This potato cheese soup recipe is made with a blend of cheddar and Gruyère cheeses, and it's loaded with bacon! Made in one pot, ready in less than an hour, and you only need a few ingredients. It's great for quick weeknight dinners and cozy weekend meals.
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On that first drizzly night of fall, when I'm not used to the weather yet, and the cold is making me cranky, and I just want to go home to something comforting, I make this creamy potato cheese soup with bacon.
It's like wrapping a cozy, creamy, cheesy, bacon blanket around yourself.
We're changing up the traditional potato cheese soup recipe situation by using Gruyère as well as cheddar for extra creaminess.
Adding a hoppy pale ale provides great aroma, earthiness, and umami that will make you think this soup has been simmering all day, when really you made it in less than an hour.
Speaking of bacon in soups, Corn Chowder with Bacon and Sweet Potatoes is a great early fall option. My Sweet Potato Soup is beyond delicious, it's made with coconut milk and loads of sage!
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Ingredients you'll need
You may have almost everything you need for this potato cheese soup recipe already in your pantry. That's why it's one of my favorites. It can be made on a whim!
- Russet potatoes: We're using hardy Russets here, they'll stand up to the cheese and the milk without turning gummy like Yukon Gold potatoes would.
- Sharp cheddar and Gruyère cheese: You always want sharp cheddar cheese in a potato soup for its sharpness, and we'll add Gruyère for the creamy, meltiness of it all. Trader Joe's actually sells a block of cheese that is a blend of the two, if you can find that, definitely use it! I do!
- Bacon: The bacon fat will serve as our fat for sweating the onions and carrots and will permeate the whole soup with a wonderful smoky flavor.
- Beer: I like to use an IPA or American Pale Ale, because it has a little bite and a great aroma. If you like a milder flavor, use a Kolsch or blond lager.
- Whole milk: Yes, just milk! You don't need heavy cream for my potato cheese soup recipe because the Gruyère is already so creamy it will carry that load.
- Carrots, onion and chicken broth: These are the final ingredients that make up the base of our cheesy soup!
- Sour cream: Optional topping
How to make potato cheese soup
Recipe adapted from relish.com
Step 1: Chop the vegetables and the bacon
Dice the onion and carrots, cut the bacon into ½ inch squares, give the potatoes a rough chop.
Step 2: Cook the bacon, onions and carrots
In a heavy-bottomed stock pot, fry the bacon until crisp and fat is rendered. Remove from pan and set aside.
In the same pan, add a pat of butter, sauté onions and carrots in butter and bacon grease over medium heat until onions become translucent and carrots begin to get tender.
Step 3: Add potatoes, bacon and chicken stock and simmer the soup
Add chicken stock, bacon and potatoes to pan. (Save a bit of bacon for garnish at the end.) Season with some salt - not too much at this stage as the cheese and bacon will add to the salt content. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes until potatoes are fork tender.
Step 4: Blend the soup until smooth
Remove from heat and blend with an immersion blender until smooth. I have a Braun Multiquick immersion blender that I've had for years. It's one of my favorite kitchen tools.
You might have to add a splash of chicken stock while blending if the mixture is very thick.
Be careful not to add too much stock, as the beer and milk that you are going to add later will thin out the soup and you want it to stay thick and hearty.
Step 5: Add the beer, cheese and milk to the potato soup mixture
Stir in the beer, then the cheddar and Gruyère cheese, then the milk. You can do this over very low heat because the gruyere might take a minute to melt. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Remove from heat, ladle into bowls and top your potato soup with bacon and a bit more shredded cheddar cheese. Add a dollop of sour cream on top if you like!
FAQ
Choose a cheese with a high moisture content like Gruyere, cheddar, Swiss or fontina. These are all good melting cheeses and will blend into soups well.
Yes, this soup freezes well. I always make extra so I'll have a freezer stash! Chill in the fridge first, then store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to two months.
Potato cheese soup recipe tips
- Using an immersion blender makes this recipe super easy. If you don't have one, you can use a regular blender. Just keep in mind that you must use caution when blending hot liquids. You can only blend a small amount of hot liquids at a time, and be sure to vent the top of the blender so it doesn't explode all over you kitchen.
- It's important that you add beer, then cheese, then milk, in that order. I don't know why exactly, it has something to do with the carbonation in the beer. Science!!
- If you don't want to cook with alcohol, you can eliminate the beer and replace with additional chicken broth.
Storage, freezing and reheating instructions
- Store leftover potato cheese soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- To freeze, let the soup cool completely, then place in an airtight container and chill in the refrigerator overnight. Transfer to the freezer for up to two months.
- To reheat, place over medium low heat so the milk and cheese do not scorch. You may have to add a splash of chicken stock when reheating.
More easy soup recipes
- Chicken Pot Pie Soup is another easy weeknight option because it uses chicken that is already cooked! Use leftovers or rotisserie chicken.
- For a taste of spring, try Soupe au Pistou, a classic French recipe.
- Black Eyed Pea Soup is a tradition for us on New Year's Day.
This potato cheese soup is creamy, cheesy and makes a fast and easy weeknight meal!
- Made with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.
- Only 10 minutes of prep time!
- Made in one pot.
- It's gluten free.
- Ready in about 40 minutes.
- Freezes well so make an extra batch!
Recipe
Potato Cheese Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 large Russet potatoes, roughly chopped (about 8 cups)
- 4 slices bacon roughly chopped
- 3 carrots roughly chopped
- 1 onion white or yellow, roughly chopped
- 4 oz cheddar cheese mild or medium, grated
- 4 oz gruyere cheese grated
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup beer pale ale or other hoppy beer
- 1 cup whole milk
- sour cream optional topping
Instructions
- In a heavy-bottomed stock pot, fry the bacon until crisp and fat is rendered. Remove from pan and set aside.
- In the same pan, add a pat of butter, sauté onions and carrots in butter and bacon grease until onions become translucent and carrots begin to get tender.
- Add chicken stock, bacon and potatoes to pan. (Save a bit of bacon for garnish at the end.) Season with some salt - not too much at this stage as the cheese and bacon will add to the salt content. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes until potatoes are fork tender.
- Remove from heat and blend with an immersion blender until smooth. You might have to add a splash of chicken stock during this process if the mixture is very thick. Be careful not to add too much, as the beer and milk that you are going to add later will thin out the soup and you want it to stay thick and hearty.
- Stir in the beer, then the cheese, then the milk. You can do this over very low heat because the gruyere might take a minute to melt. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Remove from heat, ladle into bowls and top with bacon and a bit more cheese.
Notes
- Using an immersion blender makes this recipe super easy. I've had my Braun Multiquick immersion blender for years and it's one of my favorite kitchen tools. If you don't have one, you can use a regular blender. Just keep in mind that you must use caution when blending hot liquids. You can only blend a small amount of hot liquids at a time, and be sure to vent the top of the blender so it doesn't explode all over you kitchen.
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