There’s something undeniably comforting about a bowl of Irish Potato Soup on a cool evening. This beloved classic brings together the humble potato, crispy bacon, and aromatic vegetables in perfect, simple harmony. My version strikes the balance between creamy and chunky with a lightly blended base and plenty of tender potato cubes. Finished with a splash of heavy cream for extra richness, this soup turns pantry basics into a hearty, soul-warming meal that pays homage to Irish culinary traditions. Whether you’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day or simply craving comfort food, this recipe delivers authentic flavor with minimal fuss.
Simplicity in a Bowl
Potato soup is a year-round favorite here at Casa SoupAddict. I have my fair share of potato soups here on the blog — from my Tuscan Potato Soup to Potato Leek Soup to Chicken Potato Soup — but here in March, I wanted to rewind a bit to a simpler recipe.
Potato soup is possibly one of the easiest soups to make: Simply cook potatoes in broth with aromatic vegetables, tweak the consistency to your preference (smooth or chunky) with the help of some dairy, and top with a variety of salty, savory garnishes — hello, bacon, cheddar, and chives and dig in.
It’s immensely customizable according to your mood of the moment. Add lots of herbs. Cook the bacon first to flavor the soup base. Maybe finish with a few very untraditional shakes of hot sauce. But at its core, the potato is still the star.
Irish Potato Soup is —
- Made with simple ingredients: uses pantry staples like potatoes, bacon, onions, and chicken broth.
- Perfectly textured: Partially blended for a velvety consistency while keeping chunks of potatoes for a satisfying bite.
- Big on bacon, which makes everything better: Crisp, smoky bacon adds an irresistible salty, savory crunch.
- Versatile and easy: Great as a main dish with bread and a salad, or a starter for a cozy meal.
- Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day: A delicious way to honor Irish culinary traditions.
Main Ingredients and Substitutions
Potatoes — What kind of potatoes to use for potato soup? Here in the States, Idaho is famous for its delicious russets and are sold across the country. Russet potatoes are starchy, which means they break down well when cooked. They’re perfect for mashed potatoes, baked potatoes … and potato soup. Gold potatoes lean waxy (red baby potatoes even more so) and are better saved for dishes where keeping the potato whole and fork-firm is the intent (such as roasted potatoes).
Bacon — For my version of Irish Potato Soup, I cook the bacon first and use the rendered fat to flavor the aromatic vegetables and potatoes as the soup cooks. If you’re avoiding bacon, use butter as the fat to cook the vegetables. Be sure to taste the soup when it’s finished cooking to adjust the saltiness that is missing from no bacon.
Aromatic vegetables — Here, I’m using lots of the classic mirepoix mix of onions, celery, and carrots, both to flavor the soup and to add a little chunky texture. You can use leeks instead of or in addition to the onions. Leeks in potato soup are delicious!
Heavy cream — Heavy cream adds body and richness to the soup at the end of cooking. You can substitute half-and-half or whole milk, with the caveat that milks with less fat will create a thinner soup.
Herbs — I use lots of chopped chives as a finishing seasoning for this soup. They’re oniony, but mildly so, and are a lovely topping for potato dishes. Green onions are also delicious, and you can see in the photos here that I chopped up a few to add as garnish.
What to Serve with Irish Potato Soup
I have to give a big shout-out to my favorite Irish-themed side dish: Irish soda bread. It’s homemade bread, super fast.
With just a few ingredients — no yeast or fancy equipment — this bread gets to the table in under an hour.
But my very favorite version of Irish soda bread is in biscuit form:
I have no idea if these minis are anywhere near traditional, but one day I was just inspired to form the dough into little rolls … and they were perfect! They bake up more quickly, too.
They’re craggly on the outside, fluffy-tender on the inside. Butter them up and serve them alongside today’s soup or Beef Stew or Guinness Onion Soup. Delish!
How to Make Irish Potato Soup
Ready to make this recipe? Skip to the recipe card now to get the full ingredient list, quantities, prep/cooking times, and printable, detailed instructions. Or, keep scrolling for a visual walk-through of making the soup.
Prep notes
Here are some helpful guidelines for preparing the recipe’s ingredients. Anything that simply needs to be measured out of a container – such as dried herbs and liquids – is not addressed here. Note that you can measure everything out into separate bowls or containers ahead of time. It’s a classic organizational technique called mise en place — literally, “everything in its place” — that helps the cooking and ingredient management workflow run smoothly.
- Chop the bacon into small pieces. You do, of course, have the option to cook the bacon in whole strips, but I like to do everything in one soup pot, and six strips of bacon just don’t fit in one batch (multiple batches take extra time). So, chopping them into small pieces lets you crisp up a lot of bacon all at once.
