If you’ve ever wanted a rich, creamy potato soup that uses simple, wholesome ingredients instead of canned condensed soup, this cream of potato soup recipe is your new go-to.
This easy one-pot soup comes together with just six everyday ingredients and delivers comforting, velvety flavor perfect for lunch, dinner, or topping with ham, bacon, or shredded cheese. Whether you serve it as a hearty bowl of soup or use it as a real-food base in casseroles and other dishes, this homemade version lets you skip the processed stuff and enjoy delicious potato goodness from scratch.
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Quick Look at This Recipe
- ✅ Recipe Name: Cream of Potato Soup
- 🕒 Ready In: ~5 minutes
- 👪 Yield: 1.5 cups
- 🍽 Calories: 370 (per cup)
- 🥄 Tools: A pot, a whisk and measuring utensils (plus a knife and cutting board for the potatoes).
- ❄️ Freezer Friendly: Yes and no – While this recipe can be frozen, the texture of the potatoes can get mushy. If you’re using this in another recipe, it will be just fine, but to eat as a bowl of soup, you’ll want to make it fresh. When freezing, use straight-sided Mason jars (leave about an inch headspace to allow for expansion).
- 📖 Dietary Info: While this recipe isn’t vegetarian or gluten-free, you can follow the ingredient substitutions to make it both gluten-free and vegetarian.
- ⭐ Why You’ll Love It: Delicious, fewer ingredients than the store-bought version, and takes less than 10 minutes to make! (That’s faster than running to the store for a can of soup!)
- 👩🍳 Pro Tip: Keep canned bone broth in your pantry to make this recipe even more nutritious and homemade!
Why This Recipe Works
After I had a health scare, I started taking a critical look at what I was feeding my family and made a serious commitment to avoid GMOs and eat real food. Turns out that ditching processed food and cooking from scratch is so much easier than you might think!
- Basic Ingredients – This homemade cream of chicken soup relies on simple, real-food pantry staples you likely already have on hand, making it easy to replace canned condensed soups without extra planning or specialty ingredients.
- Customizable – Once you understand this base method, you can easily adapt it to create other interchangeable “cream of” soups, including cream of mushroom, cream of broccoli and cheddar, cream of onion, cream of celery, cream of potato, cream of bacon, or even a gluten-free cream of anything soup, depending on what ingredients you have available.
- Versatile – This soup can be served as a comforting bowl on its own or used in casseroles, rice dishes, noodle recipes, and as a base for other soups, giving you the same convenience as store-bought versions without preservatives or questionable ingredients.
- Real-Food Focused – Made from scratch with whole ingredients, this recipe lets you ditch processed soups while still keeping your cooking fast, practical, and family-friendly.
All of these soups are delicious bowls of comfort served with a fresh slice of no-knead artisan bread or a crusty homemade sourdough boule.
Tips for the Best Cream of Potato Soup
This easy potato soup recipe is the ultimate creamy comfort food. Follow these tips to make it top-notch:
| Tip | Description |
| Potatoes | Russet potatoes are a common choice for a creamy potato soup recipe due to their starch content, but they need to be peeled to yield a creamy texture. For this reason, I prefer Yukon Gold potatoes. They also have a high starch content, and they don’t need to be peeled. |
| Immersion Blender | If you prefer a thicker soup, remove half of the soup and puree it with an immersion blender to break down the starches. Return the puree to the pot and mix well before serving. |
| Toppings | Potato soup is versatile and can be topped with various options. Try cooked bacon, ham, cheddar cheese, sour cream, green onions, or red pepper flakes. (Add multiple kinds of cheese for a cheesy potato soup.) |
Key Ingredients
A full list of ingredients and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
- Broth – While chicken or beef broth will lend a deeper flavor, you can substitute vegetable broth to make this vegetarian. Learn how to make your own bone broth.
- Oil – I love using butter for the additional flavor it adds, but you can use any oil, such as olive, avocado or coconut oil.
- Flour – All-purpose flour works best. If you need a gluten-free cream of soup version, I’ve got you covered.
- Milk or Cream – Heavy cream can make this recipe even smoother and richer. If you’re dairy-free, swap out the milk for full-fat non-dairy milk, such as unsweetened coconut milk, cashew cream, or a mixture of the two.
- Diced Cooked Potatoes – Yukon Gold or russet potatoes work best. You can use leftover boiled, roasted, or baked potatoes. If using russets, you will need to remove the skin, but if you are using Yukon Golds, leave the skin on and dice your potatoes into bite-sized pieces.
