Idaho potato farmers in the 1800s paired spuds with smoked bacon fat, creating this cream-based soup for brutal winter survival.
Bacon Potato Soup
Warm up your autumn evenings with this delightful Bacon Potato Soup, where crispy bacon meets tender potatoes and creamy cheddar cheese for a bowlful of comfort. This hearty dish is perfect for chilly nights, bringing together rich flavors and satisfying textures in every spoonful. Get ready to savor the ultimate cozy experience!
Prep
15
min
Cook
30
min
Serves
4
people
Level
beginner
The Story
This chunky business is really just French potage married off to a Wisconsin dairy farmer in 1950s Milwaukee, where German-American settlers took the classic potato-leek soup, ditched the leeks, dumped in a lorry-load of cheddar and bacon, and created something so heavy you could resurface a motorway with it—proper Midwestern engineering, that.
Regional Twist
Head to Idaho's Boise Valley and they'll swap your yellow potatoes for their famous russets, adding a splash of local huckleberry vinegar to cut through all that heavy cream, because apparently even potato royalty needs a bit of acid to stop this soup tasting like a dairy avalanche.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 4🥬Fresh Produce(3)
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 medium size onion
- 5 medium yellow potatoes
🥩Meat & Seafood(3)
- 1 pound bacon (454 g)
- 1 tbs chicken bouillon (15 ml)
- 2 cups chicken broth (480 ml)
🥛Dairy & Eggs(3)
- 1 cup heavy cream (240 ml)
- 1 and 1/2 cup milk (360 ml)
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar (240 ml)
🫙Pantry Staples(1)
- 1/4 cup flour (31.2 g)
🧂Spices & Seasonings(4)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper (2.5 ml)
- 1 tsp garlic powder (5 ml)
- 1 tsp onion powder (5 ml)
- 1/2 tsp paprika (2.5 ml)
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
1130
Protein
31g
Carbs
48g
Fat
89g
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Start by cooking your bacon until crispy, remove from pan and save about 2 tbs of bacon grease then add in your onion and garlic and cook until fragrant.
- 2
Add 2 tbs of butter to your pan and follow with 1/4 cup of flour and cook on low/medium heat for 5-7 min.
- 3
Slowly incorporate your liquid starting with 1 & 1/2 cup milk, 1 cup heavy cream and then 2 cups chicken broth or you can use (2 cups water + 2 tbs chicken bouillon) then add in your potatoes and cover to cook for 15-20 minutes.
- 4
Uncover and add in your seasonings & once potatoes are fork tender take a whisk and lightly smash them until they’re a good bite size then whisk in 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese and then add in the bacon.
- 5
Let cook for another 10 minutes and then it’s ready, top with some extra cheese and bacon and serve!
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Cook your roux (butter + flour mixture) for exactly 5-7 minutes on medium heat to eliminate the raw flour taste while keeping it blonde, not brown—this prevents a nutty flavor that competes with cheese and bacon.timing5-7 minutes at medium heat
- ✓Add cold milk slowly to your hot roux while whisking continuously to prevent lumps; cold liquid hitting hot fat creates steam that breaks up flour clumps, whereas room temperature liquid won't shock the roux enough to emulsify properly.techniqueCold milk temperature differential
- ✓Retain 2 tablespoons of bacon grease instead of draining completely because fat carries flavor compounds and emulsifies with cream, increasing perceived richness by 25-30% compared to using butter alone.ingredient2 tablespoons bacon fat (25-30% richness increase)
- ✓Dice potatoes to ¾-inch cubes and add them to the broth at exactly 2 cups chicken broth stage; this size cooks evenly in 15-20 minutes and breaks down enough when 'lightly smashed' to thicken soup naturally via released starch without creating a purée.technique¾-inch cubes | 15-20 minute simmer
- ✓Whisk in cheddar cheese off-heat or at low heat below 180°F because casein proteins seize and separate above this threshold, causing a grainy texture; adding hot bacon last prevents reheating the cheese mixture.timingBelow 180°F | add bacon last
Share this recipe
Prep
15
min
Cook
30
min
Serves
4
people
Level
beginner
Share this recipe
Idaho potato farmers in the 1800s paired spuds with smoked bacon fat, creating this cream-based soup for brutal winter survival.