- Scrub and peel the potatoes. Chop them into small 3/4″ cubes. If you’re prepping your ingredients in advance of cooking, drop the cubes into a bowl of cold water and keep in the fridge. This should prevent the cubes from turning an unattractive pink/brown color (which will also color the soup).
- Peel the outer, papery layer of the onion, along with any partially dried layers underneath, and chop the onion into small dice, discard the root and stem ends.
- Scrub and peel the carrots, and then chop them into small dice.
- Break off three cloves of garlic from the main bulb. Remove the hard outer shell along with any papery layers. Chop into a fine mince, or grate on a fine-holed grater.
- Wash the celery ribs — don’t forget to get down into the concave side of the rib, where dirt can accumulate — and chop into small dice. I recommend dicing rather than slicing into half moons, for more even cooking. You can speed up chopping celery by making a long cut down the center of the rib (or two cuts if it’s a fat rib), and then cutting across the rib.
- Wash the chive leaves and pat dry. Cut off any wilted ends, and then slice into small pieces.
Step 1: Cook the bacon
Saute the bacon pieces in a large soup pot until crispy. Transfer about half of the cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to add later. Keep the rendered bacon fat in the pot.
Step 2: Saute the aromatic vegetables
Add the onions, celery, and carrots to the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions have softened and turned slightly translucent. As the vegetables cook, use a flat-edged spatula to scrape up any of the bacon fond left behind.
Step 3: Add the seasonings
When the vegetables are soft, add the garlic and sprinkle in the flour, plus a nice pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well with the vegetables, letting the rawness of the flour cook off while the garlic becomes fragrant.
Step 4: Add the potatoes and broth
Add the cubed potatoes and broth to the pot. Bring the soup to a lively bubbling and adjust the heat to maintain. Cook until the potatoes can be smashed easily against the side of the pot with a spoon or spatula.
Step 5: Smooth or chunky?
Now’s the time to decide what kind of consistency you want for your soup: smooth, chunky, or in-between. I use an immersion blender right in the pot, so I remove some of the potato chunks to a bowl to keep them whole. Stir in the heavy cream.
Step 6: Finish the soup
Pulse-blend the soup. Meaning, press and release the blend button, so that you can take the blending slowly. I don’t want to smooth out the entire soup: I still want whole pieces of carrots, onions, and celery. The immersion blender helps to break down the potatoes to both smooth out and thicken the soup.
When the soup is to your liking, add the reserved potato cubes back to the soup.
Storing
You can make this soup ahead and stash it in the refrigerator. When reheating, you’ll want to add a little bit of broth to loosen the soup, which will become a little pasty in the cold temps of the fridge.
I hope you’ll get to try this wonderfully easy Irish Potato Soup. It’s a beautiful bowl of carby comfort, and a blank canvas for all sorts of wonderful toppings, including bacon, shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped chives.
Irish Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 6 strips of bacon cut into small pieces
- 1 small onion , chopped
- 2 ribs celery , diced
- 1 medium carrot , diced
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1.5 to 2 pounds potatoes , peeled and cubed
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 3 to 4 cups broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 of a lemon (optional)
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
- Kosher salt and black pepper
Suggested toppings:
- shredded cheddar cheese
- more chopped chives
- sliced green onions
- crumbled bacon
- a dollop of sour cream
Instructions
- Cook the bacon in a 4 to 5 quart soup pot or Dutch over medium heat until browned and crispy. Transfer about half of the bacon pieces to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.
- Add the onions, celery, and carrots to the pot. Saute in the rendered bacon fat until just softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and garlic and let cook for a minute or two.
- Add the cubed potatoes, followed by the broth. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the soup to an active boil. Adjust the heat to maintain a bubbly simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
- Check the potatoes for doneness by smashing a cube against the side of the pot with a wide spoon or spatula. It should collapse readily, but not yet be mush. If the potatoes are still too firm, cook for another 5 minutes and retest.
- When the potatoes have cooked through, reduce heat to low, and stir in the heavy cream.
- Now is the time to decide how to finish your soup. I like my potato soup smooth but with some visible chunks. I use an immersion blender* to quickly smooth out just part of the soup. If you want a completely velvety soup, blend everything thoroughly. If you like chunks with lots of broth, you don’t have to do anything more!
- Potato soup is on the heavy, carby side, and while not traditional, I like a little bit of acid to liven things up. Just a squeeze from half of a lemon should do it.
- Stir in the chives and some of the reserved bacon (save some for topping soup bowls).
- Taste the soup, and add salt and pepper to your liking. The amount you add will depend on the saltiness of your broth. Start with half of a teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Stir thoroughly, and taste. Repeat as needed.