A thick and hearty recipe for creamy potato soup with hints of smoky bacon perfectly seasoned and layered with flavor.
JUMP TO RECIPEMama has the best recipe for Seafood Chowder. It’s basically this recipe minus the bacon, plus scallops, shrimp, crab and white wine (I plan on publishing it sometime in the next few months!).
A craving for it hit me like a bus today. Probably because the weather has finally cooled off here and Fall is officially in the air! And I’d made my first ever loaf of no-knead dutch oven bread and was fantasizing about dunking it in something fabulous like homemade soup!
Well, I don’t know about y’all, but I don’t typically keep an assortment of fresh seafood on-hand so I couldn’t easily whip up some of Mama’s seafood chowder. But what I could do was use her recipe to make the PERFECT pot of potato soup!
Nanny used to make potato soup that was nowhere near as involved as this and I always thoroughly enjoyed it (it was pretty much just stewed potatoes). But I figured if I was going to make a whole pot of soup with only potatoes as the star ingredient, I could put in a little more effort and have something exceptional. Plus I already had all the ingredients!
I debated over whether to call this soup or chowder. By definition, I think this would be considered a chowder because of the half & half but I decided to call it soup because that’s the word I kept using in my head as I was making it and what I called it when serving it.
You can call it whatever you like!
When it was done and I had my first bowl I was genuinely, truly impressed with the soup! Like, I immediately wanted to sit down and transcribe my chicken scratch notes into an actual recipe so I could make it again exactly the same. Don’t you love it when you get it right the first time?!
For confirmation, I walked a bowl over to Mama’s for her to taste and she took one bite, stopped what she was doing, sat down and finished off the bowl!
When The Baby got home from school she dove in and gobbled down a bowl too. And she’d never even had potato soup before! I’d planned on serving it for supper but there wasn’t enough left once everyone got done tasting it. This, I consider to be one of those good problems.
NOTES ABOUT MAKING POTATO SOUP
- Russet potatoes will be best for this recipe. Any potato will do but waxier potatoes like red or gold won’t be as creamy.
- Dice potatoes into cubes about 1/2-inch in size.
- One average size russet potato yields about a cup of diced (if you’re wondering how many to buy).
- The consistency of the soup will be determined by how much you stir it once the potatoes are done. If you want completely smooth soup, just stir it with a large whisk until the potatoes have “melted” into the soup. If you want your soup to be chunky, just barely stir to incorporate the ingredients.
- You can use vegetable stock or broth instead of chicken broth if desired.
- Add corn when the potatoes are almost done for Corn Chowder.
Recipe for Perfect Potato Soup
Perfect Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 6-8 pieces thick-cut bacon
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup finely diced celery
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 7-8 cups diced peeled potatoes
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup half & half
Instructions
- Cut bacon into small pieces then cook in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat until very crispy. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon then set aside to add later.
- Add butter to bacon drippings then sauté celery and onion for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 3 minutes.
- Add potatoes, broth, bay leaf, salt and pepper then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover then cook for 30 minutes or until potatoes are very tender.
- Stir in half & half, cover then remove from heat. Let rest for 15 minutes.
- Taste for seasoning then add more salt and pepper if desired. Stir the soup until it reaches your desired consistency. As you stir, the potatoes will “melt” into the soup (stir less for chunky soup, more for smooth).
- Serve reserved bacon on top of the soup as a garnish or stir it into the pot. Garnish with diced chives if desired.
Notes:
- Russet potatoes will be best for this recipe. Any potato will do but waxier potatoes like red or gold won’t be as creamy.
- Dice potatoes into cubes about 1/2-inch in size.
- One average size russet potato yields about a cup of diced (if you’re wondering how many to buy).
- The consistency of the soup will be determined by how much you stir it once the potatoes are done. If you want completely smooth soup, just stir it with a large whisk until the potatoes have “melted” into the soup. If you want your soup to be chunky, just barely stir to incorporate the ingredients.
- You can use vegetable stock or broth instead of chicken broth if desired.
- Add corn when the potatoes are almost done for Corn Chowder.
Holy cow, this looks divine!
ReplyDeleteSo creamy and comforting. Such a perfect way to warm up on a chilly day!
ReplyDeleteThis potato soup looks so delicious and now has me craving a big ole bowl of it. The perfect comfort food on a cold day.
ReplyDelete