The Secret to the Best Potato Soup

Potatoes are one of my favorite comfort foods. No matter what I’m feeling, there’s a potato for my mood, from French fries to au gratin. Baked potatoes and potato soup are in a heated race for first place in my heart, so I came up with an easy soup that combines the best of both worlds—warm, creamy potato soup with all the fun, crunchy, delicious toppings of a baked potato.

While the classic potato soup my grandma used to make from scratch is pretty easy, I wanted to eliminate one pesky step—peeling potatoes. By using a bag of frozen hashbrowns (both shredded and cubed work here), I eliminated the need for peeling and chopping, a nice bonus. You can blend the soup for a super creamy result or leave it for a heartier texture.

With the no-prep base set, you can really focus on the toppings, which we all know are the best part. Set up an assortment of toppings and then let your family members each build their own bowl—my kids especially love choosing their own adventure.

If it’s good on a baked potato, it’ll be great on this soup! Some of my favorites are cooked and crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar cheese, sliced green onions or chives, and a dollop of sour cream.

How To Make My Quick and Easy Potato Soup

For four servings, you’ll need:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 (30-ounce) bag frozen hash browns (shredded or cubed)

• 3 cups chicken broth, plus more as needed

• 1 (10.5-ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup (or cream of fill-in-the-blank soup of your choice)

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• Optional toppings: crispy bacon, shredded cheese, sour cream, green onions

Melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed pot like a Dutch oven. Add the hash browns, stock, and cream of celery soup and stir to combine.

Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring often, until the soup has thickened. Stir in the salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasonings as necessary.

Use an immersion blender to purée the soup (or leave it as-is for a chunkier version), adding more chicken broth if the soup is too thick. Serve with toppings of your choice. Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Tips for Making My Potato Soup

• Make sure to stir every few minutes so the soup doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.

• If you prefer fresh potatoes, peel and dice them into small pieces so they will still cook quickly.

• Swap the cream of celery soup for any other kind of cream soup (chicken, mushroom, etc).

• If you don’t have an immersion blender, a countertop blender is fine, but avoid blending for too long. Just a few pulses will do the trick!

• You can make this recipe vegetarian by using vegetable stock instead of chicken.

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