We all love potatoes, and what better way to enjoy them than as a rich, creamy, velvety soup. Whether you like yours loaded with cheese, bacon, and chives or you love it as just plain potato soup, when done right, it can surely bring some delicious comfort to those cold winter days that most of us seem to dread. 

Characteristics of a good potato soup

While it boils down to preference, there are a few things that we can agree on as the standards of a “good” potato soup: 

• Flavor It has to be flavorful. There is more to a potato soup than boiled potatoes and cream. Adding a few other ingredients like celery, onion, parsley, or spice can bring so many flavors to the soup that your taste buds will truly appreciate.
• Texture It has to be smooth. Others may disagree with this, but I believe potato soup should have a pureed potato component that’s smooth and silky.
• Richness It has to be rich. One of the qualities that make potato soup so fulfilling is its richness. A dose of cream usually works wonders at giving potato soup a nice rich texture. 

Key Ingredients of Potato Soup

One thing I love about potato soup, is that you probably have most of the ingredients sitting in your pantry anyway, which means you can avoid the grocery lines, and get right to making your soup! Below are some basic ingredients that you will likely find on almost every recipe, including the simplest of potato soups: 

• Potatoes
• Onions
• Flour
• Chicken Broth
• Salt
• Butter
• Milk or Cream 

 If you’re looking to load up on some extra flavor, it would be good to also have any of the following additional ingredients handy: 

• Cheese
• Green onion
• Bacon
• Ham
• Pepper
• Celery 

Recipes for: Easy Potato Soup

The good news is that you too can achieve restaurant quality soup using a recipe that is pretty much foolproof. However, with so many potato soup recipes floating on the web, it can be a bit overwhelming to choose the right one. 

There are a few things that you can look out for to help you spot the perfect potato soup recipe. 

• Look for a recipe with few but flavorful ingredients such as onions, parsley, garlic, or celery.
• Use a recipe that uses chicken stock instead of water. Chicken stock adds an immediate burst of flavor to your soup, using this instead of water means your soup will taste great even without adding too many ingredients.
• Figure out if you like your potato soup chunky or smooth. Recipes that require you to blend will give you a smooth soup and vice versa for a chunky soup. 

Top 5 Routes for "Easy Potato Soup"

1. Allrecipes This simple recipe will have you enjoying a bowl of soup in less than an hour. The potato soup is jazzed up with some bacon to add an explosion of flavor. The bacon can be left out and it still tastes amazing. 
2. Food.com This is the perfect recipe for those that like their potato soup chunky. The recipe only requires four ingredients but comes bursting with flavor. Tweak it up by adding bacon or a vegetable of your choice if you like. The potatoes can also be blended for those who desire a silkier soup with the same taste. 
3. Bettycrocker.com For the flavor junkies, this loaded potato soup will leave your tastebuds screaming for more. If you love to load your baked potatoes then this soup is definitely for you. This easy to make soup is loaded with bacon, ham, chives, sour cream, and cheese. To say it does not lack in flavor is a complete understatement. 
4. Thepioneerwoman.com This easy potato soup recipe takes 10 minutes to prep, and the cook time is only 20 minutes. This is perfect when you want something quick and simple. 
5. Pinchofyum.com If you love a rich, creamy potato soup then you’ll definitely love this one.