Chunky Potato and Bacon Soup

My ultimate Chunky Potato and Bacon Soup - an easy, one-pot potato soup, loaded with crispy bacon and cheddar cheese. A total comfort food meal-in-bowl!

This chunky potato and bacon soup is a bowl full of comfort that you can eat on your lap with a spoon. And who doesn't like their comfort by the spoonful? Plus it covers so many of my comfort food must-haves: potatoes, bacon, cheese, potatoes.

And yes I mentioned potatoes twice, I like them that much!

This hearty potato soup has a creamy texture from blending the cooked potatoes without needing any cream, and you can make the finished soup as chunky as you like by controlling the amount you blend it.

Ingredients needed to make this chunky potato and bacon soup

• Potatoes - diced (I used sebago)
• Bacon - chopped
• Onion - diced
• Chicken stock
• Milk (I used full fat)
• Fresh garlic cloves - minced/crushed
• Sour cream (I used light)
• Sharp cheddar cheese - grated
• Fresh parmesan cheese - grated
• Salt & pepper to taste

See recipe below for amounts and details instructions.

How to make chunky potato and bacon soup

• Take a large heavy-based pot, and add chopped bacon - see Image 1.
• Fry bacon until starting to crisp - Image 2 - then remove bacon from the pot and set aside, leaving the bacon grease in the pot.

• Add onion to the pot - see Image 3.
• Fry until soft - see Image 4.

• Add garlic and fry for another minute - see Image 5.
• Add potatoes - see Image 6.

• Then add milk and chicken stock - see Image 7 - then simmer until potato is soft.
• Using an immersion/stick blender, blend soup to desired consistency - see Image 8.

• Add bacon, cheddar, parmesan, and sour cream and stir to combine - see Image 9.
• Add salt and pepper to taste - see Image 10 - and serve immediately with desired toppings.

Suggested toppings to load up your chunky potato and bacon soup

I like to top my soup with finely chopped chives, grated cheddar cheese, more crispy bacon plus a little sour cream.

Other suggestions include finely sliced shallots (green onions/scallions), greek yoghurt, grated parmesan cheese, or croutons (yum!!!).

What about serving your potato soup in a bread bowl

This one-pot soup would be the perfect soup to serve in a bread bowl! See my recipe here for a simple bread bowl (a cheat using store-bought rolls!) that tastes like garlic bread!

My top tips for making this soup

• The extra flavour in this potato soup comes from frying the bacon. The fat that renders out as you fry the bacon is packed with flavour, so we want to use it. Another source of flavour are those yummy brown bits that get stuck to the bottom of the pot when you fry up the bacon, these are gold! Make sure you scrape those up and incorporate them when you add the milk and stock.
• The exact simmer time for the potatoes to be tender will depend on their size.
• As far as garnishes go, I like to have extra as I eat. For example, if you are going to garnish your soup before you serve it, I suggested serving extra of the garnishes on the table as well. This way everyone can add extra as they go.

Just picture it - it's a chilly night and you are sitting on the couch, rugged up all nice and cosy in your pj's and binging your latest Netflix obsession and slurping up a steaming bowl of this chunky potato soup...gosh I wish it wasn't coming into summer here in Australia!

Lee-Ann x

Other recipes you may like

Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup -  more quick one-pot comfort food! Leftover chicken, fast cooking veg and NO cream means a lightened-up version that is ready in 35 mins!

Cauliflower Parmesan Soup - smooth and silky one-pot cauliflower soup without cream!

Mini Potato Stacks - muffin pan potato au gratin stacks. These little gems are like mini individual serves of au gratin potatoes!

Extra Crispy Potatoes - crispy and crunchy baked potatoes, glass-like on the outside but fluffy in the middle.

Chunky Potato and Bacon Soup

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Chunky Potato and Bacon Soup is a thick and creamy potato soup. This easy soup recipe is loaded with sour cream and cheese too!

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Total Time: 45 minutes

Serving: 4

Calories: 360kcal

Author: Lee-Ann Grace

Ingredients

MetricUS customary

• 600 g potatoes (I used sebago) diced
• 150 g streaky bacon chopped (plus extra to serve)
• 1 medium brown onion chopped
• 500 ml chicken stock
• 500 ml milk (I used full fat)
• 2 garlic cloves crushed/minced
• 80 g sharp cheddar cheese grated (approx 1 cup) plus extra to serve
• 30 g freshly grated parmesan cheese (approx ½ cup)
• ⅓ cup sour cream (I used light) plus extra to serve
• salt and pepper to taste

Suggested Garnish

• Finely chopped chives

Instructions

• In a large, heavy-based pot fry the chopped bacon over medium heat until it starts to crisp. Remove bacon from the pot and set aside, leaving the bacon grease in the pot.
  150 g streaky bacon
• Add onion to the same pot and fry until soft (if there isn't enough fat from the bacon add a little butter). Then add crushed/minced garlic and fry for another minute.
  1 medium brown onion

  2 garlic cloves
• Add potatoes, milk and chicken stock then bring to a simmer, making sure you scrape up all those little brown bits on the bottom of the pot. That's all flavour! Simmer partially covered for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are soft.
  600 g potatoes (I used sebago)

  500 ml milk (I used full fat)

  500 ml chicken stock
• Remove pot from the heat, then use immersion/stick blender to blend the soup to your desired consistency.
• Add reserved bacon (leaving aside any for garnish), cheddar, parmesan, and sour cream and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately with desired toppings.
  80 g sharp cheddar cheese

  30 g freshly grated parmesan cheese

  ⅓ cup sour cream (I used light)

  salt and pepper to taste

  Finely chopped chives

Notes

• The extra flavour in this potato soup comes from frying the bacon. The fat that renders out as you fry the bacon is packed with flavour, so we want to use it. Another source of flavour are those yummy brown bits that get stuck to the bottom of the pot when you fry up the bacon, these are gold! Make sure you scrape those up and incorporate them when you add the milk and stock.
• The exact simmer time for the potatoes to be tender will depend on their size. 
• As far as garnishes go, I like to have extra as I eat. For example, if you are going to garnish your soup before you serve it, I suggested serving extra of the garnishes on the table as well. This way everyone can add extra as they go.

*Please note that the amount of calories per serve is provided as a guide only, as ingredients and cooking methods can vary greatly*