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This soup is comfort food at its best. And on a snowy Colorado evening (we got 7 inches of fluffy snow last night!) comfort food is exactly what we want!
I started making this soup when we lived in Barcelona, Spain eighteen years ago. It wasn’t snowy there, but this comforting soup still felt like home. Everyone loved it back then – one friend even shared the recipe with his parents who started serving it in their restaurant! But somehow in the past few years I’ve let this recipe fall by the wayside as other comforting foods took its place.
And tonight was the night we decided to dust off the old recipe and introduce it to the kids.
I told Kai that it is basically macaroni and cheese in soup form. (It didn’t work. I don’t know why that kid doesn’t like soup.)
But for the rest of us, this chunky soup filled with potatoes, onions, carrots and a cheesy broth, and topped with crispy bacon was exactly what we wanted! We paired it with perfectly crispy garlic bread, which was the best for dipping!
Here are the details.
Best Ever Potato Cheese Soup Digest
- Drop 3 cups of peeled and cubed potatoes (3-4 medium potatoes) into a large stockpot.
- Add 1/2 cup chopped onion, one carrot, chopped, 1 tbsp. dried parsley, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. celery salt, 1/2 tsp. black pepper, and one can of chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender but still holding their shape.
- In a bowl, combine 3 tbsp. flour and 3 cups of milk, whisking until smooth. Add this mixture to the soup, and stir. Bring to a boil. Boil and stir for 1-2 minutes, until slightly thickened. Add 8 oz. American cheese, cubed. (Or today I used 12 slices American cheese, which worked great.)
- Stir over medium-low heat until the cheese is melted. Finally, stir in 6 slices of bacon, chopped and cooked until crispy.
- Serve with garlic bread.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Add potatoes, carrot, onion, and herbs and seasonings into the instant pot. Add the broth and stir. Pressure cook for 7 minutes and then use quick pressure release.
- With the Instant Pot set on Saute (high setting), Add the milk and flour mixture. Cook and stir until boiling and then cook and stir for one minute more.
- With the Instant Pot on the Keep Warm setting, add the American cheese, stirring until it’s melted.
- Top with crispy bacon pieces before serving.
Enjoy!
Best Ever Potato Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 3 cups potatoes, peeled and chopped (Russet)
- ½ cup onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp celery seed
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
- 3 tbsp flour
- 3 cups milk
- 8 oz American cheese
- 6 slices bacon, chopped and cooked
Instructions
Conventional Instructions
- Add the potatoes, onion, carrots, parsley, salt, celery seed, pepper and chicken broth to a large stockpot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender, but not falling apart.
- In a bowl, stir together the flour and the milk, whisking until smooth. Add to the pot, stirring. Cook and stir until boiling and then cook and stir for 1-2 minutes longer, until slightly thickened.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Add cheese. Stir until melted.
- Top with bacon before serving.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Add potatoes, carrots, onion, parsley, salt, celery seed, pepper, and broth to the Instant Pot.
- Pressure cook for 7 minutes. Quick pressure release when done.
- In a bowl, mix the milk and flour. Turn the Instant Pot to Saute (high setting) and add milk mixture. Stir until boiling. Cook and stir for one more minute until slightly thickened.
- Turn the Instant Pot to the Keep Warm setting. Add the American cheese, and stir until melted.
- Top with bacon before serving.
