Homemade Cheesy Potato Soup
Delicious Soup, Souper Easy
This is one of my favorite fall back recipes. I know no matter how broke or short on time I am, I can toss together this cheesy potato soup and have a delicious and filling soup. It's warm and good especially during the winter, plus, it's so yummy!
Ingredients
- 2 Onions sliced thin
- 1 Tb Garlic
- 6 -8 Medium Potatoes cubed
- 6 cups Water
- 3 tsp Chicken Bouillon or 2 cubes
- 2 -2 1/2 cups Dehydrated Mashed Potatoes still dehydrated
- 1 cup Dry Milk
- 1/4 cup Butter
- 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
- Pepper
- Salt
- Dash Sesame Oil (opt)
- 1/2 cup Sour Cream
- 1 cup Shredded Cheese divided
- 3 slices Bacon
Instructions
- Cook bacon pieces, preferably in a large soup pan or dutch oven. Set on paper towel covered plate to drain, then crumble.
- Saute onions and garlic in the bacon grease. Set aside.
- Pour out any leftover bacon grease. Add potatoes, water, and chicken bouillon to the pot. Stir until bouillon is completely dissolved. Cook the potatoes at medium-high heat until soft, about 15 minutes.
- Then, while stirring, slowly sprinkle in dry milk and instant mashed potatoes. Add enough to make the soup creamy. If too thin slowly add more dry milk and instant potatoes until the soup reaches almost the desired thickness. Soup will thicken a bit more as it cooks.
- Add butter to the soup. Let butter melt a little.
- Sprinkle in seasonings and the dash of sesame oil, if using.
- Using a potato masher, mash the mixture just a little so that about half the potatoes are mushed a little, but the soup is still nice and chunky.
- Lower heat and let simmer for a while until flavors are blended, about 15 minutes or so.
- Add 1/2 cubed or shredded cheese to the soup and stir it in. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
- Scoop potato soup into bowls, and then sprinkle and stir in more cheese into each bowl. Add a dollop of sour cream and sprinkling of crumbled bacon and serve.
Cook the Soup in a Crock Pot
I absolutely adore crock pots and so have several which I use whenever I want to cook something and not have to worry about it. This crock pot would be great for making my potato soup.
Simply cook bacon and onions, then toss all other ingredients, except cheese, sour cream, and bacon, into the crock pot. Cook for about 4-6 hours on low, and then just add topper ingredients right before serving. Simply delicious.
1. Get Together your Soup Ingredients
You need:
Primary Ingredients-
2 Onions
6-8 Medium Potatoes
Instant Mashed Potatoes, still dehydrated
Bouillon, Chicken or Vegetable
Dry Milk
Butter
Seasoning-
Italian Seasoning
Dash Sesame Oil
Salt
Pepper
Toppers-
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheese
Bacon
Ingredients
Some of the ingredients I use in this potato soup and in many of my recipes. They're always in my cupboard since I like to have them on hand.
2. Cook Bacon
Fry a few slices of bacon in the soup pot, then remove to a paper towel-covered plate to drain. When cooled a little, crumble it and set aside. Of course if you're a vegetarian just skip this step and use some oil for the next step.
3. Clean and Slice Onions
Slice the two onions. I like to slice the onions into thin slices then cut those in half since I don't like chunky pieces of onion.
4. Clean and Mince Garlic Cloves
Garlic is one of my favorite ingredients, so usually I have a jar of minced garlic in my fridge, ready for use and just scoop in a glob of it into whatever I'm cooking. If you don't have that, just clean off a garlic clove or two (or three if you really like garlic) and minced it finely or put it through a garlic press.
Chopped Garlic and Onions
5. Saute Onions and Garlic in the Bacon Grease
Toss the onions and garlic into the still hot bacon grease and saute until caramelized. Remove from pan into another dish.
6. Wash and Peel the Potatoes
Scrub the 6-8 potatoes clean, and if you don't like peels on them, peel off the skin. I used more in this picture since the potatoes were really small.
7. Cube Potatoes
Cut the potatoes into small cubes of about the same size. The smaller the cubes, the faster the potatoes cook.
Toss Potatoes into the Pot
Drain off any leftover bacon grease from the pot. Add potatoes to the soup pot.
My Favorite Cooking Pot
My dutch oven cooking pot isn't this pretty blue, though I wish it were. It's the handiest cooking pot I have though. It goes from sauteing to boiling to cooking a roast in the oven, and since I hate having to use and clean multiple pots, it's the one I use most of all. I'd love to have this blue one though!
8. Add Broth or Water and Bouillon
To the soup pot with the potatoes, add enough water to fill the pot most of the way up and whatever amount of your chicken bouillon to make the water taste broth-y, usually a few tablespoons. Stir until bouillon is completely dissolved. You can use broth instead of the water and bouillon if you have that instead. Vegetarians feel free to use veggie broth or bouillon.
9. Cook Potatoes
Cook the potatoes at medium-high heat until soft, about 15 minutes.
10. Add Instant Potatoes and Dry Milk
When the cooked potatoes get soft, slowly sprinkle in some dry milk and instant mashed potatoes, constantly stirring to incorporate.
Don't tell anyone, but this is the secret to a great textured and creamy soup without a lot of extra work.
Set of 4 Antique Label Soup Bowls
11. Check for Creaminess
After stirring in the dry milk and instant mashed potatoes, check to make sure the soup is nearly creamy enough. If soup is still too thin slowly add more dry milk and instant potatoes until the soup reaches almost the desired thickness. Soup will thicken a bit more as it cooks. If you add too much you can thin the soup with a bit of broth or water.
12. Add Butter to the Potato Soup
Add a big glob of butter to the soup, about 1/2 of a stick to a stick depending on your family's taste. Let butter melt a little.
Serve Your Soup Nicely
Presentation is a huge part of any meal, so serve your soup in a dish that looks lovely.
13. Add Seasonings
Sprinkle in about 1 1/2 teaspoon of Italian Seasoning, a teaspoon of salt, and a teaspoon of pepper. Taste the soup and add more seasoning if necessary. sometimes I like a bit of Lemon Pepper in there too. If you're using toasted sesame oil go ahead and add a dash here. The slightly nutty flavor of sesame oil adds a bit to the soup, but some people aren't fond of the flavor, so see what you think.
14. Mash Potato Soup
Using a potato masher, mash the mixture just a little so that about half the potatoes are mushed a little, but the soup is still nice and chunky. This is optional, but helps make the soup a nicer texture and add more potato-ness to each bite.
Get a Potato Masher
15. Stir in Any Extra Ingredients
When making this batch of potato soup, I had some leftover sausage from a cheese plate, so chopped them a little finer and tossed them in. This is a perfect point to stir in any extra ingredients you may have as leftovers in your fridge.
Potato Soup is Great for Using Up Leftovers
This is a great soup around the holidays because you can easily use up leftovers with it. Leftover mashed potatoes can be used in place of some or all of the cubed potatoes, and you can easily dice up bell peppers and broccoli from vegetable plates. Leftover cheese and sausage plates can be chopped and added to the soup. It's also great with some cubed ham or turkey. Just about anything works. Even serving with a side of cranberry sauce.
16. Let Potato Soup Simmer
Lower heat and let simmer for a while until flavors are blended, about 15 minutes or so.
17. Add Cheese
Add 1/2 cubed or shredded cheese to the soup and stir it in. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Take Your Soup to Work
This soup only gets better as it sits, so take a bowl with you to work or send some to school with your kids for a wholesome, filling lunch.
18. Serve the Soup
Now dish up the hot and creamy soup into individual bowls and top each with a bit more cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and some crumbled bacon. Serve.
Set of 4 Soup Crocks with Lids
Printable Potato Soup Recipe
- 2 Onions sliced thin
- 1 Tb Garlic
- 6 -8 Medium Potatoes cubed
- 6 cups Water
- 3 tsp Chicken Bouillon or 2 cubes
- 2 -2 1/2 cups Instant Mashed Potatoes still dehydrated
- 1 cup Dry Milk
- 1/4 cup Butter
- 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
- Pepper
- Salt
- Dash Sesame Oil (opt)
- 1/2 cup Sour Cream
- 1 cup Shredded Cheese divided
- 3 slices Bacon
Instructions
- Cook bacon pieces, preferably in a large soup pan or dutch oven. Set on paper towel covered plate to drain, then crumble.
- Saute onions and garlic in the bacon grease. Set aside.
- Pour out any leftover bacon grease. Add potatoes, water, and chicken bouillon to the pot. Stir until bouillon is completely dissolved. Cook the potatoes at medium-high heat until soft, about 15 minutes.
- Then, while stirring, slowly sprinkle in dry milk and instant mashed potatoes. Add enough to make the soup creamy. If too thin slowly add more dry milk and instant potatoes until the soup reaches almost the desired thickness. Soup will thicken a bit more as it cooks.
- Add butter to the soup. Let butter melt a little.
- Sprinkle in seasonings and the dash of sesame oil, if using.
- Using a potato masher, mash the mixture just a little so that about half the potatoes are mushed a little, but the soup is still nice and chunky.
- Lower heat and let simmer for a while until flavors are blended, about 15 minutes or so.
- Add 1/2 cubed or shredded cheese to the soup and stir it in. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
- Scoop potato soup into bowls, and then sprinkle and stir in more cheese into each bowl. Add a dollop of sour cream and sprinkling of crumbled bacon and serve.
Leave a comment and let me know if you've tried my soup or are going to. Thanks for visiting!