Mashed Potato Soup
Have leftover mashed potatoes? Repurpose them and make a pot of cozy and delicious Mashed Potato Soup! Our mashed potato soup recipe is thick and creamy, flavored with bacon, sour cream and cheddar cheese.
Mashed potato soup is very similar to our Creamy Potato Bacon Soup, except that instead of using raw potatoes, we are using leftover mashed potatoes. Truly a yummy and comforting meal for a cold day!
Cozy soups are our gem! If you love this, also check out Ravioli Soup, Leftover Turkey Stew and Beef Noodle Soup – they are also so delicious!
Leftover Mashed Potato Soup
After a big holiday meal, the last thing I want is to eat the same leftovers over and over again. That’s why it’s so helpful to be able to repurpose them!
For our mashed potato soup, we are doing just that! If you have leftover mashed potatoes from Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter dinner, transform them into this thick, hearty and creamy mashed potato soup!
I’m telling you, it’s so good, you will forget it came from leftovers!
Making potato soup with mashed potatoes is SUCH a good idea because mashed potatoes are typically made with potatoes and lots of dairy, which is either milk, heavy cream, cream cheese, sour cream – and those are key potato soup ingredients anyway!
Potato soups are thick and creamy dairy based soups, and by using mashed potatoes, you are actually using multiple ingredients in this one ingredients. How convenient is that!
In my humble opinion, no mashed potato soup is complete without some bacon and cheese – two ingredients that complement potato so dang well it’s hard to eat one without the other! So of course we have to bring that into our recipe.
Our mashed potato soup promises lots of amazing flavors (thank you, bacon + bacon grease!), ultra creaminess, and lots of coziness.
So, don’t eat those leftover mashed potatoes over and over again after the holidays…make a pot of potato soup using mashed potatoes instead! Trust me, it’s so much better!
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need to make mashed potato soup!
- Mashed potatoes – well, duh! 😉 Making potato soup with mashed potatoes is a quick, easy, and delicious way to use them up without wasting them.
- Butter – salted butter is a must for this recipe!
- All-purpose flour – flour gives the soup a thicker consistency. Nothing better than a thick and creamy soup!
- Milk – using 2% or higher is ideal for a creamy potato soup. If you would like a bit more richness to the soup, you can substitute half of the milk with either half and half or heavy cream.
- Chicken broth – there are so many chicken broth options at the grocery store. I find that ‘free range’ chicken broth has the best flavor.
- Bacon bits – to make this recipe quick and simple, use bacon bits. High quality bacon bits work as well as raw bacon to flavor mashed potato soup. If not, raw bacon can be used, you’ll just have the extra step of cooking the bacon.
- Sour cream – sour cream really helps to round out the flavor of this soup.
- Cheddar cheese – what is potato soup without cheese?! You can choose your preferred cheddar whether it be mild, medium, or sharp.
How to Make Potato Soup with Mashed Potatoes
It’s so easy to use leftover mashed potatoes to make potato soup. It takes less than 15 minutes to make this cozy soup and it tastes so good you won’t believe you are repurposing leftovers!
No peeling potatoes; only one pot is needed; you don’t even have to cook the bacon separately if you don’t want to!
First, in a large pot, melt butter and add all purpose flour.
Stir to combine for a minute under low heat, kinda like making a roux.
Once combined, add chicken broth and milk. Stir as you bring it to a boil.
Once it comes to a boil, add mashed potatoes, sour cream and bacon bits.
Using bacon bits saves a whole lot of time, as compared to using raw bacon. These days you can find high quality bacon bits that tastes just as good as real bacon especially when we are just flavoring our mashed potato soup with it.
If using raw bacon strips instead of cooked bacon bits, cook the bacon strips in the oven or on stovetop. If cooking in the oven, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place bacon strips on pan without overlapping. Bake for 15 min. Chop bacon into small bits.
Stir and bring to a boil. Lower heat and let mashed potato soup continue cooking until soup thickens to desired consistency.
Add shredded cheddar cheese. Stir to combine.
Taste soup and add salt and black pepper to taste. Because some mashed potatoes or chicken broth are already salty, you may not need to add salt.
When you make potato soup using mashed potatoes, there could be a bunch of variations of flavor in the mashed potatoes itself, so be sure to taste at the end and make adjustments as you see fit.
Optional: you can garnish mashed potato soup with bacon, green onions, and/or shredded cheese.
Last but not least, enjoy this cozy bowl of deliciousness!
Variations and Modifications
There is a wide variety of mashed potatoes – some are creamier, some are dryer, some uses starchier potatoes etc. You’ll need to adjust accordingly. Taste your product at the end and make variations as necessary:
- add more milk or cheese if you want mashed potato soup creamier
- more sour cream for a tangier flavor
- boil for longer for a thicker soup
- more chicken broth to thin out soup
- too salty? Reduce bacon and/or cheese or omit salt
Storage Instructions
Store mashed potato soup in air tight container in refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Freezing is fine but know that it will change the texture of the soup slightly after soup defrost. Soup will be grainy in texture because of the dairy content.
Frequently Asked Questions
Check out my Creamy Potato Bacon Soup for instructions using raw potatoes instead of mashed potatoes
5-7 strips
You can but most dairy heavy soups do change in texture after freezing. It will taste fine but the texture will be grainier after defrosting.
DID YOU ENJOY THIS RECIPE? Please comment below and give us a 5-star rating! This will help others find this recipe on Google and Pinterest. We very much appreciate your help! 🤍
More Holiday Leftover Recipes
- For leftover turkey: Turkey Stew, Turkey Salad with Cranberries
- For leftover cranberry sauce: Cranberry Baked Brie
- For leftover ham: Ham and Cheese Crescent Roll Ups, Easy Frittata with Ham, Asparagus and Ham Quiche
Mashed Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 cup milk
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 4 cups mashed potatoes
- 1 cup bacon bits
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Add butter and flour to a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Thoroughly mix. Once combined, immediately add chicken broth and milk. Stir as you bring it to a boil.
- Add mashed potatoes. Stir to combine.
- Add sour cream and bacon bits. Bring the soup to a boil. Cook until soup thickens.
- Add cheese to the soup. Stir to combine. Feel free to add salt and pepper to taste and as needed. You may not need any since your mashed potatoes are likely already seasoned. Remove from heat.
- Serve and enjoy along with a side of crusty bread if you wish. Enjoy!
