This flavorful Creamy Potato and Onion Soup arrives with a subtle smokiness with pancetta and paprika, complete with a nice kick from the crushed red pepper. This is a potato soup that ACTUALLY is full of delicious flavors and will be your next comfort food.
Looking for more hearty soups? Try our Barley Lentil Soup or Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup with Sausage!
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Why This Potato Soup
Soup NEEDS to be flavorful. I've been working on getting this creamy potato and onion soup to have enough flavor to be worth serving. Potato soup can sometimes be a little bland and I could not have that. I didn't want to cover up the lack of flavor with a bunch of cheese!
This soup has layers and layers of seasoning without an overpowering bacon flavor that most creamy potato soups are notorious for. The pancetta adds a subtle smoky flavor that adds a ton of texture to the soup while the paprika and thyme pack a powerful punch of flavor layered through each step of the cooking process. Sauteing the onions with the seasoning and allowing them to slightly caramelize is the base of the soup
Layering flavor in soup is the key to most of our soup recipes, especially Curry Chicken and Rice Soup and EASY Chicken Farro Soup. This soup will be the most flavorful creamy potato and onion soup you ever have!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Potatoes. Gold potatoes are the perfect combination of starchy and waxy for this recipe. Russet potatoes will give you a more earthy flavor. Gold potatoes will take on the flavor and give you a really smooth and creamy soup. I also use gold potatoes when I roast them like in Crispy Garlic Parmesan Potatoes.
- Onions. Onions should be twice as much as the carrots and celery in the sofrito. Make sure to let the onion saute until completely translucent before adding the garlic to get the most flavor out of it.
- Pancetta. This gives the soup a smoky base and adds a ton of texture to the final product without taking over the flavor of the soup. If you substitute bacon, you'll notice that the whole soup just tastes like bacon.
- Seasoning. The paprika is the heavy hitter here. It brings the soup a ton of smokiness while the thyme, salt, and pepper help round it out. The crushed red pepper gives the soup a little bit of a kick which is perfect for potato soup which can traditionally be kind of bland.
- Milk. We use half and half because it gives the soup a creaminess without taking away from the flavor but you can substitute heavy cream or milk.
- Parmesan. The parmesan gives this creamy potato and onion soup a little nutty and pungent flavor while also helping make it more creamy. You can substitute a finely shredded cheddar or gruyere.
*Please see the recipe card below for more information on the ingredients.
How to Make Creamy Potato and Onion Soup
This is the best homemade potato soup you'll ever make. It is half-blended to give it a creamy texture without having to add flour or a cornstarch slurry. We do something similar in our White Bean Lentil Soup to help release some of the starchiness in the lentils to make the soup a bit creamier. This is the most natural way to make a creamy soup!
Step 1: Peel and chop the potatoes into ¾ inch pieces and set aside.
Step 2: In a large pot or dutch oven, add pancetta and then bring to medium heat. Fry the pancetta until it is golden brown and the fat is rendered. Stir it often to cook it evenly. Use a slotted spoon to set the pancetta aside.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pot then stir the carrots, celery, and onion. Saute for 8 minutes stirring occasionally.
Step 3: Add half of your seasonings mix to the vegetables as they cook. This will help the flavor develop throughout the cooking process. Add the minced garlic and saute for another 2-3 minutes.
Step 4: Add in the potatoes and the rest of the seasoning. Combine the mixture well coating the potatoes with the seasoning.
Step 5: Pour in the chicken broth. Bring the chicken broth to a boil and add the bay leaves. Lower the heat slightly so that it stays at a boil. Let the potatoes boil for 15 minutes or until you can easily pierce them with a fork.
Step 6: Lower the heat to medium-low and remove the bay leaves. Spoon half of the soup into a blender and blend the soup until it is completely pureed.
Step 7: Return the blended soup to the pot and stir. Add the half and half and stir well. Bring to a low simmer for 5 minutes.
Step 8: Remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan and pancetta.
Serve with the crispy pancetta, chives, and sour cream for the best final dish. I also add a sprinkle of paprika as a garnish!
This soup is a great side dish to serve with a Classic Pork Chop Milanese or Italian Chicken Cutlets!
Pro-Tips
- Always fry pancetta starting in a cold pan. Otherwise, you'll burn the meat before you render the fat.
- Test the potatoes with a fork after boiling for 15 minutes to see if you can easily pierce through. If not, continue boiling for a few more minutes. Don't blend the potatoes prematurely or the soup will have a grainy texture when served.
- Once the half and half is added, don't let the soup come to a boil. The milk will curdle.
What to Serve with Creamy Potato Soup
Bread. Definitely serve this potato soup with your own Homemade Italian Parmesan Croutons or a loaf of Italian Bread.
Salad. There's nothing like a soup and salad lunch special. Serve it with a Caesar salad and Traditional Caesar Dressing or an Easy Chipotle BBQ Chicken Salad.
Add some chicken to the mix. Serve it with Chicken Breast in Lemon Butter Sauce or Fennel Chicken Thighs in Red Wine.
Recipe FAQs
My favorite way is to blend some of the potatoes into a puree and then add it back to the soup. There is so much starch in the potatoes that it should thicken up the soup on its own. If you don't have a blender you could thicken it with a corn starch slurry.
You didn't layer in the seasonings properly. Soup needs layers and layers of seasonings. Start with some sauteed vegetables and season at every step instead of just seasoning the broth.
Lower the heat or remove the soup from the heat immediately and stir the soup really well. Milk curdles when it reaches a certain temperature so next time, don't add dairy products until the soup isn't at a simmer.
More Hearty Soup Recipes
Please leave a comment and star rating below in the recipe card! I love to hear what you think of our recipes. Feel free to tag us on Instagram @vindelgiudice.
📖 Recipe
Creamy Potato and Onion Soup
Equipment
- 1 large pot
- 1 blender
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs gold potatoes
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 4 oz pancetta, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- ¾ cup half and half
- 1 cup parmesan, grated
- ¼ cup chives, chopped
- ¼ cup sour cream
Instructions
- Peel and chop the potatoes into ¾ inch pieces and set aside.
- In a large pot or dutch oven, add pancetta and bring to medium heat. Fry the pancetta until it is golden brown and the fat is rendered. Stir it often to cook it evenly. Use a slotted spoon to set the pancetta aside.
- Add the carrots, celery, and onion to the pot. Saute for 8 minutes stirring occasionally. Add half of your seasonings mix to the vegetables as they're cooking. Add the minced garlic and saute for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the potatoes and the rest of the seasoning. Combine the mixture well and then pour in the chicken broth. Bring the chicken broth to a boil and add the bay leaves. Lower the heat slightly so that it stays at a boil. Let the potatoes boil for 15 minutes or until you can easily pierce them with a fork.
- Lower the heat to medium-low and remove the bay leaves. Spoon half of the soup into a blender and blend the soup. Return the blended soup to the pot and stir. Add the half and half and the pancetta to the pot. Stir well and bring to a low simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the parmesan.
- Serve soup with a dollop of sour cream and fresh chopped chives.
Notes
- Always fry pancetta starting in a cold pan. Otherwise, you'll burn the meat before you render the fat.
- Test the potatoes with a fork after boiling for 15 minutes to see if you can easily pierce through. If not, continue boiling for a few more minutes. Don't blend the potatoes prematurely or the soup will have a grainy texture when served.
- Once the half and half is added, don't let the soup come to a boil. The milk will curdle.
Vincent DelGiudice
This is not the same old bland potato soup you've had before. This is so smoky and delicious! I'll make this all winter! Give it a try!