The BEST Potato Soup — The Pot I Made for Everyone Who Couldn’t Come to the Table

Thanksgiving planning in a pandemic. The question: who can safely sit at the same table? The answer: almost nobody. Dad is recovered but still technically vulnerable — his immune system took a hit. Mom is cautious to the point of militancy. Uncle Stan and Aunt Debbie are staying home. Mrs. Katz is staying home. Mrs. Wojcik is absolutely, positively staying home — she's eighty-three and I will chain her to her house if I have to. So: Thanksgiving will be me, Mom, and Dad. Three people. At the Cape Cod. With masks during prep and windows cracked and hand sanitizer and all the joyless protocols that keep us alive in a year that's trying to kill us. But the food. The food will be glorious. The food will be defiant. I'm making the full spread — not reduced, not compromised, not "scaled down for a small gathering." Every dish. Every tradition. The pierogi (all four kinds now — potato/cheese, sauerkraut, sweet blueberry, and pumpkin). The bigos (three-day). The cranberry sauce. The szarlotka. The makowiec. The roasted Brussels sprouts. Mom's turkey. And the chocolate stout cake, because Dad needs the calories and because cake is medicine. I started the bigos on Monday. I'll make the pierogi and makowiec on Wednesday. The turkey is Mom's department and she will brook no interference. Everything else gets assembled Thursday morning. The delivery list: Mrs. Wojcik gets a full Thanksgiving container on Wednesday. Mrs. Katz gets one Thursday morning. Uncle Stan and Aunt Debbie get one Thursday afternoon. Mike and Amy get whatever's left. I am running a Thanksgiving distribution network from a 400-square-foot apartment and I have never been more in my element. The RecipeSpinoff November piece: "Thank You for the Soup" — about Dad's COVID, the rosó┼é, the week I almost lost him, and the gratitude that lives in every pot of soup I make. The recipe is rosó┼é, again, because rosó┼é is the recipe that matters most. It published Thursday and got a hundred thousand reads by Sunday. People cried. I cried writing it. We're all crying. It's 2020. That's what we do.

The piece I wrote for RecipeSpinoff that November was about rosół — about how soup had pulled my father back from the edge of something I don’t want to name — and soup was still on my mind when I planned every container going out that week. Mrs. Wojcik wasn’t coming to the table, but I could still make sure something warm arrived at her door, and this potato soup — rich, filling, built for being reheated in a small apartment kitchen — was exactly the kind of thing that travels well and lands like a hug. After a year of loss and distance and cracked windows and hand sanitizer, I needed a recipe that felt like abundance, and this one delivers every single time.

The Best Potato Soup

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 6 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced (for serving)
• Extra shredded cheddar and bacon bits (for serving)

Instructions

1. Cook the bacon. In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, cook the chopped bacon until crisp, about 8–10 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel—lined plate and set aside. Leave about 2 tablespoons of drippings in the pot.
2. Soften the aromatics. Add the butter to the bacon drippings over medium heat. Once melted, add the diced onion and cook until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more, stirring frequently.
3. Build the roux. Sprinkle the flour over the onion mixture and stir constantly for 1–2 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. The mixture will look paste-like — that’s exactly right.
4. Add the liquids. Slowly pour in the chicken broth, whisking as you go to prevent lumps. Add the milk and heavy cream and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over medium-high heat.
5. Add the potatoes. Stir in the cubed potatoes, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover partially, and cook until the potatoes are completely tender when pierced with a fork, about 20–25 minutes.
6. Mash for texture. Use a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon to roughly mash about one-third of the potatoes directly in the pot. This thickens the broth while keeping plenty of chunky potato pieces throughout.
7. Finish with cheese and sour cream. Remove the pot from heat. Stir in the shredded cheddar a handful at a time until fully melted, then stir in the sour cream until smooth and incorporated. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
8. Serve or pack. Ladle into bowls and top with reserved bacon, extra cheddar, and sliced green onions. For delivery containers, pack toppings separately so they stay crisp on the receiving end.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 430 | Protein: 14g | Fat: 27g | Carbs: 34g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 720mg