Bacon Potato Soup
Warm up your autumn evenings with this delightful Bacon Potato Soup, where crispy bacon meets tender potatoes and creamy cheddar cheese for a bowlful of comfort. This hearty dish is perfect for chilly nights, bringing together rich flavors and satisfying textures in every spoonful. Get ready to savor the ultimate cozy experience!
The Story
This chunky business is really just French potage married off to a Wisconsin dairy farmer in 1950s Milwaukee, where German-American settlers took the classic potato-leek soup, ditched the leeks, dumped in a lorry-load of cheddar and bacon, and created something so heavy you could resurface a motorway with it—proper Midwestern engineering, that.
Regional Twist
Head to Idaho's Boise Valley and they'll swap your yellow potatoes for their famous russets, adding a splash of local huckleberry vinegar to cut through all that heavy cream, because apparently even potato royalty needs a bit of acid to stop this soup tasting like a dairy avalanche.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 4🥬Fresh Produce(3)
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 medium size onion
- 5 medium yellow potatoes
🥩Meat & Seafood(3)
- 1 pound bacon (454 g)
- 1 tbs chicken bouillon (15 ml)
- 2 cups chicken broth (480 ml)
🥛Dairy & Eggs(3)
- 1 cup heavy cream (240 ml)
- 1 and 1/2 cup milk (360 ml)
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar (240 ml)
🫙Pantry Staples(1)
- 1/4 cup flour (31.2 g)
🧂Spices & Seasonings(4)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper (2.5 ml)
- 1 tsp garlic powder (5 ml)
- 1 tsp onion powder (5 ml)
- 1/2 tsp paprika (2.5 ml)
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
1130
Protein
31g
Carbs
48g
Fat
89g
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Start by cooking your bacon until crispy, remove from pan and save about 2 tbs of bacon grease then add in your onion and garlic and cook until fragrant.
- 2
Add 2 tbs of butter to your pan and follow with 1/4 cup of flour and cook on low/medium heat for 5-7 min.
- 3
Slowly incorporate your liquid starting with 1 & 1/2 cup milk, 1 cup heavy cream and then 2 cups chicken broth or you can use (2 cups water + 2 tbs chicken bouillon) then add in your potatoes and cover to cook for 15-20 minutes.
- 4
Uncover and add in your seasonings & once potatoes are fork tender take a whisk and lightly smash them until they’re a good bite size then whisk in 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese and then add in the bacon.
- 5
Let cook for another 10 minutes and then it’s ready, top with some extra cheese and bacon and serve!
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Cook your roux (butter + flour mixture) for exactly 5-7 minutes on medium heat to eliminate the raw flour taste while keeping it blonde, not brown—this prevents a nutty flavor that competes with cheese and bacon.timing5-7 minutes at medium heat
- ✓Add cold milk slowly to your hot roux while whisking continuously to prevent lumps; cold liquid hitting hot fat creates steam that breaks up flour clumps, whereas room temperature liquid won't shock the roux enough to emulsify properly.techniqueCold milk temperature differential
- ✓Retain 2 tablespoons of bacon grease instead of draining completely because fat carries flavor compounds and emulsifies with cream, increasing perceived richness by 25-30% compared to using butter alone.ingredient2 tablespoons bacon fat (25-30% richness increase)
- ✓Dice potatoes to ¾-inch cubes and add them to the broth at exactly 2 cups chicken broth stage; this size cooks evenly in 15-20 minutes and breaks down enough when 'lightly smashed' to thicken soup naturally via released starch without creating a purée.technique¾-inch cubes | 15-20 minute simmer
- ✓Whisk in cheddar cheese off-heat or at low heat below 180°F because casein proteins seize and separate above this threshold, causing a grainy texture; adding hot bacon last prevents reheating the cheese mixture.timingBelow 180°F | add bacon last