Old Fashioned Potato Soup – Barefeet in the Kitchen

This Old Fashioned Potato Soup is a journey back to grandma’s kitchen where hearty food is made with common ingredients, and every bite tells a story.

Old Fashioned Potato Soup

This recipe for old fashioned potato soup takes me right back to my childhood. My mom often made this “milk and potatoes only” soup on Sunday nights. Eating potato soup after church is a tradition that all of my siblings remember.

I give my mom a lot of grace for what I remember of her kitchen, because I know she had a lot more hungry kids than budget. We kids still get a laugh over how she would multiply this soup for extra mouths by just adding water and milk.

4 Ingredient Potato Soup

There is one thing I do differently from my mom when it comes to making “her” potato soup. I like to add just a little bit of butter at the end. It boosts the flavor and adds a richness that can’t be beaten.

The inclusion of butter makes this recipe a 4 ingredient potato soup. To expand it to a 5 ingredient potato soup, it can also be made with either chicken broth or vegetable broth, which deepens the flavor nicely.

Old Fashioned Potato Soup Recipe

You’ll need the following ingredients to make this recipe:

• potatoes
• water
• whole milk
• salt and pepper
• butter (optional)

Place the chopped potatoes in a large pot and add enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer until they are fork tender, about 15 minutes.

Carefully drain the water and return the pot with the potatoes to the stove. Add the milk and set the heat to medium. Do not boil.

Bring the milk to steaming and barely simmering at the edges of the pan, for about 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the butter and stir gently to melt. Remove from heat and serve warm.

This recipe can be made with Russets, yellow, or red potatoes. I typically use whichever variety I have on hand. My mom has always made her simple potato soup with Russets.

As written, this recipe makes a good size pot of soup. Feel free to reduce the recipe by half, if you don’t have as many people at your table.

The soup keeps well in the refrigerator for several days, and it’s a popular lunch for my kids. They like to load their bowls up with extra cheese and bacon bits, too.

Old-Fashioned Potato Soup

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