Creamy, cheesy, and simple to whip together, Potato Cheddar Soup is the comforting meal you’ve been craving!
Potato Cheddar Soup is part of our Family Dinner Book Club menu for Change Sings.
Loaded baked potatoes are a popular classic food for a reason: they’re delicious, easy to make, and full of so many great flavors. Soup is the ultimate comfort food, and when that soup is made from potatoes and cheese and all the yummy toppings, you’ve got yourself an ultra-comforting, ultra-delicious, and ultra-easy dinner. Set out the soup in individual bowls amongst an array of toppings and let everyone go to town!
What are some great toppings for Potato Cheddar Soup?
- Bacon
- Chives
- Chopped Pecans
- Broccoli
- Shredded Chicken
- Crispy Onions
- Sour Cream
- Hot Sauce
What can I serve with Potato Cheddar Soup to make it a full meal?
Salad is such a classic accompaniment for soup. Since Potato Cheddar Soup is so thick and creamy, I like to go with a more acidic and light salad like Ginger Pear Salad, Kale Brussels Sprouts Salad, or Winter Greens Salad. If you want to get more vegetables on your table, keep it simple with steamed broccoli, roasted cauliflower, or baby carrots.
What are the ingredients for Potato Cheddar Soup?
Potatoes – I like to use yukon gold because the skin is so thin that you don’t even need to peel the potatoes before cooking them for this soup. The potato flesh is just the right amount of waxy, so it holds up to being boiled and blended without turning grainy or gummy.
Onions
Garlic
Bacon – the aromatics and potatoes start out their cooking time in the bacon grease, which adds so much flavor. The cooked and crumbled bacon makes for the best soup topping, too.
Cheese – Sharp cheddar is what gives this soup recipe the familiar loaded baked potato flavor. You can also use a Mexican blend if that’s what you have on hand, or a combination of cheddar and monterey jack cheeses. If you like things a little spicy, replace half the cheese called for in the recipe with shredded pepper jack.
Sour Cream – just a bit adds an extra bite and tang to the flavor profile.
Lemon Juice – a touch of acid helps bring all the flavors together.
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Potato Cheddar Soup
Creamy, cheesy, and simple to whip together, Potato Cheddar Soup is the comforting meal you've been craving!
Ingredients
- 4 strips thick-cut bacon
- 1 small yellow onion, peeled and diced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 1 pound (about 4 large) yukon gold potatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 3 cups freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
Instructions
- In a medium soup pot, saute the bacon until crisp, remove to a plate, and wipe about half the bacon grease out of the pan.
- To the remaining bacon grease, add the onions and garlic, and saute over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the potatoes, salt, chicken stock, and water to the pot. Raise the heat to high and boil until the potatoes are fork tender, about 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of your potatoes.
- Using an immersion blender or regular blender, blend the soup until it is smooth and creamy.
- Add the cheese, sour cream, and lemon juice to the soup and stir until melted, returning to the heat if necessary to melt the cheese.
- Serve the cheese in sourdough bread bowls, topped with the cooked bacon and any other desired toppings.
Potato soup is my favorite…especially in bread bowls!!