The idea for this recipe started when I had potatoes and onions that needed to be used up, but I didn't want to make my go-to Instant Pot potato soup. While I like that potato soup recipe, I wanted something richer and creamier with more of a bisque-like base.
The caramelized onions for this recipe are surprisingly easy. That portion of the recipe is adapted from Real Food by Dad's post How to Make Caramelized Onions the Fast Way.
Variations - No Onions and Vegetarian Versions
The great thing about this soup is that it can be easily customized to serve with or without onions even though it's technically a potato and onion soup. So, if your kids, husband, significant other, etc. don't like onions, this recipe is still A-ok! It's easy to make this modification because the onions are cooked separately from the soup and added back at the end.
For a vegetarian version, don't use the bacon and swap chicken stock with veggie stock. Skip the step for cooking the bacon, then just use a small amount of butter or olive oil to get the potatoes going.
Recommended Potato Types
I used Yukon Gold potatoes for this recipe, but any kind of yellow or white potato will do. I do not recommend red potatoes due to the lower starch content.
Equipment Recommendations
This recipe works best with a wide pot. I used my large oval enameled cast iron dutch oven. My dutch oven is Le Creuset, but I've also cooked with other brands, such as Lodge, and those also perform well. Note: If you have to use a narrower, taller stock pot, you may need to brown the potatoes in batches.
This recipe also uses an immersion blender (stick blender) to puree the potatoes. If you do not have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender. Important safety note: Allow the soup to cool completely before blending if you are using a regular blender. Blending hot liquids in a blender, especially ones that have been boiling like this one, can result in injury from the steam buildup (leading to an explosion of hot liquid).
Make Ahead/Reheat
This is a great make-ahead recipe because it reheats so easily. It will seem extremely thick when coming out of the fridge, but will loosen back up once reheated. The onions can be kept separately for topping or can be mixed into the soup. Keep the bacon separately and top each portion when serving. Otherwise, the bacon will lose its crispy texture.
The heavy cream can sometimes absorb some of the seasonings after this has been in the fridge for a bit. Give it a taste and add more seasonings as needed. I usually recommend starting with a dash or so of each. It's much easier to add gradually than fix if it gets over-seasoned.
Creamy Potato & Caramelized Onion Soup
Equipment
- Dutch oven or large pot large oval recommended
- Saute pan with lid medium to large size
Ingredients
Caramelized Onions
- 2 medium onions sliced (about 4 cups when sliced)
- ⅓ cup water
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 pinch baking soda (less than ⅛ tsp)
- 2 teaspoon water
Soup
- 2 lbs potatoes peeled, diced large
- 5 strips bacon chopped
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
Caramelized Onions
- Combine onions, ⅓ cup water, 2 teaspoon olive oil, and ¼ teaspoon salt in a saute pan.
- Bring to a boil. Cover and cook until the water evaporates (about 7 minutes).
- Remove cover. Reduce heat to medium. Spread onions evenly in the pan. Try to keep the onions in a single layer.
- Stir every 2 minutes until onions are soft, brown, and a little bit sticky (about 13 minutes). Try to keep the onions evenly distributed after each stir.
- Combine a pinch of baking soda with 2 teaspoon water. Add to onions. Stir constantly until the water evaporates.
- Transfer onions to a bowl and set aside. Tip: For easier clean-up later, deglaze the pan with some water now and set it aside.
Soup
- Cook the bacon in a large dutch oven or other large pot over medium heat. Stir frequently. Remove bacon and set aside on a paper towel lined plate.
- Add potatoes to the pot. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
- Cook the potatoes, stirring frequently, until most of the potatoes begin to get a little bit of brown on them. (Note: If you are using a tall, narrow stock pot, you may need to cook the potatoes in batches. They should be close to a single layer, max two.)
- Deglaze the pot by adding 1 cup of the chicken stock and scraping the browned bits from the bottom with a wooden spoon.
- Add remaining 3 cups chicken stock, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon paprika, and 1 teaspoon parsley. The potatoes should be fully covered by the stock.
- Bring to a boil. Boil until potatoes are fully cooked through (pierce with a fork to test).
- Turn off heat. Remove the pot from the burner (or it will continue to boil and will splatter).
- Carefully puree the soup with an immersion blender.
- Stir in the heavy cream.
- Top with bacon and caramelized onions before serving.
