Name: Potato soup with peas and chives
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 6 bowls
Ingredients: 3 tbsp unsalted butter; 1 onion, chopped; 1 celery stalk, chopped; 2 tbsp all-purpose flour; 4 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth; 2 lb yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks; 1 carrot, chopped; 3 garlic cloves, grated; 3 thyme sprigs; 1 tsp fine salt; 1/4 tsp smoked paprika; 1/4 tsp black pepper; 1 cup heavy cream; 1 cup frozen peas; 1 tbsp lemon juice; 2 tbsp chopped chives

Potato soup with peas and chives

Peas go in after blending so they stay whole against the creamy potatoes.

Published October 24, 2026

6 bowls · Estimated 1 hour 10 minutes

Creamy potato soup retains potato pieces with whole peas, carrot and chopped chives.

Ingredients & method

Before you start: Prepare: 20 minutes Sauté and heat broth: 15 minutes Simmer potatoes: 30 minutes Finish peas and cream: 5 minutes Use the listed ingredient state: dry, cooked, thawed, drained or squeezed. Times are estimates; follow the doneness cues.

Equipment: 5-quart pot; immersion blender

Need another measuring unit? Convert cups, tablespoons and teaspoons. Keep the ingredient’s preparation and the recipe’s stated amounts.

Check off ingredients and steps as you cook. Reset clears the check marks; quantities and instructions stay the same.

Method

Cups and spoons are US measures. Check packaged ingredients for allergens.

Melt butter over medium heat and soften onion and celery for 5–8 minutes. Stir in flour for 1 minute, then slowly add broth.
Add potatoes, carrot, garlic, thyme, salt, paprika and pepper. Simmer 25–30 minutes until potatoes are tender. Remove thyme stems.
Take off the heat and briefly blend with an immersion blender, leaving some potato pieces. Return to low heat, add cream and peas and simmer gently for 5 minutes until peas are hot. Stir in lemon juice and chives off the heat.

Recipe note: Refrigerate perishable leftovers promptly in shallow containers; use within 3–4 days and reheat to 165°F. Count storage from the original cooking date when using leftovers. Refrigerate perishable cooked dishes in shallow containers within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F; keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below.

Leave enough potato texture

Cut the potatoes into the stated three-quarter-inch pieces so one large chunk does not delay the rest. Before blending, check a piece with a fork and remove the thyme stems. Take the pot off the heat and keep the immersion-blender head submerged; a short blend is enough when the goal is a soup with some recognizable pieces.

Blending more does not solve an undercooked chunk. Let the potatoes become tender first, then decide how much texture to keep.

Finish gently with cream and peas

Add the cream and frozen peas over low heat as directed, then let them become hot without driving the soup into a vigorous boil. Stir along the base so the thickened soup does not catch while you prepare the bowls.

Keep the lemon juice and chives for the off-heat finish. Taste the completed soup before deciding it needs an adjustment: broth, salt, cream and lemon work together. A planned leftover bowl may thicken in storage, so reheat it carefully and adjust that portion rather than adding extra liquid to the untouched first batch.