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Mr. Savory Tooth came home sick from our recent trip over the holidays, so I made him a comforting and creamy potato soup topped with extra crispy bacon, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, and sliced chives. It’s a simple and easy-to-make potato soup, mainly composed of potatoes, onions, milk, and lots of garlic. This soup came out so good — it was instantly devoured, and I think the leftovers tasted even better — that I’m excited to share it here with everyone.
I whipped out this potato soup in my dutch oven, but any large pot will do. You only need one pot for this recipe, so cleanup is easy. The bacon gets cooked first, so that its delicious leftover grease can be used afterwards for pan-searing the chopped onions and potatoes. I also used an entire bulb of garlic — we love garlic here — but less is acceptable as well. The potatoes don’t take long to cook and were done after about 15 minutes of simmering in the soup.
For more potato goodness, check out my German potato salad with bacon or my bacon hash browns, which are really just the same as this bacon potato soup, but in disguise.
Creamy potato soup with bacon and cheddar
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Russet potatoes (about 2 large), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 6 bacon slices
- 1 onion, chopped
- 10 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add bacon to the pot and cook until crispy, 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel to drain. When cool, crumble into small pieces.
- Add onions to the pot with the bacon grease and cook until they soften, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add potatoes, garlic, salt, and pepper to the pot. Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add flour to the pot, and stir until the ingredients are well-mixed, a few minutes.
- Add water and stir until well-mixed. Add milk and stir. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then reduce heat to medium-low to simmer until the potatoes are cooked, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent potatoes from sticking to the pan's bottom.
- Serve in bowls topped with crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar, and chopped chives.
