It’s like a baked potato, but in a soup format – and it’s out of this world delicious! This loaded potato soup is wholesome, packed with flavour and every spoonful of soup is like a spoonful of love enveloping you. It’s especially good on a cold day when you need something to warm up your body and lighten your mood.
This is how I make my loaded potato soup…
Use a heavy duty pot, like a dutch oven or one of those thick, stainless pots. I cut macon (beef bacon) into small pieces and fry it to render the fat. I like my macon crispy. Once fried to perfection, scoop it out and set aside. The fat left behind shouldn’t be more than two tablespoons. If you want less fat, scoop some out. The fat is partly what takes this soup to a new dimension.
Cook the onions, leek and garlic in the yummy macon oils and and scrape down the bottom of the pot as much as you can. Add the flour and stir through to make sure all the flour is moist. It will stick to the bottom of the pot, but the beef broth will magically lift all of that off and help to thicken the soup. While simmering, stir the pot every few minutes to ensure it’s not sticking to the bottom.
Top with freshly grated cheddar cheese – sharp is best – as well as sour cream and macon. And of course some green herb to pretty it up even further. I used dried chives. You can add the sour cream directly to the pot, but I prefer to add it as a topping in the bowl,
If you’re a soup lover like me, try out my mushroom soup recipe. It’s really good!
Loaded potato soup
Equipment
- Heavy duty pot
- Wooden spoon
- Cup measure
- Chopping board
- Knife
Ingredients
- 200 g macon (beef bacon) chopped into small pieces
- 1/2 large yellow onion diced
- 1 leek chopped
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 kg potatoes chopped into small pieces
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 500 ml beef broth
- 1/2 cup cream
- 700 ml water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
Toppings
- grated cheddar cheese
- freshly ground black pepper
- macon bits
- green onion or dried chives
- sour cream
Instructions
- Fry the macon and render the fat. Once crispy, scoop the macon out and set aside. Keep about two tablespoons of the fat.
- Fry the onion and leek until translucent. Then add the garlic and cook for a few minutes.
- Stir in the flour until well incorporated with the onions. It will look dry and stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Add a third of the beef broth and deglaze the pot.
- Add the remainder beef broth, water, cream, salt, rosemary and potatoes. Simmer until the potatoes are soft. The soup will thicken.
- When dishing into a serving bowl, add a dollop of sour cream, cheddar cheese, macon and pepper to taste – and enjoy!