Recipe Review: Baked Potato Soup

On Thursday nights a lot of people in my house come home super late so its hard to have a family dinner. We always crowd around the dining room table when the last person comes home, and usually everyone is nibbly, so we make a soup on those nights. This past week I had some potatoes lying around and debated about making a Vichyssoise. I didn't have all of the ingredients and wasn't able to get to the store so I searched online for a better recipe. I found one for Baked Potato Soup. It sounded awesome so I figured I might as well give it a try.

Baked Potato Soup

The recipe states that it is a good way to use up leftover baked potato. No one in my house lets baked potatoes go to waste so we usually don't have any leftover. I had raw potatoes sitting around so I figured I'd just bake them and use them. I baked them in a 450 degree oven for 45 minutes and they came out nice and tender.

This soup was delicious! I put in the called for amounts of all of the ingredients and thought that it was a little too peppery for my tastes, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. It was also a little thick, so I'd suggest doing what someone wrote in the comments and using 4 cups of milk and 3 cups of chicken stock. I'm sure this will slightly alter the taste, but I don't think it will by much. Besides the pepper and the fact that it was thick, the soup was really tasty and very filling. I filled an entire bowl for everyone and only managed to finish half of mine.

The thickening part of the soup took a while so don't freak out if it doesn't seem to be thickening. I think it took around 10 minutes for it to actually thicken. I had meant to time it but I was reading a book while I was stirring and completely lost track of time. Just continue stirring until it seems thick.

One other recommendation I have is to cut the potatoes into larger chunks. It might just be me but I prefer to have large chunks of potato in my soup (ones that I can actually see). I cut the potatoes pretty small and they just seemed to get lost in the entire soup.

The soup doesn't take too long to make and is a tasty treat for the family. I definitely recommend making this soup for a cold winter day. The below recipe is altered with my suggestions, feel free to click on the link to find the original recipe.

Recipe

Original Recipe from: All Recipes
Serves: 6       Prep Time: 15 minutes    Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

8 slices bacon                  

2/3 cup butter                                                     

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
3 cups chicken stock

4 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed

4 green onions, chopped

1 1/4 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

 

Directions

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium heat until browned. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
2. In a stock pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk, whisking constantly until thickened (about 10 minutes). Stir in potatoes and onions. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
3. Reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Mix in bacon, cheese, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted.