Creamy Potato Bacon Soup
Creamy potato and bacon soup is the ultimate cozy food for Fall. This soup will definitely hit all of your comfort zones!
Flavourful yellow-fleshed potatoes, crisp and smoky bacon, zesty thyme and rich, creamy broth combine to create the ultimate in comfort food. Scoop up every last drop of soup with a chunk of crusty bread.
How long does Potato Bacon Soup take to make?
This soup goes together quite quickly, and only needs about 10 minutes to simmer after all of the ingredients are added. Total time: 30 minutes.
Let’s look at the ingredients in detail
Yellow Potatoes – I like using yellow-fleshed potatoes, such as Yukon Gold, in this soup because the colour is so beautiful! The potatoes have a creamy texture, and don’t dissolve into the soup once they’re cooked.
Bacon – I used regular smoked bacon; not thick cut or flavoured in any way. If you like the sweeter, maple-smoked bacon — thick cut if you like it — you can go ahead and use it! The bacon is here to add fat and smokiness.
Chicken stock – Using a good quality chicken stock will make a huge difference in the final flavour of the soup. I used organic stock that comes in 1 litre-size tetrapaks.
Aromatics – Celery, shallots, and fresh thyme leaves will add depth of flavour to the potato bacon soup.
Butter, flour, cream – These ingredients make up a soft-of roux, which thickens the soup and gives it that beautiful creaminess. It’s not a traditional roux — where you would use equal parts butter and flour — my version will thicken the soup only slightly, without thickening it all the way to a stew.
Can I Make Substitutions?
Yellow Potatoes – You can substitute yellow potatoes for any thin-skinned potato, like a new potato for example. I would not use russet potatoes (you might know them as baking potatoes) because their texture is too grainy, and the potatoes may fall apart when the soup is finished cooking.
Bacon – As I mentioned above, you can use any kind of bacon you prefer, as long as it is the kind that will render out some fat. Turkey bacon would taste great, but it won’t give you much fat at all. If you would like to use turkey bacon, please add oil to the pot after the bacon is finished cooking.
Shallots – If you can’t find shallots, you could use finely diced white onion – about 1 tablespoon of finely diced onion would equal to one shallot.
Chicken stock – You could substitute vegetable stock for chicken stock.
Heavy cream – Feel free to lighten up this recipe by substituting the heavy cream with half milk and half cream. If you use all milk, I would recommend using full fat milk, and simmer the roux a few minutes longer to get it thickened.
All-purpose flour – Any alternative flour would work here, if it is able to be used as a thickener. My suggestions would be arrowroot flour or tapioca starch. Nut flours just do not work in this recipe.
Can Potato Bacon Soup be make Gluten-Free?
Yes! Use GF bacon and one of the flour substitutes listed above, and this soup can be made gluten-free.
Is there a Vegan option for Potato Bacon Soup?
Yes, you can make this soup into a vegan version! Here are my substitution recommendations:
- Bacon – substitute with a plant-based bacon, and add oil to the pot after it’s cooked.
- Cream – There are great non-dairy heavy creams on the market. Do you have a favourite? Let me know, I would love to try it!
- Chicken stock — use your favourite vegetable stock.
- Butter – Use a plant-based butter for this.
If you make a vegan version of this recipe, I would love to know how you liked it.
The Potato Bacon Soup Method
This recipe goes together quickly, so preparing all of your ingredients ahead of time and having them ready to go — your mise en place — will make the process go smoothly. You won’t have to rush around, and you won’t forget anything!
Peel and cut the potatoes into bite-size pieces and set aside. Cut out any blemishes in the potatoes.
Slice the bacon into bite-size pieces, and set aside.
Slice your celery, dice your shallots, and mince up your fresh thyme leaves, and set aside.
Measure out your liquids – stock and cream, and have them ready to go.
Measure out your butter and flour, and place them nearby.
Finally, before you start cooking, have your large dutch oven, large pot, large spoon, and whisk ready to go. The dutch oven is for the soup, and the large pot is where you’ll make the roux.
Get your large dutch oven or stew pot heated up over medium high heat and cook the bacon until just about crispy. Save some of the bacon for garnish!
Lower the heat to medium, and add the sliced celery, diced shallots, and thyme and stir that until every bit is coated in that delicious bacon fat.
Once the celery starts to soften, add the potatoes. Stir the potatoes until it’s all mixed into the bacon fat.
Pour in the chicken stock, turn up the heat to medium high, and bring to a bubbling simmer.
Now heat up your large pot over medium heat, and once it’s hot, add the butter. Stir until the butter is melted.
Grab your whisk, and add the flour to the melted butter. Whisk that all together until it’s smooth and there are no more lumps.
Once that mixture is smooth, add the cream a bit at a time (it will bubble up and steam!), until all the cream is stirred in. Whisk continuously so it doesn’t burn. Once the cream mixture starts to thicken and turn a golden colour, you can take it off the heat and add it to the soup pot.
Stir the soup and let simmer gently for another 10 minutes. Test the potatoes and when they’re done, the soup is done! Add salt & pepper to taste, if necessary.
Creamy Potato Bacon Soup
Equipment
- 1 Dutch oven large
- 1 Pot large
- 1 Spoon large
- 1 Whisk
Ingredients
- 6 yellow potatoes, medium-size Peeled, cut into bite-size pieces
- 6 slices bacon Cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 stalks celery sliced
- 3 small shallots finely diced
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme minced
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 6 tbsp butter
- 2.5 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 cups heavy cream
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook bacon until crisp. Save some bacon for garnish, if desired. Lower heat and add celery, shallots and thyme and stir until combined.
- Add potatoes and stir, then add chicken stock. If necessary, add enough water to just cover potatoes. Bring potatoes to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer while you make your roux.
- In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter and add flour, stirring until smooth. Add cream, a bit at a time, whisking until thickened. Add to soup.
- Simmer soup over medium-low heat for another 10 minutes. Add more salt & pepper to taste, if necessary. Garnish with more chopped bacon. Serve with a crusty, artisan bread.
Notes
