This easy Cheesy Potato Soup recipe is loaded with the BEST flavor combinations like caramelized onions, creamy mashed potatoes, and a 3-cheese combo! It’s easy to prepare and makes the best freezer meal!

A ladle scooping up Cheesy Potato Soup from a red Dutch oven.

Cheesy Potato Soup

Ever since I created my Baked Potato Soup awhile back, I have been trying to conjure out different variations of it, because it’s just one of the best soup recipes on earth.

This Cheesy Potato Soup recipe is similar, but different enough to deserve its own spot on the blog. 😉

What Makes It Different

Instead of making a roux out of bacon drippings like we do for Baked Potato Soup, we’re going to make caramelized onions for this broth instead. It gives this soup a gourmet flair and adds a subtle sweet offset to that savory 3-cheese combo!

The seasonings in this recipe are also a huge bonus. They combine to form the best flavor combination. (And don’t be thrown by the addition of soy sauce, hot sauce, or mustard powder- they are flavor enhancers only and you can’t taste them outright.)

How to Make It

See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

Toss diced onions in butter and olive oil and caramelize them over medium-low heat for about 45 minutes, stirring every few minutes. While they cook, prepare your mashed potatoes and measure out the remaining ingredients.

A dutch oven before and after caramelizing onions.

Slice the potatoes into 3/4-inch slices and submerge them in cool water. Gradually bring them to a gentle boil and let them cook for about 15 minutes, or until very fork tender. Drain and let the steam fully escape. Add the cream cheese and sour cream and mash until creamy. (Don’t over-mash.)

Potatoes before and after cooking and mashing.

Add garlic, hot sauce, and soy sauce during the last minute of cooking the onions. Then toss with flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken broth and half and half in splashes, stirring in between each splash. Add the seasonings. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add the mashed potatoes. 

Adding chicken broth and mashed potatoes to Cheesy Potato Soup.

Use a potato masher to incorporate the potatoes into the broth. (Or use an immersion blender or regular blender to briefly blend until smooth.) Add the shredded cheese over low heat and stir to incorporate. Garnish with chives, bacon, and/or more cheese and serve!

Adding cheese to Cheesy Potato Soup.

Pro Tips

  • You can’t taste the soy sauce, hot sauce, or mustard powder in this recipe, they are used as flavor enhancers.
  • If you don’t want to caramelize the onions, you can simply soften them for 10 minutes or so.
  • For thicker soup: let it simmer and thicken with the lid off. For thinner soup: add additional chicken broth or some milk.
  • Use high quality cheese shredded from a block, it makes a huge difference in the finished product. I use Cracker Barrel Yellow Cheddar and Belgioioso Parmesan cheese.
  • Gruyere or Gouda cheese can be used instead of cheddar if preferred, it complements the caramelized onions nicely.
  • Vegetable broth can be used instead of chicken broth for a vegetarian option.
  • The potatoes are boiled separately for this recipe instead of right in the broth so that we can rid them of excess starch prior to adding them to the soup. Otherwise the soup could end up with a gummy consistency.

Storage

  • Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. This soup does freeze and reheat well.

A red Dutch oven filled with Cheesy Potato Soup topped with cheese and chives.

Tools For This Recipe

(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.

  • 3.5 quart Dutch oven– This is the one I have and is a great size for this recipe.
  • Potato Masher– I swear by this dual-head potato masher, it really makes the potatoes nice and creamy.
  • Box Cheese Grater– Shred the cheese from a block for best results.
  • Immersion Blender– This is what I use for this recipe, it makes it easy to incorporate the potatoes into the broth without transferring to a blender. 
  • 16 oz. storage containers – I use these to store/freeze my soups. They have 8 oz. sizes as well. They’re stackable, leak proof, and dishwasher/microwave safe.

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A ladle full of Cheesy Potato Soup from a Dutch oven with cheese and chives on top.

Cheesy Potato Soup

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
5 from 12 ratings
Servings: 10 cups
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This Cheesy Potato Soup recipe is easy to make with creamy mashed potatoes, caramelized onions, and 3 kinds of cheese! It has the BEST combination of flavors and makes a great freezer meal!

Ingredients

Seasonings

  • ½ teaspoon each: dried parsley, oregano, mustard powder
  • ¼ teaspoon each: dried thyme, pepper

For the Potatoes

  • 2 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, can sub russet
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened
  • ¾ cup sour cream

Soup

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 large yellow onion, or 2 small
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups half and half
  • 1 ¾ cups cheddar cheese, shredded
  • ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Optional Garnishes

  • Green Onions or Chives
  • Crumbled Bacon
  • Extra Cheese

Instructions

Caramelize the Onions

  • Note: If you are short on time, soften 1 medium yellow onion for 10 minutes or so and skip the full caramelization.
  • Heat the olive oil and butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Dice the onions a little larger than you normally would as they reduce in size during caramelizing (see process shots above).
  • Add the onions to the pot and toss to coat. Reduce heat to medium-low and caramelize for 45 minutes, stirring often. While they caramelize, cook the potatoes and measure out remaining ingredients.

Cook the Potatoes

  • Peel the potatoes and cut them into ¾-inch slices. Submerge them in a large pot of cool water so that they’re covered by 2 inches. Gradually bring them to a gentle boil and add ¾ teaspoon of salt (boiling gently ensures they cook evenly and stay intact.) Cook until they’re very fork tender, about 15 minutes.
  • Drain and return them to the warm pot they cooked in. Add the cream cheese and the sour cream but let the steam escape from the potatoes for about 10 minutes prior to mashing. Then mash until creamy, (don’t over-mash or they will become gluey). Set aside.

Make the Soup

  • Once the onions are caramelized, add the garlic, hot sauce, and soy sauce and cook for 1 minute.
  • Add the flour and toss to coat. Cook for 1-2 minutes to remove raw flour taste.
  • Increase heat to medium-high. Add the chicken broth in splashes, stirring to incorporate. Add the half and half in the same manner. Add the seasonings.
  • Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add the mashed potatoes and use a potato masher to incorporate the potatoes into the soup. Alternatively, you can briefly use an immersion blender or regular blender to create a completely smooth consistency.
  • Reduce heat to low and gradually sprinkle in the cheddar and Parmesan cheese, stirring continuously.
  • Garnish with chives, bacon, or cheese if desired and serve!

Notes

Pro Tips
  • You can’t taste the soy sauce, hot sauce, or mustard powder in this recipe, they are used as flavor enhancers.
  • 2 lbs. potatoes is equal to about 5 large Yukon gold potatoes or 4 large Russets.
  • For thicker soup: Let it simmer and thicken with the lid off. For thinner soup: Add additional chicken broth or some milk.
  • Use high quality cheese shredded from a block, it makes a huge difference in the finished result. I use Cracker Barrel Yellow Cheddar and Belgioioso Parmesan cheese.
  • Gruyere or Gouda cheese can be used instead of cheddar if preferred, it complements the caramelized onions nicely.
  • Vegetable broth can be used instead of chicken broth for a vegetarian option.
  • The potatoes are boiled separately for this recipe instead of right in the broth so that we can rid them of excess starch prior to adding them to the soup. Otherwise the soup could end up with a gummy consistency.
Storage
  • Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. This soup does freeze and reheat well.

Nutrition

Calories: 340kcal, Carbohydrates: 23g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 23g, Saturated Fat: 13g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 64mg, Sodium: 744mg, Potassium: 586mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 668IU, Vitamin C: 25mg, Calcium: 300mg, Iron: 1mg
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Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Author: Stephanie