Perfect Potato Soup Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret ingredient to thicken soup? ›

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

You can thicken soup by adding flour, cornstarch, or another starchy substitute.

Your potato soup is bland? Try adding a little more salt. That's usually the answer to any issue of blandness, no matter the recipe in question. A basic Appalachian style potato soup uses only a handful of simple ingredients, leaning on milk and water and often bouillon to create the brothy soup base.

Why isn't my potato soup creamy? Most creamy soups require you to add dairy of some sort into it. If you're finding your soup is too thin adding milk, add in cream instead, or whole milk.

Similarly to half-and-half, milk makes a good heavy cream substitute when it's combined with melted butter. Combine 3/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup melted butter for every cup of heavy cream.

To thicken potato soup without creating lumps, you can use a roux made of equal parts butter and flour. Melt the butter in a separate pan, add the flour, and whisk until smooth. Slowly whisk the roux into the soup, and let it simmer until thickened.

Add flour or cornflour

Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes to allow the starch granules to burst to thicken, and to cook out any flour flavour.

There's onion, carrot, celery, and potatoes that get cooked down in the tiniest bit of bacon grease. Then goes in chicken broth, some flour and milk, and eventually heavy cream. There's some salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning, too, for flavor. To serve it, you sprinkle on some crispy bacon bits and shredded cheese!

Evaporated Milk – With a similar consistency, you can use a 1-to-1 swap of evaporated milk for heavy cream in most sweet and savory dishes. Its flavor is richer with unique caramelized tones and is not a lower-fat option, but evaporated milk makes do in a pinch.

Can I use sour cream instead of heavy cream soup? ›

Sour cream has a high enough fat content—about 20%—to make it a good substitute for heavy cream in some savory recipes, such as soups or chili. However, while some chefs swear that sour cream is a key ingredient for a killer whipped cream, it generally can't be used on it's own to make whipped cream.

Evaporated milk can be used as a substitute in recipes in which heavy cream is used as a liquid ingredient, such as in baked goods, but it doesn't whip well. Substitute the heavy cream in your recipes with an equal amount of evaporated milk.

Corn Starch

This completely versatile starch is used in savory and sweet dishes alike: gelatinizing fruit pie fillings or thickening your hefty, stick-to-your-bones soups.

The most classic and surefire way to thicken a broth-based soup is with a cornstarch slurry. Whisk together equal parts cornstarch (or arrowroot) and water or broth, then whisk it into the pot of soup. A good ratio to get to a pleasant thickness without your soup tasting goopy or heavy is one tablespoon.

Mix in potatoes.

Try incorporating potatoes to thicken the dish. If the soup is too thin toward the end of the cooking process, simply add cooked potatoes, mashed potatoes, or potato flakes. On account of their starch, potatoes are a natural thickening agent.

It's important to note that cornstarch has twice the thickening power of flour. If you need to substitute cornstarch to thicken liquid in a recipe that calls for ¼ cup (four tablespoons) flour, you only need two tablespoons cornstarch.