This cheesy potato soup is a perfect fall-weather dish that brings warmth, comfort, and frugality to every bowl. Packed with cheese, onions, spices, and potatoes, this soup recipe is one you'll get a lot of good use from.
I've had this potato soup with cheese recipe for over a year now, and while it originally started as me trying to use up stuff I had on hand, it turned into a glorious soup perfect for fall weather. It's thick (almost stew-like) and oh-so-filling.
Another frugal soup favorite of ours is this Poor Man's Beef Stew. Between the two, we usually have a delicious fall season every year.
Why This Recipe Works
- You can add to it. Every bite is packed with cheesy potato goodness, and if you're like me, then you'll add in bits of broccoli, too, because nothing goes better with cheesy potato soup than some broccoli.
- It goes well with simple side dishes. Serve your cheddar potato soup up with some crusty french bread, and you'll have a comforting meal perfect for cold weather.
- Basic ingredients. Most of the ingredients needed for this soup are simple pantry staples or seasonings, so any shopping should be minimal.
🥘 Ingredients
Butter- Butter is needed to make the roux mix and help to soften the onion.
Onion- Adding in onion will work well to give us a nice base flavor.
Garlic- You can use fresh garlic or jarred minced garlic for this recipe.
Flour- To help the soup thicken nicely, you'll want to use some all-purpose flour.
Seasonings- You will need salt, black pepper, and Italian seasonings for added flavor.
Chicken broth- Using chicken broth as the base will give us a lot of great flavors, but water and bullion cubes could work too.
Half and Half- You'll need some half and half to add a little more creamy richness to the soup.
Broccoli florets- Adding in broccoli florets is optional but always delicious.
Russet potatoes- For the potatoes in this soup, I recommend using russet potatoes. These are softer and more starchy, so the texture is great when cooked.
Cheddar cheese- Add in cheddar cheese (we like sharp or medium cheddar). This will make your soup taste incredible.
For the exact amounts needed, please see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make cheesy potato soup with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Peel potatoes and shred over a grater. Rinse in a colander to remove extra starches. They should go from a brownish/purple color to a white/light golden color to show you've removed the excess starch.
In a large pot, melt butter over medium/high heat.
Add diced onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft
Add flour and seasonings, stir to combine, and cook additional 2 minutes
Add garlic, and cook for 30 seconds
Slowly add in chicken broth and half and half, broccoli, and potatoes
Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Let simmer for 8-15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked to your desired texture.
Remove from heat, and stir in cheddar cheese.
Let sit for 5 minutes to cool, and then serve.
🍴 Recipe Tips
When making this homemade cheesy potato soup, you can use half and half, milk, heavy cream, or even evaporated milk for this soup recipe. I prefer half and half, though, as it is less likely to curdle up as it cooks, thanks to the lower fat content.
You can use yellow Yukon potatoes instead of russet, but they will take longer to cook to a soft texture as they are a harder potato.
If you want the cheddar potato soup recipe to be thinner, you can add in more chicken broth to get it to a thinner consistency, or you can use fewer potatoes.
💭 FAQs
Yes, you can make this soup using hashbrowns. I recommend sitting them on the counter at about the same time you start prepping the soup so that by the time you're ready to add them in, they've thawed enough to no longer be a giant clump. The soup will take longer to cook because you're waiting for it to become warm again after adding in cold hashbrowns, but the results are the same.
This soup is good for up to 2 or 3 days if stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Any longer than that, and the soup will separate and start to spoil. I do not recommend freezing leftovers as the texture and results will not be good.
I recommend peeling your russet potatoes before shredding them into the soup. This is because the skin of a russet potato is pretty thick and doesn't soften well, so it leaves a chewy consistency. You can have bits and pieces of peel in the soup and be fine, but having a lot in there could be disappointing
More great soup recipes to try
- Creamy Leftover Turkey Wild Rice Soup
- Stove Top Beef Stew
- Easy Zucchini Corn Chowder
- 5 Ingredient Instant Pot Chili
- Creamy Turkey Dumpling Soup
📖 Recipe
Cheesy Potato Soup
Equipment
- Ladle
Ingredients
- 6 whole peeled and shredded russet potatoes medium size ($2.88)
- 1 32 oz container chicken broth ($1.22)
- 2 cups half and half ($.38)
- 1 cup broccoli florets chopped small *optional ($0.68)
- 3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded ($2.79)
- 3 tablespoons butter ($0.27)
- ¼ cup flour ($0.02)
- ½ teaspoon salt ($0.05)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper ($0.02)
- ½ teaspoon paprika ($0.05)
- ½ teaspoon italian seasoning ($0.05)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced ($0.15)
- 1 small yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup) ($0.35)
Instructions
- Peel potatoes and shred over a grater. Rinse in a colander to remove extra starches. They should go from a brownish/purple color to a white/light golden color to show you've removed the excess starch.
- In a large pot melt butter over medium/high heat.
- Add diced onion and cook 5 minutes until soft
- Add flour and seasonings, stir to combine and cook additional 2 minutes
- Add garlic, cook 30 seconds
- Slowly add in chicken broth and half and half, broccoli and potatoes
- Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium low. Let simmer for 8-15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked to your desired texture.
- Remove from heat, stir in cheddar cheese.
- Let sit 5 minutes to cool and then serve.
Notes
Recipe Tips
- When making this homemade cheesy potato soup, you can use half and half, milk, heavy cream, or even evaporated milk for this soup recipe. I prefer half and half though as it is less likely to curdle up as it cooks thanks to the lower fat content.
- You can use yellow Yukon potatoes instead of russet but they will take longer to cook to a soft texture as they are a harder potato.
- If you want the cheddar potato soup recipe to be thinner you can add in more chicken broth to get it to a thinner consistency or you can use fewer potatoes.
- You can make this soup using hashbrowns. I recommend sitting them on the counter at about the same time you start prepping the soup so that by the time you're ready to add them in, they've thawed enough to no longer be a giant clump.
- The soup will take longer to cook because you're waiting for it to become warm again after adding in cold hashbrowns but the results are the same.
Storage
- This soup is good for up to 2 or 3 days if stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Any longer than that and the soup will separate and start to spoil. I do not recommend freezing leftovers as the texture and results will not be good.
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