Potato soup

Potato soup is the simplest soup there is, which is exactly why it is easy to ruin. Half blended and half in cubes, with carrot, onion and fresh dill, it is a comforting Ashkenazi soup, and one blend too many turns it into glue.

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VeganGluten freeDairy freeParveAllergens:Celery

Updated

Potato soupIllustration
Time1 h 5 minCook 45 min
Pot8 bowls2.8 litres
Per bowl181 kcal3.8 g protein · a 350 ml bowl
Cost of the pot₪13for the pot, about ₪1.7 a bowl

The story of Potato soup

The potato reached Europe from the Andes in the 16th century and was distrusted for generations. In France the pharmacist Antoine Parmentier championed it in the 18th century, and potato and leek soup still carries his name there. In Eastern Europe the potato became a staple in every home, in stews, latkes and soups.

In the homes of Jews from Poland, Russia and Lithuania, potato soup was a weekday soup: potatoes, onion, carrot, plenty of dill, and sometimes a spoonful of sour cream when the meal was dairy. Immigrants brought it to Israel, where it remains a cheap, filling winter soup, also made smooth and blended for children.

What makes Potato soup itself

Potato soup depends entirely on starch. The same starch that gives it a velvety body turns it gluey when it is over blended. So this recipe builds two textures: some of the potato is blended or mashed to thicken the liquid, some stays in whole cubes, and the blending is gentle and done to only part of the pot.

Potato soup for any number of people

Change the number of people and the bowl size, and every ingredient updates in grams, with the cost, calories and protein per bowl.

Bowl size
Units
2.8litres in the pot
4Pot to use, litres
₪14Cost of the pot
₪1.7per bowl
181kcal per bowl
3.8g protein per bowl
IngredientAmountCost
The base
Canola oil40 ml₪0.6
Onion, chopped250 g₪1.5
Carrot, finely diced150 g₪0.7
Celery stalk, chopped80 g₪1.6
Garlic, chopped8 g · 2 pcs₪0.3
The pot
Potatoes, peeled, in 2 cm cubes1.2 kg₪7.1
Bay leaves1 g · 2 pcs₪0.4
Water1.6 l
To finish
Fresh dill, chopped20 g₪1.2
Salt14 g₪0.0
Black pepper, ground1 g₪0.1
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Shelf prices at a large Israeli chain and specialty shops, October 2026. Nutrition from the ingredients in grams, before cooking.

How many calories in Potato soup? Nutrition facts and calorie calculator

Change the amount of any ingredient, drop one, or pick a lighter version, and the numbers per serving update at once: calories, fat, carbs, protein, sodium and fibre.

Potato soup has 52 calories per 100 ml. A 350 ml bowl made with our recipe has 181 calories: 3.8 g protein, 4.9 g fat and 30.6 g carbohydrates. A 250 ml cup has 129 calories.

Lighter

Ingredients, for the whole recipe

  • 40 ml41 kcal per serving
  • 250 g13 kcal per serving
  • 150 g8 kcal per serving
  • 80 g2 kcal per serving
  • 2 pcs1 kcal per serving
  • 1,200 g116 kcal per serving
  • 2 pcs0 kcal per serving
  • 20 g1 kcal per serving
  • 14 g0 kcal per serving
  • 1 g0 kcal per serving

What each add-on adds to Potato soup

Values for the amount in the row, from the national food database.

Add-onCaloriesProtein, gFat, g
A tablespoon of oil122013.8
A slice of white bread792.50.5
A slice of challah12641.1

How to make Potato soup

In cook mode the screen stays on, tap a step when it is done, and the timers run next to each step.
  1. Cut the peeled potatoes into 2 cm cubes and keep them in a bowl of cold water until they go into the pot, so they do not darken.
  2. Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat and sweat the onion, carrot and celery with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes, until soft and starting to colour at the edges.
  3. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute.
  4. Drain the potatoes and add them with the bay leaves and half the salt. Stir for a minute so they are coated in oil.
  5. Add the water, bring to a boil, lower the heat and cook for 25 minutes with the lid half on, until the potatoes are completely soft and starting to crumble at the edges.
  6. Remove the bay leaves and lift about half the potato cubes and vegetables into a bowl with a slotted spoon.
  7. Blend what is left in the pot with a few short pulses of a stick blender, or mash with a potato masher, just until the liquid thickens. Stop before it turns glossy and stretchy.
  8. Return the cubes to the pot, add the dill, the rest of the salt and the pepper, and heat for 3 minutes.

