Easy Cheesy Potato Soup is comfort food at it’s best! It’s a smooth, creamy, cheesy soup that will fill you up and warm you up on rainy or snowy cold days! It is the perfect soup for fall or winter!
How Much Does this Recipe Make?
The recipe below makes about 3 quarts of soup. This will serve about 12 people depending on serving size.
If I am making it for a potluck or family party (this soup is always a favorite) I will double it. It is perfect for a big family party, potluck, church party, or you can share it with your neighbor….or keep it for yourself and eat it all week!
NOTE: the photos below show the recipe doubled.
The Soup Base for Cheesy Potato Soup
This recipe does take a bit of time.
You will start out making a basic roux with your pound of butter (you health conscious people are cringing at that I know), some dried minced onions and flour.
Melt your butter over medium heat. Whisk as the butter melts, making sure the flour and minced onions are mixed in well.
It will be like a thick paste. You will let this cook for 3-5 minutes to cook out the flour. See the picture below, you will notice, the roux is thick.
When you stir it, the roux sticks to the whisk and you can see the bottom of the pot where you just whisked it. This is how you know it is close to being done.
You can also smell the butter and flour cooking out (I have no other way to describe it but I promise you can smell it). If you are still in doubt, take a taste and it should be thick tasting but not really floury.
Next, you will add in your whole milk (2% works fine but stay away from 1% and skim…that is just way too healthy…but seriously it won’t turn out as good).
Add the milk and let it thicken on med-low (a 4 on my stovetop) and go about your day. This is not something you have to babysit. It just needs a quick stir (wire whisk works best) every now and then so it doesn’t stick to the bottom as it heats.
As you stir it and it starts to heat, you will feel it thickening.
Keep stirring it occasionally and go about your laundry and toilet scrubbing! Mine usually thickens for a good half hour to 1 hour, seems like forever….it will thicken I promise! (If you turn the heat up you run the risk of the milk curdling…so keep it low and slow!)
Making the Soup Tasty
After it has thickened, add in your chicken base/chicken bouillon, salt and then your cheese, stirring until it is all melted. You can add more or less of the cheese, salt or bouillon. I love Better Than Bouillon brand, but any brand works.
I you want it super cheesy, add more!
Whisk/stir the cheese into the soup. Give it a taste and adjust as needed.
You will have a thicker soup base that is cheesy and so yummy.
Stir it up, add more seasoning as needed, or cheese (no judgment from me because I always add more to my own bowl).
The Potatoes for Cheesy Potato Soup
My secret for simple Easy Cheesy Potato Soup is that I use a bag of frozen hash browns (the cubed southern style of course…nobody wants shredded potatoes in their soup). No peeling, cubing and cooking potatoes…if doing all of that extra work is your jam, then go right ahead…for this one I am all about the ease…and they never turn out mushy.
Even with frozen potatoes you end up with Cheesy Potato soup made with frozen hash brown potatoes, that is so yummy!
I leave the bag out on the counter the entire time I am making the soup, so by the time you add them, they are perfectly thawed. For this recipe you need half the bag (about 3 cups) of hash browns. If you double it, add the entire bag. They will warm up in the soup and be perfect.
Grab a spoon to add your frozen potatoes to the soup. The potatoes will get stuck in the whisk. Stir the potatoes in, adjust the flavor again as needed.
*You can boil and cut up real potatoes if you want to.
Serving Cheesy Potato Soup
Dish up the soup and enjoy.
I love to add some extra cheese to my bowl and if I have some crispy crumbled bacon and chopped green onions it makes it even more delicious!
What to eat with the Cheesy Potato Soup
Make my yummy and Easy Breadsticks or Garlic Knots to go with this soup! Click HERE for the recipe for the breadsticks. Click HERE for the Garlic Knots!
Easy Cheesy Potato Soup is comfort food at it’s best! Smooth, creamy, cheesy soup that will fill you up and warm you up on rainy or snowy cold days! It is the perfect soup for fall or winter!
If you liked this recipe please take the time to leave a comment and a star rating below! Also, don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram!
For some other creamy delicious soups try my Cheesy Hamburger Soup, My Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup, or My Chicken Gnocchi Soup!
Check out the latest posts from the Butcher’s Wife!
- Greek Chicken
- Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
- White Chicken Enchiladas
- Yummy Carrot Cake
- Creamy Baked Chicken
- Easy Peppermint Dip
Cheesy Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound butter (2 sticks) *salted or unsalted, it doesn't matter
- 1/2 heaping tbsp dried minced onions
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 gallon whole milk *2% works fine too
- 1/2 bag (32 oz) frozen cubed hash browns (about 3 cups) *thawed
- 1/2 to 1 lb medium cheddar cheese, shredded *or more to taste
- 1 1/2 tbsp chicken base *see notes
- 1/2 to 1 tsp salt *or more to taste
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. (This makes about 3 quarts of soup so make sure your pot is big enough). As the butter melts add in the dried onions and flour. Whisk together as the butter melts. (Tip: take your potatoes out of the freezer and let them thaw on your countertop.)
- Let the roux cook, stirring/whisking almost constantly. It should be like a semi-thick paste, not super runny. You will need to cook it about 5-8 minutes to make sure the flour cooks out.
- Once it has cooked long enough, add in the milk, slowly adding it as you wisk it into the roux. Turn the heat down to medium-low. It is a 3-4 on my stovetop.
- Stir occasionaly, and let it slowly heat up and thicken. It takes mine about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Once it's thickened, add in the chicken base, salt and stir. You can add in more seasoning to taste.
- Next, add your cheese, letting it melt completely. Add your thawed potatoes/hash browns. Grab a spoon to stir this in, the potatoes will get stuck in your whisk. Let the potatoes/hash browns heat in the soup until fully cooked and soft.
- Add more seasoning or cheese as needed. Then enjoy! You can also add green onions or bacon for a loaded cheesy potato soup!
- This soup will keep for 4-5 days in the fridge. When reheated, it may need to be thinned out with a little milk.
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation.
I dice up country ham (sometimes bacon) and add at the same time as cheese (use less salt). Also a cup container of sour cream.
That sounds delicious!!! I’m going to have to try it!!! ☺️