Evaporated Milk Potato Soup (2024)

This evaporated milk potato soup is smooth, creamy, and loaded with deliciousness. The easy recipe is quick and easy to make with a few simple ingredients. The soup tastes just like a loaded baked potato and can only be described as comfort food in a bowl.

I love cooking with evaporated milk and also use it to make mac and cheese, alfredo sauce, and mashed potatoes.

Old-fashioned potato soup with evaporated milk

Evaporated milk potato soup is one of those dishes that just screams comfort. On a bad day, not many things hit the spot more than a warm bowl of creamy, thick potato soup.

The soup is easy, quick, rich, and creamy. It’s loaded up with your favorite toppings, like cheddar, bacon, sour cream, and green onions.

My recipe embodies everything you love about baked potatoes. It’s full of flavor and super comforting, especially this time of year.

If you love hearty soup, try our Chick Fil A chicken noodle soup, red chicken chili, and corn chowder with evapaoretd milk.

Ingredients

I love that you only need a few simple ingredients to throw evaporated milk potato soup together. It’s a quick and inexpensive meal that the whole family will go crazy over. See the recipe card below for exact measurements.

• Potatoes: Yukon Golds are my favorites because they are an easy-to-work-with all-purpose potato and create a nice, buttery taste and golden color. Russets are fine as well.
• Onion + garlic infuse every spoonful with aromatic flavor. The onion caramelizes and provides a touch of sweetness to the soup.
• Bacon makes the soup so comforting and pleasing. I love hickory smoked bacon, but any kind of bacon is fine. For a vegetarian version, swap out the bacon with veggies and use olive oil or butter to sauté the veggies.
• Evaporated milk makes the soup so creamy and delicious. You need a 12-oz can.
• Chicken broth is the other cooking liquid. I recommend a low-sodium version or sodium-free chicken stock.
• Cornstarch helps to thicken the soup.
• Herbs: Dried parsley, oregano, and basil introduce complexity and depth of flavor.
• Salt + pepper: Use salt and ground black pepper to season the soup according to your taste.

How to make potato soup with evaporated milk

Once your ingredients are assembled, you’re ready to cook the potato soup, which starts off by cooking the potatoes. Then we fry the bacon, caramelize the onion, and turn everything into a comforting, thick soup.

1. Prepare potatoes

• Place the peeled, cubed potatoes in a large pot of salted water and cook on high heat until fork tender.
• Drain well and set aside.

2. Fry the bacon

• Cook the bacon bits in a heavy-bottom pot until crispy.
• Then transfer the fried bacon to a plate lined with paper towels.
• Reserve 3 tablespoons of the rendered bacon fat and discard the rest.

3. Sauté onion + garlic

• Pour the bacon fat back into the pot and add the onion. Cook over medium heat until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
• Sprinkle in the parsley, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper.

4. Combine milk + cornstarch

• In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and 4 to 5 tablespoons evaporated milk until smooth and free of lumps.

5. Cook the soup

• Pour the chicken stock, remaining evaporated milk, and cornstarch slurry into the pot. Bring to a boil.

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6. Add potatoes

• Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and add the cooked potatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from the heat and mash half the potatoes with a potato masher.

7. Finish the soup

• Stir in half of the bacon bits and reserve the other half for topping the soup. Enjoy!

Cooking tips

All about the potatoes

Every good potato soup recipe starts with the potatoes. Put the following suggestions into action for the best results.

• Use the right potatoes: My favorites are Yukon Gold potatoes, which have a rich, buttery texture. Red potatoes are a good substitute. You can also use Russets, but they can become a little grainier in texture when mashed.
• Peel or not to peel? I like peeled potatoes best, yet if you’d rather not hassle with peeling, feel free to leave the skin on. It’s a neat way to save time!
• Don’t dice your potatoes too big: Large pieces take longer to cook and can be difficult to spoon up when eating. 1/2 in / 1.25 cm cubes are a good size that easy to eat and don’t take too long to cook.

Cooking the soup

Evaporated milk potato soup is a family favorite. The recipe is easy to cook up if you follow my helpful tips and tricks!

