The best and easiest Traditional Irish Potato Soup is as simple to make as it is delicious and nutritious! This creamy potato soup is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day. A quick weeknight meal, or anytime you need a comforting bowl of potato soup.
Even though potatoes are synonymous with Ireland, potatoes didn’t originate there. They made their way to Europe in the 1500s after Spanish conquistadors discovered them in the Andes Mountains. But potatoes, which are the world’s fourth-largest food crop, were an essential staple for Irish working-class families and still are today.
Potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin C, a good source of potassium and vitamin B6, fat, sodium, and are cholesterol-free. Best of all, they are only 110 calories per serving. But when combined with celery, onions, and milk, Traditional Irish Potato Soup reigns supreme and is a powerhouse meal.
I’ve been making this potato soup for as long as I can remember and it has always been one of my “go-to” meals. It’s comfort food at its finest!
Irish Potato Soup Variations:
My mother made potato soup often and would sometimes add sausage or other ingredients, but this simple recipe is my favorite way to prepare it. Now don’t get me wrong, I also love adding bacon, sour cream, cheese and chives to this basic recipe and making Twice Baked Potato Soup. But, today it’s all about this simple family favorite – Traditional Irish Potato Soup.
Traditional Irish Potato Soup is a hearty and “stick to the ribs” kind of soup. Speaking of ribs; have you tried my delicious and easy Oven-Baked Baby Back Ribs recipe yet? It’s a “must try” and quickly will become one of your favorite recipes too!
More traditional Irish Food Recipes:
Looking for more Irish inspired food for St. Patrick’s Day? Check out these Irish food recipes: Traditional Irish Potato Boxty, Traditional Irish Soda Bread, Corned Beef and Cabbage Egg Rolls, and Shrimp with Green Sauce.
Need more menu ideas or easy recipes? Check out my Ten Irish Recipes for St. Patrick’s Day roundup, or 18 Incredible Dishes for St. Patrick’s Day from the Pudge Factor Blog.
More creamy soup recipes:
If you like this creamy potato soup, you might also like these quick and easy recipes: Creamy Homemade White Bean Soup with Broccoli, Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup, Creamy Southern Sweet Potato Soup, and Creamy Leftover Turkey and Wild Rice Soup.
Traditional Irish Potato Soup Ingredients:
The ingredients include potatoes, butter, onion, celery, chicken stock, milk, garlic powder, kosher salt, and ground black pepper. Optional ingredient: chopped fresh parsley for garnish.
How to make Traditional Irish Potato Soup:
To make this potato soup, melt the butter in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add the celery and onions and sauté for about 5-6 minutes, or until they are tender.
Add the potatoes, garlic powder, kosher salt and pepper, and chicken stock.
Bring the soup to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are done. They should break apart easily when you pierce them with a fork, and you should be able to mash them against the side of the pan easily.
Use an immersion blender and blend until the potato mixture is smooth and creamy.
When the mixture is smooth and creamy, add two cups of whole milk. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if needed.
Optional: garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Serve the soup immediately while it is still hot.
Sharon’s Expert Tips:
An immersion blender is a small handheld kitchen appliance used to purée food in the container in which they are being prepared. They are relatively inexpensive and do a great job puréeing soups.
If you do not have an immersion blender, you can use a food processor or blender, but you will have to do it in batches. Be extremely careful with the hot mixture. If all else fails, use a potato masher. You might have a few lumps, but the soup will still be delicious!
If your chicken stock is reduced sodium, you may need a little more salt. On the other hand, if you use regular chicken stock, you might not need any salt.
To change things up a bit, try adding a handful of shredded cheddar cheese and a few Cheez-it’s before serving.
You can replace some of the milk called for in this recipe with half-and-half or heavy cream if you would like a richer soup.
★ If you make Traditional Irish Potato Soup, please leave a comment and give this recipe a star rating. I would love to know how you liked it! Thanks so much for visiting Grits and Pinecones!
The Best and Easiest Traditional Irish Potato Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 ribs of celery chopped
- 4 large potatoes peeled and chopped
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1/2-1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley for garnish optional
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add the celery and onions and sauté for about 5-6 minutes until they are tender.
- Add the potatoes, garlic powder, kosher salt and pepper, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are completely done. They should break apart easily when you pierce them with a fork. And, you should be able to mash them against the side of the pan easily.
- Use an immersion blender and blend until the potato mixture is smooth and creamy.
- When the mixture is smooth and creamy add the milk. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if needed. Serve immediately.
- Optional, before serving garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
*This post updated on September 28, 2019, to add more helpful tips. No changes to the recipe itself.
I love this recipe. It’s a year-round favorite. I made a couple of alternations to my own version that came out quite well. Rather than blending it down with a food processor, I cut a good portion of the potatoes smaller and then also cooked this for about 4 hours in the crockpot. The result was having the vegetables cook down into a potage more naturally. I mashed a few of the potatoes against the side of the crockpot with a wooden spoon at the end to get a thicker soup. But the cooking method did most of the work. The result is more of a rustic, thick soup. Also, at the end, rather than 2 cups of whole milk, I used one cup of half & half. The calories on the dairy were equivalent to the original recipe. But the higher concentration of milk fat gave it more flavor.
Hi Robyn,
Thanks so much for sharing your changes and I am so glad you liked the soup. It’s a year-round of favorite of my family’s too! I’ve never cooked it in the crockpot, but that sounds like a great idea!
Thanks again for sharing!
All my best,
Sharon
Can I leave potatoes in chopped form not blended. I like mine chunky
Hi Tracy, sure if that’s the way like it. You might want to mash just a few so that it will have a creamy consistency. I hope you enjoy the soup, it’s one of our favorites.
All my best, Sharon
My sweet friend brought me a batch of this tasty soup after I had jaw surgery. I ate it all by myself and it was fantastic. I highly recommend it if you want a savory, “stick to your ribs” kind of soup. It really hit the spot when I wasn’t feeling very well.
Hey Kerri,
Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup!