Cheesy Potato Soup

Perfect soup to warm you up. I just found this recipe this winter and have made it several times already. Its a great base to add whatever you like.

Attribution Link

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 8

Ingredients

1/2 stick of butter
1 cup diced carrots (1/4″ dice)
4 cups chicken broth
5 cups peeled, diced russet potatoes
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup flour
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated (2 cups)

Directions

Make the soup:
Melt 1 Tbsp of the butter in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and saute until softened ~ 3 to 4 minutes. Add the broth, potatoes, basil, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; lower the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender ~ about 20 minutes.

Make the cheese sauce:
Meanwhile, melt the remaining 3 Tbsp butter in a saucepan over medium high heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook until thickened ~ 2 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until melted and thoroughly combined. Gradually pour the sauce into the soup and stir until thoroughly blended.

This is the basic recipe, you can change it up and add whatever you like. I really liked, instead of carrots, broccoli in this soup, but I added it once the potatoes were cooked so the broccoli didn’t turn to mush. Some bacon bits and sour-cream is yummy. I even threw in some corn and chicken one night for a cheesy chicken chowder.

Categories: Cream Soups, Potatoes, Soups & Stews

Submitted by: lauren on January 17, 2011