Cheesy Potato Soup

Cheesy potato soup recipe is a family favorite with its creamy, rich cheddar base that’s pure comfort in a bowl. Made with simple ingredients and ready in just 35 minutes, it’s the perfect go-to meal for busy weeknights or chilly evenings.

Love More Soup Recipes? Try My Rich Italian Sausage Potato Soup or this Spanish Potato Soup With Chorizo next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

A buttery base of onion, celery, and garlic creates rich flavor, while flour, chicken broth, and cream bring silky smoothness to every spoonful. Russet potatoes naturally thicken the soup, and sharp cheddar melts in for a velvety, cheesy finish. A touch of Worcestershire adds savory depth, with fresh chives as an optional garnish to make it extra cozy.

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Ingredient List

Soup Base Stuff:

• ¼ cup butter (I use salted because that’s what I always have)
• ½ medium onion, chopped (yellow onions work fine, don’t overthink it)
• 2 stalks celery, chopped (my kids pick these out anyway)
• 2–3 cloves garlic, minced (or that jarred stuff when I’m lazy)
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

The Creamy Part:

• 4 cups chicken broth (Swanson’s my go-to, vegetable broth works too)
• 1 cup heavy cream (the real stuff, not half-and-half)
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1.5 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and diced (those big brown ones)
• 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, plus extra for topping (block cheese, not bagged!)
• Salt and pepper

If You’re Fancy:

• Fresh chives, chopped (I forget these half the time)

Why These Ingredients Work

Took me fifteen tries to get potatoes right. Yukon golds turned into mush. Red potatoes stayed hard as rocks. Russets fall apart perfectly – not too much, not too little. Buy the big brown ones that look boring.

Sharp cheddar costs more but mild cheese makes weak soup. My sister tried using American cheese slices once and called it “yellow water.” Block cheese melts smooth, bagged cheese gets clumpy because of whatever coating they spray on it.

Flour and butter thing was hard to figure out. Tried cornstarch first – made everything slimy. This way takes longer but actually works. That Worcestershire sauce adds something I can’t explain. People always ask what’s different about my soup but I never tell them it’s just this brown bottle from the condiment aisle.

Essential Tools and Equipment

Big pot, whisk that actually works, sharp knife, cutting board. My whisk handle is cracked and held together with electrical tape but it still makes smooth soup. Measuring cups don’t need to match. My ladle has a dent from when my son used it as a sword but soup still makes it from pot to bowl.

How To Make Cheesy Potato Soup

Step 1: Start With The Base

Throw butter in your pot, turn heat to medium. Dump in chopped onion and celery. Cook until they’re soft, maybe 5 minutes. I don’t time this anymore – just cook until they stop looking raw and smell good.

Step 2: Add Garlic and Flour

Toss in garlic and flour. Stir this mess around for 2 minutes minimum. First time I made this I got impatient and skipped ahead. Bad idea. Raw flour soup tastes like paste.

Step 3: Pour In Broth

Here’s where things get tricky. Pour chicken broth super slow while whisking like your life depends on it. I mean really slow. Made chunky soup twice because I dumped it in too fast. My husband won’t let me forget it.

Step 4: Add Cream and Potatoes

Dump in cream, that Worcestershire sauce, and potato chunks. Crank heat until it bubbles, then turn it way down. Put lid on but leave it cracked so steam escapes. Wait 15-20 minutes until potatoes fall apart when you poke them with a fork.

Step 5: Melt The Cheese

Turn off heat completely. This is super important. Add cheese handful by handful, stirring between each addition. Hot soup makes cheese turn into rubber. I’ve thrown away entire pots because I rushed this part.

Step 6: Season It Up

Taste it. Add salt and pepper until it tastes right. My kids can tell when I don’t season enough so I’m generous here.

Step 7: Eat It While It’s Hot

Ladle into bowls. Top with more cheese if you want. My family hovers around the stove waiting for their bowls because this stuff disappears fast.

You Must Know

Heat off before cheese goes in! Made grainy soup five times before learning this. Hot bubbling liquid plus cheese equals weird chunky mess that tastes like rubber.