• Fry the bacon until just crisp: Crisp is the name of the game. You don’t want the bacon overcooked and crunchy, but it shouldn’t be undercooked and soft, either.
• Sauté the onion in bacon fat: This part gives the soup tons of flavor, so don’t skip it.
• Dissolve the cornstarch: To avoid clumps, dissolve the cornstarch in evaporated milk before adding it to the soup. Be sure to whisk until the 2 ingredients are perfectly combined and smooth.
• Super thick soup: For an extra thick soup, mash half of the potatoes in the soup. This is what I did for the soup your see in the photos.
• Thinner soup: If you prefer a thinner soup, don’t mash any of the potatoes, and just rely on the evaporated milk and cornstarch to slightly thicken the soup.

Topping ideas & mix-ins

Potato soup with evaporated milk has all the taste notes of classic loaded potato soup. If you want to add some extra flavors, check out these add-in and topping ideas:

• Veggies: Try adding 1 cup of each diced carrot and celery when you sauté the onion and garlic. You can also add some cooked cauliflower or broccoli.
• Cream cheese is a great way to thicken potato soup. It also imparts a delicious flavor that pairs nicely with the potatoes and bacon.
• Cheddar cheese is a classic potato soup topping. For the best results, grate your own cheese.
• Green onion or fresh chives add some punch and freshness to the soup.
• Sour cream: A dollop of sour cream adds extra richness and a little tang to the soup.
• Cayenne pepper: For a little heat, spice your condensed milk potato soup up with chili powder, red pepper flakes, or cayenne pepper.

Storing leftovers

How to store evaporated milk potato soup

Store leftover potato soup in a sealed, airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat on the stove over medium-low heat or individual portions in the microwave.

Freeze potato soup with evaporated milk

Allow your stovetop potato soup to cool completely, then freeze it in a sealed, freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months. Leave an inch at the top of the container as the soup will expand as it freezes.

Let the frozen potato soup defrost in the refrigerator overnight. There’s a chance that separation might occur, but that’s easy to fix. Simply mash the soup with a potato masher until it comes together again.

More cozy soup recipes

Serving soup is always a great idea, especially during the colder months. Here are a few of our favorite recipes that your family and guest are going to love!

• 4-Ingredient Potato Soup
• Pumpkin Soup without Cream
• Chunky Chicken Soup
• Chicken and Stars Soup
• Yellow Pepper Soup
• Curried Zucchini Soup
• Ravioli Soup with Veggies

Evaporated Milk Potato Soup Recipe

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

This evaporated milk potato soup is smooth, creamy, and loaded with deliciousness. The easy recipe is quick and easy to make with a few simple ingredients. The soup tastes just like a loaded baked potato and can only be described as comfort food in a bowl.

Ingredients

• 2 lb potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-in / 1.25 cm cubes
• 6 slices bacon, diced
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, or to taste
• 4 cups / 950 ml / 32 fl oz low sodium chicken broth
• 1 can (12 oz / 350 ml) evaporated milk
• 3 tbsp cornstarch

Instructions

1. Prepare potatoes. Place the peeled, cubed potatoes in a large pot of salted water and cook on high heat until fork tender, about 12 to 15 minutes. Drain well and set aside. Alternately, bake the potatoes in a 425°F / °C / gas mark oven for 35 to 45 minutes until tender.
2. Fry the bacon. Cook the bacon bits in a heavy-bottom stock pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crispy. Then transfer the fried bacon to a plate lined with paper towels. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the rendered bacon fat and discard the rest.
3. Sauté onion + garlic. Pour the bacon fat back into the stockpot/Dutch oven and add the onion. Cook over medium heat until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds until fragrant. Sprinkle in the parsley, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper.
4. Combine milk + cornstarch. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and 4 to 5 tablespoons evaporated milk until smooth and free of lumps. Set aside.
5. Cook the soup. Pour the chicken stock, remaining evaporated milk, and cornstarch slurry into the pot. Bring to a boil.
6. Add potatoes. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and add the cooked potatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The soup should thicken nicely. Remove from the heat and mash half the potatoes with a potato masher.
7. Finish the soup. Stir in half of the bacon bits and reserve the other half for topping the soup. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper according to your taste.
8. Serve. Ladle the hot soup into bowls. Top with bacon bits and desired garnishes such as shredded cheddar, green onion, and sour cream.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 201Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 354mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 10g