This Sausage Potato Soup is deliciously creamy, packed with Italian sausage, tender potatoes, and fresh veggies!
The Best Sausage Potato Soup
If you love cheeseburger soup, you’re going to be obsessed with this Sausage Potato Soup! Instead of ground beef and Velveeta®, I use sharp Cheddar and flavorful Italian sausage.
It’s perfect for cold weather and a family favorite!
To speed up prep, you can grab pre-chopped mirepoix (onions, celery, and carrots) from the store, use pre-minced garlic, and leave the potato skins on. These simple shortcuts will save you time!
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make Sausage Potato Soup:
- Italian Sausage: Hot or mild, based on your spice preference.
- Butter: Unsalted lets you control the salt.
- Mirepoix: This is a blend of onion, celery, and carrot. You can make your own or buy it already chopped from the store!
- Garlic: Pre-minced works just as well.
- Baby Gold Potatoes: Keep the skins on! Less work for you!
- Dried Basil & Parsley: Use fresh herbs for more flavor, if you’d prefer.
- Chicken Stock: Stock gives more flavor, but broth works too.
- Flour: Helps thicken the soup; whisk well to avoid lumps.
- Milk: Use whole milk for a creamier soup.
- Heavy Cream: Adds richness; don’t skip it!
- Cheddar Cheese: Extra-sharp gives the best cheesy flavor.
- Sour Cream: Fat-free works, but full-fat makes the soup richer.
Quick Tip
Spice Levels: For a mild soup, use mild sausage. If you like the heat, use spicy sausage and throw in some red pepper flakes.
How To Make Sausage Potato Soup
- Cook the Sausage: Brown the sausage, then set it aside.
- Cook the Veggies: In the same pot, cook the mirepoix in butter until soft, then add garlic.
- Add Potatoes and Seasoning: Stir in the potatoes, herbs, salt, and pepper. Add the stock, bring to a boil, then simmer until the potatoes are tender.
- Make the Cream Sauce: In a separate pan, melt butter, whisk in flour, and slowly add milk. Cook until thickened, then stir in the cream.
- Combine Everything: Pour the cream sauce into the soup, then add the cheese and sour cream. Stir until melted and smooth.
- Finish and Serve: Add the sausage back to the soup, adjust seasoning, and serve warm.
Sausage Potato Soup Tips
- Cheddar Cheese: Extra-sharp cheddar gives the best flavor. Pre-shredded cheese may not melt as smoothly, so it’s better to shred your own.
- Sausage: Let the sausage sear before crumbling. Avoid over-stirring or crumbling too much — you want a nice deep browning to build rich flavor.
- Potatoes: Cut the potatoes into even pieces so they cook at the same rate, ensuring a consistent texture throughout the soup.
What To Serve With Sausage Potato Soup
- No-Knead Bread: Great for soaking up the soup! Dinner rolls or crackers are also great for dunking.
- Salad: A fresh garden salad to lighten things up.
- Roasted Veggies: Simple roasted carrots or broccoli work well.
- Grilled Cheese: The perfect sandwich to dip in soup!
Storage
Leftover Soup?
- Let the soup cool to room temperature, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Reheat on low, stirring often. If needed, add a splash of chicken stock to thin. Avoid boiling.
- For freezing, place in a freezer-safe bag laid flat. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
More Soup Recipes:
- Tuscan Sausage and Potato Soup with sun-dried tomatoes
- Chicken and Potato Soup with lots of veggies
- Chicken Noodle Soup with egg noodles
- Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup with only 5 ingredients
- Creamy Artichoke Soup with mushrooms
Sausage Potato Soup
Sausage Potato Soup is rich, cheesy, and comforting, with Italian sausage, baby potatoes, and veggies in a creamy broth.
Equipment
- Large pot 6-quart
- Medium pot
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage mild or hot
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2-1/4 cups mirepoix or 3/4 cup each: diced carrots, celery, and yellow onion, see note 1
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 4 cups chopped baby gold potatoes no need to peel
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 4 cups chicken stock or broth
- 6 tablespoons flour
- 3 cups milk 1%, 2%, or whole
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese see note 2
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- Hearty buttered bread for serving, optional
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage and let it sear for 1 minute, then use a wooden spoon to crumble it. Cook until sausage is deeply browned. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels, leaving about 1 tablespoon grease in the pot. If there’s not enough grease, add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- In the same pot, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add diced carrots, celery, and onion. Sauté for 5–7 minutes (or 7–10 minutes if the veggies are larger). Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.