Personal Secret: Grate cheese yourself. Bagged cheese has anti-caking powder that makes soup clumpy. Takes extra time but stops you from throwing away entire batches. Also, soup always gets thicker sitting in the fridge overnight. Add more broth when reheating or it’ll be thick enough to walk on.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

• Dice your potatoes evenly – about ¾-inch pieces work perfectly for even cooking
• Don’t skip the roux step – that flour-butter mixture is what gives you that restaurant-quality thickness
• Taste as you go – every cheese has different saltiness levels, so adjust your seasonings accordingly
• Keep some broth handy – if your soup gets too thick (which can happen as it sits), just whisk in a little extra broth or cream

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

Loaded Potato Version: Fry up some bacon and sprinkle it on top with sour cream and green onions. My husband requests this version every time.

Garden Style: Throw in fresh thyme or rosemary if you grow herbs. I have a sad little herb garden that somehow produces enough for soup garnish.

Spicy: Add diced jalapeños with the onions. Start with one pepper – you can always add more but you can’t take it back. My daughter learned this lesson the hard way.

Smoky: Use smoked cheddar instead of regular. Whole Foods carries it and it makes the soup taste like you cooked it over a campfire.

Make-Ahead Options

You can chop all your vegetables the night before and stick them in the fridge. Makes dinner prep faster on busy nights.

The base freezes okay but don’t add the cheese until you’re ready to eat. Frozen dairy gets weird when you reheat it. I learned this after wasting a whole batch.

Storage Reality Check: Keeps in my fridge for about 4 days max. Gets thicker each day but still tastes good. Just thin it out with broth when reheating.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

Don’t rush anything. Good soup takes patience. My first few attempts were disasters because I cranked the heat too high and tried to hurry everything.

Some people like thick soup, some like it thinner. There’s no wrong answer. My mom likes hers thick enough to eat with a fork (weird but okay), while my kids prefer it more liquid.

If your soup breaks or gets grainy, don’t panic. Turn off heat, let it cool for a minute, then whisk like crazy. Sometimes it comes back together.

Serving Suggestions

Serve with crusty bread or those frozen biscuits from a tube (no judgment here). My family likes extra cheese on top because apparently there’s no such thing as too much cheese in this house.

Great for meal prep on Sundays. Makes enough for several lunches during the week. I portion it into containers and my husband takes it to work. His coworkers are jealous.

Perfect when it’s cold outside or when someone’s sick. My kids request this whenever they have sniffles.

Hope this recipe works as well for your family as it does for mine. My kids actually cheer when they see me pulling out potatoes and cheese now.

How to Store Your Cheesy Potato Soup

Fridge: Keeps for 4 days covered. Gets thicker each day. Freezer: Skip it. Dairy gets weird when frozen. Reheating: Low heat on stove, add broth if too thick. Don’t microwave on high or it’ll explode.

Allergy Information

Has: Dairy (butter, cream, cheese) and gluten (flour) Dairy-Free: Use plant butter, coconut milk, and nutritional yeast instead of cheese. Tastes different but still good. Gluten-Free: Replace flour with cornstarch. Use half the amount and mix with cold water first.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Can I use different potatoes?

Stick with russets if you can. I tried red potatoes once and they stayed hard while everything else got mushy. Yukon golds work okay but russets are better.

Why did my soup turn grainy?

You added cheese to soup that was too hot. Been there! Turn off heat completely before adding cheese. Also, grate your own cheese – the bagged stuff has coatings that cause problems.

Can I make this in a slow cooker?

Yes but add cheese at the very end. Everything else can cook on low for 6-8 hours. My sister does this every Sunday.

How do I make it vegetarian?

Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. Skip the Worcestershire sauce or find a vegetarian version. Still tastes great.

What other vegetables work?

Carrots are good, corn works, broccoli too. Add them with the potatoes so they cook properly. My kids hate all vegetables except in this soup somehow.

💬 Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and rating below! I’d love to hear about your cheesy potato soup adventures and any delicious variations you discovered!