potato soup

Loaded with bacon, cheese, green onions, and sour cream this potato soup is the dish to make when craving old school comfort food! This recipe uses an immersion blender to smooth it which gives you more control of the consistency, I personally like smooth with some potato chunks left in! If loaded baked potato was a soup it would be this one which makes it an easy hit for the whole family.

History of potato soup

While this potato soup recipe is more American than anything I have a few fun facts about vichyssoise which is a cold soup with a potato and leek soup base that has an addition of cream in it. This was Julia Childs favorite soup and while the soup is simple the history is anything but! Some say that French King Louis XV accidentally invented this refreshing cold soup because of his intense fear of being poisoned. Because of his paranoia the king made multiple servants try the soup before eating it and by the time he got to enjoy it the soup was cold. He then announced that he liked potato soup better cold than hot. While I personally like the dramatics of the King Louis theory, the more widely accepted theory is that chef Louis Diat from Ritz Carleton hotel came up with the soup 1917 when he was reminiscing his childhood favorites and recalled a memory of him cooling off some hot leek and potato soup with cold milk during a hot summer day. He then decided to make a more refined version of it to the restaurant guests. The soup became so popular that the Ritz added it to their menu permanently in 1923. The chef named the cold leek and potato soup after a small french town he was born by but because of the towns Nazi collaboration a group of American chefs tried to change the name of the dish to “creme gauloise”.

How to make potato soup?

This recipe starts off by baking the bacon in the oven. If you prefer cooking it on stove top you can simply cook the bacon in the large pot you will make the soup in as the bacon fat gets reserved either way. Cooking bacon in the oven in my opinion gives it a better overall texture. While the bacon cooks boil the potatoes until tender. Once the bacon is done, in a large pot melt butter with the bacon fat and add onions. Saute until tender, then add garlic. Once the garlic is aromatic whisk in flour and cook it until it begins to bubble. Slowly pour in the milk and broth, then bring the soup to a soft boil. Drain the potatoes and add them in the soup. Using an immersion blender puree the soup to a desired consistency and season to taste with salt and pepper. Then chop the bacon into bite size pieces and add half of it in the soup as well as 1 cup of cheddar and 3/4 cup of sour cream. Stir well and bring to boil. Serve the soup hot with fixings of green onions, rest of the bacon, cheddar, and sour cream!

Tips

• If you don’t have an immersion blender use a regular blender or food processor to puree the soup to a desired consistency. I personally like smooth with some potato chunks the best!

• Don’t skimp on the toppings for best flavor! With the bacon pieces, cheddar, sour cream, and green onions this is the soup version of a baked potato!

• Potato soup freezes well - just store in freezer safe containers and thaw on stove top when ready eat! Add the toppings after reheating.

Recommended products to make this recipe

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Potato Soup

Yield: 8

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 55 Min

This potato soup is comfort in a bowl!

Ingredients

• 4 large russet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 10 oz bacon
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups cheddar, shredded
• 1 cup sour cream
• pepper
• green onions

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bring a pot of lightly salted water to boil. Bake bacon on a cookie sheet for apprx. 20 minutes until crispy. Reserve the fat and set aside. Meanwhile boil the potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large pot melt the butter with the reserved bacon grease. Add onions and sauté until tender. Add garlic and sauté one more minute. Whisk in the flour and cook until it starts bubbling, then slowly pour in milk and broth. Bring the soup to a soft boil and add the drained potatoes. Using an immersion blender puree until smooth and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Cut bacon to bite size pieces. Add half of the bacon in the soup, 1 cup of cheddar, and 3/4 cup of sour cream. Bring to boil.
4. Serve soup with green onions and rest of the bacon, cheddar, and sour cream.