What To Serve with Potato Soup — The Week Soup Saved Everyone

Deep January. The polar vortex hit Milwaukee this week — wind chills of negative thirty. The kind of cold that hurts your face and makes your car sound like it's dying when you start it. My Jeep started on the third try, which I consider a personal victory for both of us. Babcia's house is old and drafty. Mom turned the heat up and I brought extra blankets and we worried, because eighty-eight-year-olds and negative thirty are not a good combination. Babcia was unfazed. "I survived eighty-eight winters," she said. "This one is no different." She was wrong — this one was different because she was frailer — but you don't correct Babcia. I made double batches of soup this week. Rosół on Monday, mushroom soup on Wednesday, żurek on Friday. Soup is how you survive a polar vortex. You eat it hot, you eat it constantly, and you share it with everyone who needs it. I left a container on Babcia's counter every time I visited. She ate all of it. At the brewery, the cold affected production — some of our supply deliveries were delayed by the weather. Marcus and I used the downtime to experiment with the Polish wheat beer concept. We did a small test brew using caraway and coriander. The caraway was too strong in the first attempt — like drinking rye bread. We halved it for the next batch. Getting closer. I've been thinking about the pierogi shop dream again. Helen's. I haven't thought about it in months — Babcia's fall pushed everything else out of my head. But standing in Babcia's kitchen this week, cooking her food, feeding her from her own recipes, the dream came back. Not as a fantasy. As a plan. Someday, when the timing is right, I'm going to make this real. I'm going to open a shop and call it Helen's and make pierogi by hand and put a photo of Babcia behind the counter. Not yet. But someday. I told Babcia about it this week. First time I've told anyone besides Megan — wait, there's no Megan yet. First time I've told anyone at all. "Babcia, I want to open a pierogi shop someday. I'd call it Helen's." She looked at me. A long look. Then she said, "That's a good name." That's all she said. But the way she said it — the way her eyes softened, the way her hands stilled in her lap — she heard me. She understood. And it mattered to her. I could see it mattered. Sunday dinner: bigos. Because bigos is how you survive winter. Babcia said, "More prunes next time." Always more something. That's how I know she's still here.

Triple soup week taught me something I already knew but needed to be reminded of: when the cold is serious, the meal around the soup matters as much as the soup itself. Rosół, mushroom, żurek — each one landed differently depending on what I set alongside it on Babcia’s counter. By Friday I had strong opinions. If you’re making a pot of potato soup this winter — and you should be — here’s what to put with it to turn it into the kind of meal that actually holds you together when it’s negative thirty outside.

What To Serve with Potato Soup

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• To serve alongside: crusty sourdough bread or dark rye, shredded sharp cheddar, sliced green onions, extra sour cream, and crispy bacon crumbles

Instructions

1. Render the bacon. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat, cook the chopped bacon until crispy, about 6–8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a paper towel, leaving the drippings in the pot.
2. Soften the aromatics. Add the butter to the bacon drippings. Once melted, add the diced onion and cook over medium heat until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook 1 minute more, stirring constantly.
3. Build the base. Add the diced potatoes to the pot and stir to coat. Pour in the chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a steady simmer. Cook uncovered until the potatoes are completely tender when pierced with a fork, about 18–22 minutes.
4. Mash and finish. Use a potato masher to break down roughly half the potatoes directly in the pot, leaving the rest chunky for texture. Stir in the milk, sour cream, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Simmer on low for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the soup is creamy and heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning.
5. Set up your sides. This is where potato soup becomes a full meal. Lay out a spread: thick slices of toasted sourdough or dark rye bread, a small bowl of shredded sharp cheddar, sliced green onions, extra sour cream, and the reserved crispy bacon crumbles. Let everyone load their bowl the way they want it.
6. Serve hot. Ladle into deep bowls and set the toppings in the center of the table. Soup this straightforward doesn’t need much ceremony — it just needs to be hot and shared.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 9g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 620mg