How to Make Cream of Potato Soup
Step 1: Melt butter (or other fat) in a large pot over medium-high heat.
Step 2: Add the potatoes and let them warm through.
Step 3: Whisk in the flour to make a thick paste, stirring constantly so that the butter doesn’t brown or burn.
Step 4: Slowly add the chicken broth and whisk until smooth, being careful not to mash the potatoes (though if a few get mashed, that’s fine).
Step 5: Add the milk or cream and simmer (but do not bring to a boil) over medium-low heat for just a couple of minutes. If it is too thick, add more liquid. Remember, it will get thicker as it cools.
Step 6: Once the mixture reaches the desired consistency, reduce the heat and season with salt and a dash of pepper.
Alternatively, you can grab an immersion blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
Remove from heat and let it cool slightly before serving.
FAQ’s
What is the thickening agent of cream of potato soup?
Cream of potato soup uses flour and butter to create a roux. When mixed with the broth and heavy cream, then simmered, it thickens the soup.
Why isn’t my potato soup creamy?
Your potato soup might not be creamy if you don’t blend it enough. Using the wrong potatoes or not enough cream can also cause this. Make sure to blend it until it’s smooth.
How do I thicken my potato soup?
To thicken your soup, blend it with an immersion blender until it’s smooth. You can also add more roux or heavy cream.
Can I store and reheat potato soup?
Yes, you can store potato soup. Keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. If it’s too thick, add some chicken broth when reheating.
Did you make this cream of potato soup recipe? If so, please leave a star rating ⭐ and your comments in the recipe card below. Then, snap a photo of your soup (or how you used it) and tag me on social media @melissaknorris so I can see!
Cream of Potato Soup
Equipment
- Measuring Utensils
- Large Pot
- Cutting Board
- Sharp Knife
- Whisk
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons butter Substitute olive oil or coconut oil
- 3 Tablespoons flour
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup whole milk Substitute heavy cream or half and half
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- dash of pepper
- 1/2 cup cooked potatoes Diced
Instructions
- Melt butter (or other fat) in a large pot over medium-high heat.
- Add cooked potatoes and cook until warmed through.
- Whisk in the flour to make a thick paste, stirring constantly so that the butter doesn’t brown or burn.
- Slowly add the chicken broth and whisk smooth.
- Add the milk or cream and simmer (but do not bring to a boil) over medium-low heat for just a couple of minutes. If it is too thick, add more liquid. Remember, it will get thicker as it cools.
- Once the mixture reaches the desired consistency, reduce the heat and season with salt and a dash of pepper.
- Remove from heat and let it cool slightly before serving.
Notes
- For gluten-free options, use cornstarch or xanthan gum instead of flour.
- For dairy-free options, use all chicken broth or substitute full-fat canned coconut milk (unsweetened).
I made this for my husband! Wow so easy. I did saute some minced shallots in the butter before adding the potatoes. Excellent consistency
How many potatoes would you need for about 6 portions?
Made this to go in our chicken pot pie to replace the can cream of potato soup. This was so good! And so simple! Thank you so much for sharing! No more can stuff! I think it was way better! ❤️❤️❤️
Could I use corn starch instead of flour?
Thanks for all these creamed soup recipes.
I have a question about subbing Xanthum Gum for flour. Do we use the same amount of XG as flour? I didn’t think so but thought to ask first.
Generally I start with a smaller amount of Xanthum Gum and then add more until desired consistency is met.
Thanks! I’ll start with a teaspoon and take it form there.
Btw, not all of your links from one creamed soup to another are working. I wish I could remember which one but it was definitely from one creamed to another you have listed below the recipe. I did find it and am so delighted to be able to control ingredients like sodium. So helpful!
Can this be used in place of condensed cream of potato soup, and if so, will this be equivalent to a 10.5 oz can?
Yes, it’s the equivalent of the 10.5 ounce can in a recipe with liquid.
Could I use corn starch instead of flour?
I always like to sauté leeks, onions and a few green onions before adding in the rest of the ingredients. It is so flavorful and pure comfort to me.
I don’t use flour in my potato soup to make it thick. I boil the potatoes then mash 1/2 of them and add back. I do this mainly because I am allergic to wheat. It makes it a perfect consistency.
Cream of potato soup is like a hug in a bowl. I love topping it with cooked bacon, cheese, chives and a dollop of sour cream. It’s like a creamy baked potato!