The science of Potato soup

Kitchen science

Why potato soup turns gluey

Every potato cell holds starch granules. As they cook they absorb water, swell and gelatinise, and as long as the cell wall stays whole the starch stays inside and the texture is velvety. A fast blender blade tears the walls, the starch spills into the liquid and the soup turns stretchy and gluey. A masher, a sieve or a few short pulses keep most cells intact.

Kitchen science

Floury or waxy

Floury potatoes are high in starch and low in water, and their cells separate as they cook, so they crumble and thicken. Waxy potatoes have less starch and more water, their cells stay bonded, and the cubes hold their shape. The type decides whether the soup thickens itself or stays thin with cubes in it.

Kitchen science

Acid stops potatoes softening

A potato softens as the pectin gluing its cells together breaks down. In acid that breakdown slows to a crawl, so potatoes cooked from the start with tomatoes, wine or pickles can stay hard after an hour. Add acid once they are already soft.

Kitchen science

Thick the next day, spongy from the freezer

As the soup cools, starch molecules realign and bond, and the soup thickens a lot. In the freezer, ice crystals tear the cells of the cubes and they come out spongy and grainy. A fully blended version freezes better than one with cubes.

Kitchen science

Dill goes in last

Dill's aroma relies on volatile molecules that evaporate with heat. Dill cooked for half an hour loses most of its scent and keeps only a dull grassy taste, while dill added for the last three minutes smells the way it should.

Potato soup in every kitchen

Ashkenazi with dill

The recipe on this page: carrot, celery, onion and plenty of fresh dill, half blended and half in cubes.

With leek

Replace the onion with two sliced leeks sweated slowly. The soup is sweeter and gentler, close to the French version.

Creamy dairy

Sweat in butter, blend the whole pot, and add 200 ml of milk and 100 ml of cream at the end. Serve with chives.

With sour cream

An Eastern European dairy version: a spoonful of sour cream in each bowl and dill on top, made with water or vegetable stock only.

With smoked paprika

Parve with a smoky edge: a teaspoon of smoked paprika with the onion, and sautéed mushrooms on top of each bowl.

Meat, with sausage

Slices of fried kosher sausage go in for the last ten minutes, and chicken stock replaces the water. No dairy at all in this pot.

Common Potato soup problems and how to fix them

My potato soup is gluey

It was blended too long or in a food processor. Torn cells cannot be repaired, but you can thin it with hot water or stock, add separately cooked potato cubes and stir with a spoon. Next time blend only part of the pot, in pulses.

The potatoes fell apart completely

A very floury potato, cubes that were too small or cooking too long. Cut 2 cm cubes, check after 20 minutes, and mix in a waxy variety that holds its shape.

The potatoes stayed hard

Acid probably went in too early: tomatoes, tomato paste, wine or pickles. Acid slows the breakdown of pectin. Cook the potatoes until soft, then add the sour ingredients.

Potato soup is bland

Potatoes absorb a lot of salt. Salt in two stages, with the potatoes and at the end, and add fresh dill, black pepper and a little acid in the bowl.

The soup is too thick the next day

That is the starch realigning in the cold. Add water or stock as you reheat, a few spoonfuls at a time, and stir until the texture comes back.

Storing, freezing and reheating

4 days

In the fridge

2 months, best in the blended version

In the freezer

2+4

To cool

Bring it from 60 to 21 °C within two hours and down to 5 °C within four more. Split a big pot into shallow boxes.

75 °C

Reheating

Reheat over medium low heat with a little water, stirring with a spoon until it steams. Never blend an already blended soup a second time.

Nutrition of Potato soup

From our recipe, per bowl and per 100 g, next to the national food database.

