This Potato Bacon Soup is rich and creamy and packed with smoky bacon!
A creamy broth, chunks of potato, and of course it wouldn’t be a bacon soup without lots of bacon. This dish is easy to make and will satisfy even the heartiest of appetites!
Savory Potato Bacon Soup
This is a great soup recipe. We love it because:
- this soup is fast enough for a weeknight meal
- most of the ingredients are things I usually have on hand
- we love the rich flavors
- it keeps for about 4 days and reheats well for lunches
Ingredients
BACON A bacon soup needs bacon and lots of it! We prefer a thick cut bacon.
If you don’t have bacon, you can use pre-cooked bacon crumbles. Brown them in a pan with a bit of oil before cooking the onion. This crisps the bacon and flavors the oil at the same time.
DAIRY I use a bit of heavy cream in the broth. If you’d like you can substitute either light cream or a bit of evaporated milk. Regular milk can be used but the soup won’t be as creamy and you’ll need to increase the cornstarch a little bit.
BROTH Use low sodium so the soup isn’t too salty, or make your own homemade chicken stock for use in lots of recipes.
POTATOES Baking potatoes (russets or Idaho potatoes) are nice and starchy and for great flavor and texture.
Variations
- We like to add sliced leek, cheddar cheese, cooked sausage, or even leftover chicken.
- A dollop of sour cream is great on top!
- Feel free to add other mix-ins like jalapenos, green chilis, sundried tomato, chopped basil, or even sliced black olives.
How to Make Potato Bacon Soup
This delicious soup is really easy to put together!
- Cook & drain bacon. Sauté onion, garlic, & celery in bacon grease per printable recipe below.
- Stir in broth, potatoes, thyme, & simmer, then stir in cream.
- Thicken with a cornstarch slurry to desired texture and stir in half the bacon.
Season, serve immediately with Parmesan, bacon, & sliced green onions on top.
Recipe Perfection
- For a thicker soup, mash or blend a portion (or all) of the soup.
- If using a thin skinned potato (red or Yukon gold) you can leave some of the peels on the potatoes for a rustic look and a bit more fiber.
- Adding shredded cheddar cheese will make the soup extra creamy.
- Stir in some of the bacon for flavor but reserve some for the top so it stays nice and crispy.
Leftovers
- Keep leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for about 3 to 4 days. The flavor will actually improve!
- Reheat soup on the stovetop or in individual servings in the microwave.
- Freeze potato soup in zippered bags with the date labeled on the outside and it will keep for about 3 months. When it’s thawed, it may be grainy because cream and potatoes don’t freeze well, but that can be remedied by adding fresh potatoes, a dash of cream, and fresh seasonings.
More Rich Soups We Love
- Easy Cauliflower Soup
- Broccoli Soup – 20 minute meal
- Split Pea Soup
- Crock Pot Potato Soup
- Fresh Tomato Soup – reader favorite
- Italian Sausage Soup
- Crockpot Split Pea Soup
Did you love this Potato Bacon Soup? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Creamy Potato Bacon Soup
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon chopped
- ½ onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 ribs celery diced
- 3 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 16 ounces baking potatoes peeled and diced ½", about 2 medium potatoes
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- salt & pepper to taste
- cayenne pinch
- parmesan cheese & sliced green onions for garnish
Instructions
- Cook bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Add onion, garlic, and celery to the bacon fat and cook 3-4 minutes or until onion softens slightly.
- Stir in chicken broth, potatoes, and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook covered 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in cream and simmer for 5 minutes longer.
- Combine cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water to create a slurry. Whisk into the simmering soup and simmer 1 minute. Stir in half of the bacon. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.
- Spoon into bowls, top with parmesan cheese, remaining bacon and green onions.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner, Lunch, Soup
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I have made this soup several times. I really like all the flavors and creaminess. I will make this many more
Thanks for leaving a comment, Marty! Glad you are enjoying this recipe.
Fabulous soup. I added some diced carrots, and sauted until soft, 1/2 cup frozen corn, 2 small smoked sausages, a couple drops of smoke flavour, and used 1/2 cream and 1/2 milk to cut down on the calories and fat, otherwise I made as directed. This is definitely a keeper.
I made this soup exactly like the recipe I used cheddar cheese and I put broccoli in it yummy Thanks this is my favorite soup
You rock Holly. Delicious
I am so glad you enjoyed this soup Rick!
So easy and quick to pull together with ingredients that I have on hand. Will be saving this recipe to make again in the future.
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Ruth!
It was quite tasty, and very flavorful. I had to substitute the heavy cream with whipping cream, and it turned out just fine. However, 1 half of an onion was a bit too much and slightly overpowered the potato flavor, so next time I will use less.
I would advise including the time it takes to get the ingredients ready (If the prep time doesn’t include this), such as slicing and chopping everything. I did take a bit longer making this recipe than expected, but it was SO worth the time taken!
By the way, I am looking for any methods for keeping the bacon in the soup somewhat crispy. It was a delectable touch to the soup, but the sogginess took away some of it’s bacon flavor. Do you have any suggestions?
So glad you enjoyed the soup. I would suggest stirring in the bacon at the end if you’d like it to be more crispy.
Tried this recipe and found that the thyme was a bit over powering. I don’t think i will try it again.
Sorry to hear that, Keith! You can definitely reduce the thyme in this recipe if you prefer.
My husband loves soup and i like soup but not super crazy about it. Thought i’d try and find a good soup we both liked and came across this recipe…..i’ve made it so many times, at one point i made it every week for at least a month. I went to make it today and couldn’t find this recipe for some reason and panicked that it was gone forever, but alas i found it and have saved it in a million places so i NEVER LOSE IT AGAINNN.
Amazing soup, flavorful, creamy, everything a staple solid soup should be.
ps so good i’ll definitely still make it in the summer!
So happy you found this recipe that you both love! It is definitely a favorite in my house too.
So you only use 2 MD potatos for this soup recipe ? 16ou is not alot of potatos ?!
Hi Raynea, that is correct. You can weigh your potatoes for a better estimate on how many you should use. It’s okay if it ends up being a little more based on their size.
I made this for dinner tonight. It was delicious! Super easy and satisfying. Thanks!
Thank you for all the great recipes you post. You have given me lots of ideas to make different meals for my family using ingredients I already have in my pantry
My guys dont care for carrots in their potato soup, after I used green beans when we were snowed in last year and unable to go to the store. I also had a ham bone, and not chopped ham, so I used that. I slow cooked the bone with onion for about an hour , then proceeded with your recipe! My guys love it this way
Ohhh I bet the ham bone made it extra delicious! So glad you loved this recipe.
Good write-up. I absolutely love this website.
Thanks!