How to Make Potato Soup From What's on Hand

Potato soup is the honest soup: potatoes, onion, broth, 30 minutes. No tricks, no special equipment required (though a blender helps). It's the dinner you make when the fridge is nearly empty and it's cold outside.

The base

Soften a diced onion in butter or oil, add diced potatoes and broth to cover, simmer 20 minutes until the potatoes fall apart when poked. That's soup. Salt it well — potatoes need more salt than you think — and taste before you decide it needs anything else.

Blend or not?

• Half-blended → the sweet spot: creamy base with chunks. Use an immersion blender briefly, or mash with a potato masher.
• Fully smooth → elegant and silky. A regular blender works — blend in batches, hold the lid with a towel.
• Not at all → rustic and hearty. Just simmer until the potatoes start breaking down on their own.

The dairy question

Milk, cream, or sour cream stirred in at the end, off the boil — boiling dairy can curdle it. Or skip dairy entirely: well-blended potato soup is naturally creamy, especially with a spoonful of olive oil. Both versions are legitimate; the dairy one is richer, the plain one is cleaner.

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More potato dinners: eggs and potatoes · ground turkey and potatoes