Photo: Leigh Loftus
It’s June. Barbecues, sundresses, flip-flops and frozen margaritas. School is out, summer Fridays are on and your neighborhood pool is open for the season. So why am I making soup? Not a cool summer soup like chilled avocado soup but a creamy, comforting loaded baked potato soup that will stick to your ribs and heal all that is wrong in the world.
Why am I making that in June, a month reserved for pasta salads, panzanella and cookouts?
The truth is, I don’t have a good answer for you. I found myself with a surplus of potatoes in my crisper and wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do with them. Baked potatoes felt like a cop-out, mashed potatoes would have been a five-pound gain waiting to happen and potato pancake season is December, isn’t it?
The one thing I can give you is that when the seasons change (and in any climate I’ve ever lived in it seems like we go from 40 degrees to 80 degrees overnight) people get sick: between seasonal allergies and colds, coughs and sore throats it seems like every day, someone else is down for the count. And really, isn’t chicken soup awfully boring?
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 5-6 large white baking potatoes, peeled, rinsed and cut into cubes
- 1 medium white onion 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
- 1 cup low-fat or fat-free milk
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 6 slices cooked bacon, fat drained
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- salt and pepper, to taste
- Heat olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and potatoes and cook until vegetables soften, about 8-10 minutes.
- Add chicken broth and milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and add cream, stirring consistently. Let soup simmer on low for 30 to 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook bacon according to package directions. Crumble into small pieces and add to soup, stirring to combine. Add cheddar cheese and parsley; stir until cheese is melted. Season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with chives, green onions or sour cream if desired.
10 Comments
runnerforever
June 9, 2010 at 4:47 pmMy dad loves potato soup, I bet he would like like it!
Heather @ chiknpastry
June 8, 2010 at 11:23 amLove potato soup – never a bad time for it!
Barbara
June 8, 2010 at 9:13 amYum. Your soup is loaded with all the goodies I like on my baked potato!
Marvelous, Maris
Daryl
June 8, 2010 at 6:31 amMy all time favorite soup. This looks so incredible
mandy
June 7, 2010 at 10:51 pmI love potato soup any time of the year. Lately I’ve been throwing potato’s on the grill. One of my favorite way to enjoy them in the summer.
Joanne
June 7, 2010 at 2:57 pmLoaded baked potato soup sounds good to me any time of the year. I think bacon and cheese are pretty ubiquitous don’t you think?
M @ Betty Crapper
June 7, 2010 at 10:41 amI live in Miami. If I waited for cool weather to arrive, I would never have soup. Any time is a good time for soup in my book (especially when my thermostat is set to 65F).
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)
June 7, 2010 at 7:52 amCheese, bacon, potatoes… oh, how I wish I could!
Michelle @ Give Me the Almond Butter
June 7, 2010 at 1:19 amThat looks so fantastic! I love baked potato soups in bread bowls. Carb heaven 🙂
DessertForTwo
June 7, 2010 at 1:07 amMy mom has a great recipe for thick potato soup that looks a lot like this…the only thing missing is sour cream! I love a good soup anytime of year–don’t apologize! 🙂