Here is the best easy potato soup you will find! Creamy and soothing, it’s ready in minutes with no cream and no mixer.
Ready for The best easy and silky potato soup? Somehow Alex and I didn’t have a recipe: until now. Yes, this recipe will blow your mind! It has the best creamy yet thick texture as well as an intriguing pinch of spice. While most potato soup recipes are loaded with cream and butter, this recipe has no cream and just a touch of butter. Best of all, you don’t need a blender! With no special equipment and a handful of common ingredients, you have one hell of a good potato soup (if we put it that way).
do you have a pressure cooker Opt for instant potato soup.
What’s in this easy potato soup?
I keep raving about this Easy Potato Soup because Alex made this recipe! Somehow, he hit the perfect combination with this one: healthy spin, great flavor, and easy to make. We’re obsessed with recipes like this: we even wrote a book about them! Here are the potato soup ingredients that make this soup shine:
- shallots and garlic. The shallot is a mild version of an onion and works well here, along with the garlic to add a delicate, savory flavor.
- Roux (flour + butter). A roux is a flour cooked with butter that is commonly used to thicken soups. It’s less of a traditional roux here, but it’s the same concept: it’s added to give it a creamy body.
- milk + vegetable broth. No cream here! Only 2% milk and vegetable broth. Because the main thickening comes from the…
- Potatoes. You’ll mash a large portion of the potatoes to get the soup’s creamy body.
- Old Bay. Our secret spice? Old Bay! It’s often used in American chowder recipes, making it a perfect fit here.
Oh good? There is no cream?
Really, there’s no cream in this easy potato soup! The combination of 2% milk, vegetable broth, butter and mashed potatoes in the pot gives the rich and creamy texture. There’s just over half a tablespoon of butter, so that’s a very moderate amount for the richness and creaminess here!
Why no cream? Well, Alex and I use heavy cream in some of our recipes. But healthy soup recipes are our jam, so using milk reduces calories and richness. Plus, we often have milk on hand! Whipped cream is a special ingredient that we don’t often buy.
No need for a blender: use a potato masher!
Many potato soups require the hot soup to be transferred to a blender. But no mixer is needed here! You cook the potatoes until they break down, then mash them right in the pan with a potato masher. This cuts down on the mess and makes for a great creamy but chunky texture (my favorite part of this easy potato soup).
Another note: many potato soup recipes call for making mashed potatoes beforehand and then stirring them into the soup. Why do that when you can mash the potatoes right in the pot? It goes beyond us. Perhaps these recipe writers care less about actually making potato soup simply. Lucky for you, it’s our obsession here! (Wink.)
The best ways to top a plain potato soup
Next to its delicious creaminess, the second best thing about potato soup is the toppings! Here we’ve listed our favorite ways to load up this soup:
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt. For a healthy twist, we like to use Greek yogurt! It tastes like sour cream with a bit more spiciness. It is also an excellent source of protein.
- Shiitake bacon. It might sound strange, but making bacon with mushrooms is one thing. There’s just the good salty and smoky side to this soup. (Did you know you can also make vegan bacon with coconut and tempeh?) Of course, if you’re eating meat, you can throw bacon right in!
- Shredded cheddar cheese. To us, this gives a potato soup the best flavor, protein, and overall color.
- Thinly sliced chives or spring onions. Onions offer the best fresh flavor and beautiful greens as a soup garnish.
It’s pretty standard (except for the bacon idea!), so we’re sure we didn’t think of everything. Serve with garlic bread for a feel-good meal. Let us know your favorite potato soup toppings in the comments!
This easy potato soup recipe is…
Vegetarian. For gluten free flour, use 1 for 1 gluten free flour. For vegans, plant-based and dairy-free, head to Vegan Creamy Potato Soup.
The description
Here is the best easy potato soup you will find! Creamy and soothing, it’s ready in minutes with no cream and no mixer. (Vegan variant: Vegan Creamy Potato Soup.)
- 2 large shallots
- 4 Garlic cloves
- 4 medium red potatoes
- 4 tablespoons Salted butter
- 6 tablespoons All-purpose flour (or glueTen free flour)
- 2 cups vegetable soup
- 4 cups 2% milk
- 1 ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning (store bought or homemade)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Topping ideas: Greek yogurt, shredded cheese, thinly sliced chives or green onions, shiitake bacon or coconut bacon, hot sauce
- Chop the shallots. Chop the garlic. Peel and cut potatoes.
- In a large saucepan, heat the butter over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic and sauté 2 minutes. Drizzle the flour over the veggies and toss to coat. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes until just beginning to brown.
- Slowly stir in the vegetable broth, gradually adding and then stirring. Once incorporated, add milk, potatoes, kosher salt, and Old Bay.
- Bring to a boil and cook over low heat for 25 minutes (make sure the heat is just simmering, not boiling). Stir often and scrape the bottom to make sure nothing sticks. The soup will be extremely creamy (be sure to keep stirring, otherwise a skin will form). It’s done when the potatoes fall apart when you smack one against the edge of the pan with your spoon.
- Remove from fire. Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes into a creamy but thick texture. Stir to incorporate the mashed potatoes. Then serve garnished with toppings of your choice! Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days: reheat on the stovetop, adding a little milk if needed.
- Serve with side dishes.
- Category: Soup
- Method: Cook
- Kitchen: American
Keywords: Easy Potato Soup, Potato Soup, Potato Soup Recipe, Best Potato Soup, Creamy Potato Soup
Here are some other soup recipes you might also like:
More recipes with potatoes? Head over to our best potato recipes (or vegan potato recipes).