- Stir in chopped potatoes, dried basil, dried parsley, salt, and pepper. Pour in chicken stock, bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover pot and cook for 15–20 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender.
- While potatoes cook, melt 4 tablespoons butter in a separate medium pot over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Slowly pour in milk, whisking constantly until smooth. Cook, continuing to whisk, until the mixture thickens and gently boils. Stir in heavy cream, then remove from heat.
- Once veggies are tender, stir in the milk/cream mixture. Turn off heat and add shredded cheese, a handful at a time, stirring gently until melted. Stir in sour cream, then return the sausage to the soup. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve the soup warm with hearty buttered bread, if desired.
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Cut the veggies and potatoes into even pieces so they cook at the same rate, ensuring a consistent texture throughout the soup.
Note 2: Extra-sharp cheddar gives the best flavor. Pre-shredded cheese may not melt as smoothly, so it’s better to shred your own.
Storage: Let soup cool to room temperature, then store in the fridge in an airtight container for 3–4 days. To freeze, place in a freezer-safe bag laid flat. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 533kcal | Carbohydrates: 23.8g | Protein: 18.6g | Fat: 41g | Cholesterol: 110.6mg | Sodium: 635mg | Fiber: 2.3g | Sugar: 6.8g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I don’t normally write reviews but this soup was out of this world. Thank you soo much for a great recipe to add to my list.
I’m so glad you took the time to write this review! And so glad you loved it! Thanks so much for your comment! 🙂
I have just finished making this and having tasted it I have to say “wow!” Thank you. I was searching for a recipe to use up ingredients I had in my fridge. The key ingredient I didn’t have was sausage mince – but I did have actual sausages in my freezer, so I cooked them whole as the first step, then browned the mirepoix in the oil from the sausages and a dab of butter. I let the sausages cool a bit while this was sautéing, then cut them up into small pieces and mixed them back in. Wonderful smokey flavour to the soup. I’m looking forward to having it for dinner tonight. I bought some crusty bread to go with it but I don’t think I will be able to eat a bite of that – the soup tastes rich enough that I think a side will be a bridge too far for me!
Yum! the way you described that, I’m seriously drooling! I’m so happy you loved it so much! Thanks for your comment! 🙂
I used andouille sausage. The results were a nice smoky flavor!
Have you ever added fresh kale?
I haven’t, but I think it would be great!
We made this last night because we had all the stuff or good substitutions. Used whole milk and evaporated milk instead of heavy cream since it was all we had. Added broccoli that needed to be used up.
It is heavenly!!! Even better for lunch today! Thanks for the recipe. Found it on pinterest but will follow your site now.????
YAYY!! I’m soo happy to hear you loved this so much! Thanks for taking the time to comment! 🙂
So delicious! I like it less chunky so I immersions blended half of the veggies. Also used venison, jalapeño cheddar sausage and it’s so delicious!
So glad you enjoyed! Love the idea to use jalapeño cheddar sausage!
Delicious and a new family favorite! My husband was intrigued and commented throughout the process “you sure are going to a lot of trouble for a Monday”…”smells like a holiday meal”…”this is a 5 star meal!”…definitely making this again.
Love, love hearing this!! Thanks so much for the comment and review Mary 🙂
Made this tonight and it was fabulous! Had to guess when to add the sausage back in (should’ve read the comments, lol), but suspect it’s not that critical. Will definitely tag this as a keeper!
So happy it was a hit! Thanks for the comment John; I previously updated the recipe to show when the sausage is added back in 🙂
Absolutely delicious! Didn’t change a thing. Even my husband who always gripes about soup “not being a meal” LOVED IT! Thank you!
SO thrilled to hear that! Thank you Sarah 🙂
Made this last night—-delicious!!!
So happy to hear that!! Thanks Sarah!