroma, but you could add other spices like Dijon mustard or dried mustard, dill or celery seed. You can also garnish with red pepper flakes for a little extra bite!
Hope you enjoy our easy Potato Soup recipe! Let us know what you think in the comments!
More Favorite Potato Soup Recipes
Best Potato Soup Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 cups
- Category: soup
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: american
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This loaded potato soup is a luscious version of baked potato flavors in a bowl of creamy goodness. This recipe is a lightened up version that can be made vegan!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter, or olive oil
- 1 leek or small white onion
- 3–4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced (or try fresh sage or thyme)
- 1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, cut into pieces (or peeled russet potatoes)
- 3 cups chicken stock or vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup whole milk or cream (plant-based milk works too, if desired)
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
Potato Soup Toppings
- crispy bacon crumbles- turkey bacon, coconut bacon, or tofu bacon
- greek yogurt, sour cream, vegan sour cream
- grated sharp cheddar cheese
- scallions, green onions or chives
Instructions
- Prepare your toppings and set them aside. ( You can do this ahead and refrigerate)
- In a heavy pot or dutch oven saute the leeks or onions with butter or olive oil over medium heat until tender, roughly 6 minutes. Add garlic and rosemary stir for 1 minute. Add potatoes, salt, pepper and broth.
- Bring to a boil and turn down to simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.
- Add the milk or cream. With an immersion blender, pulse soup until mostly smooth. Avoid over-blending, as with some potato varieties, this will turn the soup gluey and gummy. Alternatively, blend in batches in a regular blender pulsing until just combined (remember, you don’t want to fill up a blender with hot liquid, or you will have a soup explosion- blend in small batches, less than half full, holding the lid down firmly covered with a kitchen towel.)
- Warm the soup back up if needed. Stir in the Greek yogurt or sour cream and serve with all the toppings.
Notes
We keep the soup gluten-free, no need for flour to thicken up the soup. The blended potatoes create a creamy thick base.
Optional additions- a cup of frozen corn, cooked carrots or green beans.
Leftovers will stay in the fridge for 3- 4 days in an airtight container.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 257
- Sugar: 7.7 g
- Sodium: 428.3 mg
- Fat: 7.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 38.5 g
- Fiber: 5.6 g
- Protein: 11.4 g
- Cholesterol: 17.6 mg
This soup is delicious. Thank you for do many lovely recipes. I love that you have so many veg options.
So happy you are enjoying Daniella! Really appreciate your review.
This was a very simple and delicious recipe as written. Especially loved the flavor the rosemary added to it!
Great to hear Lysa! Appreciate the review.
Which plant milk would you recommend? Also, could I use plant milk and dairy yogurt together, or would the taste be weird with that combo? Thank you! I look forward to making it!
I used cashew milk, also like unsweetened soy milk. The yogurt works great in combination!
Great recipe! I cooked the bacon and then used the fat to sauté the leeks. Good depth of flavor. I added a lot more salt and it really made the rosemary pop. I also drizzled with some really good grassy olive oil. Yum!
Oooo love it Melissa! Appreciate the review.
Could you make this in a slow cooker?
I have not tried this, but I bet it would work.
This recipe is a quick and simply delicious way to use up those random potatoes in your fridge. Although I used sweet onions instead of leeks, nonfat milk, and omitted the yogurt, the result was scrumptious and perfect for this rainy winter day. Thanks for giving us comfort in a bowl!
So great to hear this Ingrid. Appreciate hearing your changes. Thanks for the review and rating!
I’m enjoying my second bowl as I type. This soup is delicious! I prepared it exactly as the recipe directs putting cheese and some coconut facon on top. It’s perfect … warm & comforting. Thank you, Sylvia! Mmmm …
Yay! Glad you gave it a go Amy. Appreciate you circling back to review!
Planning a to make this…which would be best substitute, yellow onion or red onion? Im also using small red potatoes? Thoughts?
Thanks!
Hi Stephanie, Yellow onion. Red potatoes in particular can get quite gluey when blended. Perhaps chop them small for simmering and blend up minimally.