ServingkcalProtein, gFat, gCarbs, gFibre, g
Our recipe, a 350 ml bowl1813.84.930.64.7
Our recipe, 100 ml521.11.48.71.3
Typical Potato soup, 100 g290.80.16.11.0
Typical Potato soup, 100 g (2)1463.19.611.50.8

What the ingredients of Potato soup cost

What each ingredient costs in one pot, and where to buy it.

IngredientPriceIn this potWhere to buy
Potatoes, peeled, in 2 cm cubes₪5.9 per kg₪7.1Greengrocer
Celery stalk, chopped₪6.9 each₪1.6Greengrocer
Onion, chopped₪5.9 per kg₪1.5Greengrocer
Fresh dill, chopped₪4.9 each₪1.2Greengrocer
Carrot, finely diced₪4.9 per kg₪0.7Greengrocer
Canola oil₪15 per litre₪0.6Supermarket
Bay leaves₪360 per kg₪0.4Supermarket
Garlic, chopped₪34 per kg₪0.3Greengrocer
Black pepper, ground₪139 per kg₪0.1Supermarket
Salt₪2.1 per kg₪0Supermarket

Shelf prices at a large Israeli chain and specialty shops, October 2026, VAT included. Vegetable prices change with the season.

Make Potato soup a meal

Shabbat

Ready Shabbat food

Soup, hamin, mains and sides, with a quantity calculator and prices.

Plan Shabbat
Hosting

Hosting trays

9 trays to go with the soup, with a planner by number of guests.

Tray planner
Events

Catering

A whole menu in grams per guest, with a reheating table.

Menus

What to serve with Potato soup

Serve hot with fresh dill, coarse black pepper and a few drops of oil, with rye bread or challah. In the dairy version, a spoonful of sour cream in the middle of the bowl.

Potato soup in large quantities: events, offices and communities

How much of everything by number of guests, at a 350 ml bowl. For institutional pots, catering and community kitchens.

GuestsLitres30 l potsCost of ingredients
258.81₪42
50181₪84
100352₪169
200703₪337
5001757₪843

Every ingredient for any number of guests is in the calculator above: type the number of people.

Order Potato soup

A ready pot for Shabbat, an event or the office, ordered ahead.

  • Cooked to order, for Shabbat, an event or the office.
  • Tell us how many people and when, and we send a quote.
  • Delivery in Tel Aviv from ₪35, free over ₪750.
Ask for a quote for Potato soup

Order Potato soup for a large event

Large orders in Israel and abroad: events, offices, synagogues, communities and institutions.

  • In Israel: cooked in Tel Aviv and delivered to events in the area, and to large events anywhere in the country on a quote.
  • Abroad: for communities, events and restaurants. Tell us where, how many and when, and we come back with a quote and options.
  • Institutional quantities and a shopping list for any number of guests, in the calculator above.
Ask for a large-order quote

Frequently asked questions

What is the best potato for soup?

Usually an all purpose potato, neither very floury nor very waxy. For a soup that thickens itself choose a floury type, for whole cubes choose a waxy one, or mix them.

How do you thicken potato soup without flour?

The potatoes are the thickener. Mash or blend part of the pot, and the released starch thickens everything, with no flour and no cream.

Can you blend potato soup in a blender?

Yes, but gently: a stick blender in short pulses, or only part of the soup. A high speed jug blender or a food processor turns it gluey.

Can you freeze potato soup?

Yes, for up to 2 months, preferably the blended version. Potato cubes turn spongy and grainy after freezing.

How long does potato soup take to cook?

About 25 minutes from the boil for 2 cm cubes, plus 10 minutes beforehand for the onion and carrot base.

Can you make potato soup without peeling?

Yes, especially with young, thin skinned potatoes. Scrub and wash them well. The skin adds an earthy taste, but a blended soup will be less smooth.

How many calories are in Potato soup?

A 350 ml bowl of Potato soup made with our recipe has about 181 calories and 3.8 g of protein. Per 100 ml: 52 calories.

How much does it cost to make Potato soup at home?

A pot of 8 bowls costs about ₪13 at Israeli shelf prices in October 2026, about ₪1.7 a bowl. The calculator above works it out for any number of people.

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