Creamy Potato and Bean Soup
Take a bite of this cozy and creamy potato and bean soup. Loaded with smashed potatoes, blended beans, and fresh flavors like garlic, rosemary and thyme, this potato soup is made with no heavy cream and will quickly become your winter favorite!
Soup season will forever be one of my favorite seasons. Not only do soups automatically enhance the coziness of your meal but soups are also a great way to feed a crowd, play around with flavors, and sneak in a lot of nutrition in an easy and delicious way!
Of course, a soup season classic is a loaded potato soup with all the heavy cream and flavors of a full loaded baked potato. While I love a bowl of potato soup, I wanted to put a dietitians twist on the classic recipe and find ways to increase the nutrition without compromising the texture and flavor.
Enter, this creamy potato and bean soup. While its creamy texture may have you thinking otherwise, this is a potato soup with no heavy cream. Instead, the creaminess comes from blended beans and cottage cheese (or yogurt) which cuts down on calories, increases protein, and adds a nice fiber boost!
This potato bean soup is loaded with garlic and fresh herbs, smashed potatoes, and creamy beans for a delicious, nutritious, and filling soup recipe that your entire family will love!
Why you’ll love this easy soup recipe:
This bean and potato soup is cozy, delicious, and will be loved by the entire family because it’s:
Full of nutrition: This soup recipe features an entire can of beans, high protein dairy products, and potassium rich potatoes for a nutritious bite.
Has no heavy cream: As I mentioned, this is a potato soup recipe with no heavy cream. We swapped the heavy cream for beans blended with cottage cheese or yogurt which keeps the calories lower, adds some protein, and maintains the creamy texture of traditional potato soup.
Ready in under 40 minutes: Despite the chopping and necessary simmering, this soup recipe will be ready to serve in under 40 minutes.
Family friendly: Both my husband, myself, and my toddler loved this soup recipe… yes, I gave my toddler soup. It’s filling enough for adults but the flavors are neutral and creamy that keep it kid friendly.
Customizable: As written, this is a meatless soup. However, you can easily add your own protein or swap the chicken broth for bone broth for a protein boost. You can also play around with seasonings and herbs to fill your soup with flavors that you love.
You’re going to love this potato soup recipe and I think your entire family will too!
Ingredients you’ll need:
Here’s what you’ll need to prep this bean and potato soup:
Yellow potatoes: peeled and diced.
Butter: or oil of choice. This will be used to sauté our onions and garlic.
Chicken Broth: Swap for vegetable broth if you want to keep it plant based or add in bone broth for a protein boost.
Yellow onion
Garlic
Flour: We will just add 1 to 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour to help thicken up the soup a little bit.
Herbs: I used rosemary and thyme but you can use with whatever herbs you like!
Cannelli beans
Cottage cheese: You can also use yogurt but I recommend cottage cheese for it’s neutral flavor. We will be blending cottage cheese with beans to act as the “heavy cream” component of our recipe.
Milk: I used whole milk for the extra creaminess.
Seasonings: I recommend salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and onion powder. These can be adjusted to taste.
Parmesan cheese: Freshly grated!
Step by step instructions for potato bean soup:
Once you have your ingredients prepped, most of the time spent on this soup is simply waiting for your potatoes to simmer until soft. Here’s how to make it:
1) Wash, peel, and dice each potato into 8 pieces that are about 1-2 inches big.
2) Place your diced potatoes in a bowl of ice water for around 5-10 minutes while you prep your other ingredients.
3) Dice your onion and garlic.
4) In a soup pot, heat your butter (or oil) until it’s warm then add in your onions and garlic. Sauce for 3 minutes or until your onions begin to soften.
5) Mix your seasonings together in a small bowl and then pour half of your seasonings into the warm soup pot, stirring for 1 minute. Then, add in your freshly chopped herbs.
6) Pour in a splash of chicken broth then add 1 tablespoon of flour. Stir until all of your clumps of flour have been absorbed. Add in another tablespoon of flour and continue to stir until fully absorbed and your sauce has thickened, adding a splash of chicken broth if needed.
7) Once your sauce has thickened, remove the potato pieces from the water and add them to your pot. Then add in the rest of your chicken broth, seasonings, and milk. Stir until combined. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, and cover and cook for around 20-30 minutes or until your potatoes are fork tender.
8) While your potatoes boil, add your drained cannellini beans and cottage cheese to a blender or blender cup.
9) Blend until smooth and creamy.
10) Once your potatoes are fork tender, gently use a potato smasher to smash your potatoes into smaller, almost fully broken down pieces to help thicken up your soup. I smashed my potatoes 12-15 times for reference.
Then, pour in your bean cottage cheese puree and stir until fully combined and warmed through.
