Amie’s Famous Potato Soup
Creamy, flavorful, and a little bit cheesy, this is the recipe for my famous Potato Soup! I’ve been making this Potato Soup recipe for years (probably over a decade now), and it is one of the most requested dishes that I make! This Potato Soup is super flavorful! Seriously, I don’t say that lightly! To me, there is nothing worse than a potato soup with no flavor, that essentially just tastes like potatoes and cream and salt. This Potato Soup recipe features a creamy broth that is flavoured with thyme, basil, lots of pepper, and a good amount of chicken bouillon, for that salty, but flavorful touch! It is finished with a handful of sharp cheddar cheese (because, duh, cheese), creating a silky, creamy, cheesy, flavorful (can I add in anymore adjectives here?) Potato Soup that will seriously blow your mind!
How to Make the Potato Soup
Making this potato soup recipe involves 2 components: boiling the potatoes, and making a bechamel.
1.Add vegetables, spices, and chicken stock to pot: Add the cubed potatoes, diced onions, chicken stock, spices, and bouillion cubes to a large soup pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the potatoes are cooked through.
2. Remove half of potatoes from pot and mash: Remove half of the cooked potato cubes from the pot (it’s okay if some onions and stock come with it), and place them into a separate bowl. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes.
3. Make the bechamel: Add butter to a medium sized pot over medium heat. Once the butter begins to bubble, add the flour and whisk to combine. Once the roux begins to bubble, slowly drizzle the cold milk into the pot, stirring while you drizzle. After all the milk has been added, heat the bechamel over medium heat until it bubbles and begins to thicken.
4. Add bechamel and mashed potatoes into pot: Pour the thickened bechamel, shredded cheddar, and the reserved mashed potatoes into the pot with the stock and potato cubes. Using a spoon or a spatula, fold the soup together until well combined.
5. Serve: Season with salt & pepper, then serve the potato soup with additional cheese and bacon bits, if you’d like!
Tips for Success
• Making a perfect bechamel is essential for this soup. After creating your roux, add cold milk. Cold milk is crucial to a proper bechamel because it ensures no lumps form. As well, you want to make sure you don’t overcook your bechamel either. The bechamel is ready when it reaches nappe consistency. Nappe consistency means that it coats the back of a spoon evenly. The consistency will be similar to full-fat buttermilk.
◦ It is important to watch the potatoes for proper doneness. You don’t want to overcook the potatoes – the potatoes should be fork tender, not falling apart or anything.
• Only add just enough chicken broth so that it is about 1″ above the potatoes. Too much chicken broth will result in a thinner soup.
◦ I like to have a mixture of potato cubes and more mashed potatoes in the soup. The cubes provide a texture component, while mashing some of the potatoes thickens the soup up nicely. I like to remove half of the cooked potato cubes and place them into a separate bowl. Then, using a potato masher, I mash the other half of the potatoes with the chicken broth. Then I just pour the cubes potatoes, along with the bechamel, back into the pot, then fold it all together!
Substitutions and Variations
• This potato soup can easily be made vegetarian by using vegetable broth and chicken-flavoured vegetarian boullion, such as this one (I have personally tried this one and it’s great!) or this one
◦ I like to use russet potatoes, as they’re easy to find and I like the texture, however Yukon golds can be used as well. Just stay away from waxy potatoes like red potatoes.
• The recipe calls for whole milk, but any milk from 1% to half & half (10%) cream can be used!
◦ This soup can be made gluten free. You will need to substitute a cornstarch & water slurry for the traditional roux. (1/4 cup flour = 1/8 cup cornstarch)
Get the Recipe: Amie’s Famous Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 6 Russet Potatoes,, peeled and cut into 1 ½” cubes
- 1 Sweet Onion,, diced small
- 4-5 cups of Chicken Broth, (should be about 1” above potatoes)
- 2 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
- 1 ½ tsp Dried Thyme
- 1 ½ tsp Dried Basil
- 1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter
- 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
- 3 cups Whole Milk
- 1/2 – 1 cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar,, preferably white
- Salt & Pepper,, to taste
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, add potatoes, onion, chicken broth, chicken bouillon cubes, thyme, basil, and black pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium and simmer until potatoes are fork tender.
- Remove about half of the potatoes into a separate bowl, then mash these potatoes with a potato masher. After mostly mashed, pour back into the stock pot.
- Meanwhile, add butter to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted starts to bubble, add the flour, then whisk together to combine. Once the roux begins to boil, slowly poor the milk, whisking as you pour.
- After all the milk has been added, continue to heat the bechamel, while continuously whisking. Heat the bechamel until it begins to bubble and has thickened to the consistency of buttermilk. Remove from heat, then pour into the stock pot with the potatoes.
- Add the shredded cheese to the soup, then stir until everything is well combined, and the cheese has melted.