LTN Tip: You get to decide how chunky you want your potato soup. If you prefer large chunks of potatoes, only smash the potatoes 10 times If you want a fully creamy soup, use an emulsion blender to fully break down all of the potatoes. Add milk to thin if needed!
11) Stir in your parmesan cheese until fully melted. Adjust any seasonings and herbs to taste, and serve in soup bowls topped with fresh herbs and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Potato bean soup swaps and substitutions:
This potato and bean soup can be made in so many different ways. A few things you could try would be to:
Add protein: This is probably my biggest recommendation for this soup. You do get protein from the beans, cottage cheese, and milk but you could always add more by choosing bone broth instead of chicken stock or adding in a meat option!
My husband and I turned this into a meal by adding some spicy sausage which was delicious but you could also add chicken, turkey, chicken sausage, or plant based options if preferred.
Swap your seasonings: I’m a firm believer that you really can’t go wrong when seasoning a pot of soup… unless you make it too salty, then it’s ruined. Use whatever seasonings you prefer and feel free to season to taste!
Add more veggies: Finely diced kale or spinach would be delicious in this soup! You could also blend up one can of beans and then add in another whole can of beans to the soup itself for more texture in your soup.
Change up your flavors: I filled this bean and potato soup with tasty flavors of garlic and herbs. You can also stick to the more traditional potato soup flavors and make this a “loaded” potato and bean soup with bacon, cheddar cheese, and green onions.
Keep the skins on your potatoes: If you like a chunkier potato soup, you can lightly smash your potatoes and I would also recommend keeping the skins on your potatoes to add a little bit more texture.
Adjust your liquid amounts: This is a thick and creamy soup, so feel free to adjust your liquid amounts (either more chicken broth or more milk) to thin it out if preferred. As you add more liquid, you can also adjust your seasonings.
Make this soup your own!
Recipe FAQ:
What are ways to add protein to soup?
Bone broth, extra beans, meat, and plant based options would be some easy ways to boost the protein content of this soup recipe.
How to store this potato bean soup.
This soup can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. One thing to note is that the potatoes will continue to break down as the soup sits, and your soup will become thicker.
When you are ready to reheat your soup, I recommend pouring it into a pot and adding some extra chicken broth or milk to thin the soup back out a little bit. Adjust seasonings if needed.
Can I freeze this soup?
Yes, soup is always a great freezer option! Simply allow the soup cool all the way, add the desired amount to your freezer container or bag of choice, label, then freeze for up to 3 to 6 months.
When you are ready to enjoy your soup again, you can either thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and then warm it up in a pan or cook it from frozen if preferred. Thin with extra liquid as needed.
Other dinner recipes you will love:
This blog is not short on dinner ideas and here are a few more that I think you will love:
Unstuffed Pepper Skillet
Bruschetta Caprese Chicken Cutlets
BBQ Chicken Sliders
One Pot Tuscan Chicken and Orzo Pasta
Hot Honey Chicken Drumsticks
Honey Soy Baked Chicken
Creamy Potato and Bean Soup
Ingredients
Instructions
- Wash, peel, and dice each potato into 8 smaller pieces. Add to a large bowl of ice water for about 5 minutes.
- Dice your onion and cloves of garlic.
- In a large soup pot, heat your butter (or oil) until melted. Add your onion and garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Mix all of your seasonings together in a small bowl then add 1/2 the dried seasoning mixture to your pot with the onions and garlic. Also add the freshly diced rosemary and thyme.
- Stir in your herbs and seasonings for 1 minute then add in 1/2 cup of chicken stock and 1 tbsp of your flour. Stir until your flour is combined. Add the second tablespoon of flour and stir until combined, adding in a splash of chicken stock if needed to absorb all of the flour. The sauce should be thickened.
- Add in your diced potatoes, the rest of the chicken stock, milk, and the rest of the seasonings to the pot. Cover, bring to a simmer, and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until your potatoes are fork tender. Turn your heat to low.
- Using a potato smasher, gently smash the potatoes in your soup until they are almost fully smashed (12-15 smashes). If you want it fully creamy with no potato pieces, you can use an emulsion blender.
- In a blender or blender cup, blend together your drained cannellini beans and cottage cheese until they form a creamy mixture. Pour the mixture into your potato soup, heat on low, and stir until fully combined and the soup is creamy.
- Stir in your grated parmesan until fully melted. Taste and adjust any seasonings to taste.
- Serve warm in bowls and garnish with fresh parmesan and thyme. Enjoy!
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Hey! I’m Lauren
I’m a Registered Dietitian and busy toddler mom committed to bringing you delicious, nutritious, and easy-to-make recipes!