Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon, cut into pieces…I used low sodium bacon
- ½ chopped medium-sized sweet onion
- 3 tbsp AP flour
- 1 32-ounce container low-sodium chicken broth (4 cups)
- 3 pounds red potatoes, cut into 1-1 ½ inch pieces (leave the skin ON!)
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese…sharp white is my fav
- 2 cups whole milk – you can buy a 2 cup container so you don’t have leftovers
- kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper as desired
- Optional toppings: chopped chives/green onions, leftover bacon, more cheese!
- Heat a stockpot over med-high heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp, remove with a slotted spoon onto a plate lined with paper towels, leaving bacon grease in stockpot.
- Reduce heat to medium, add onions. Cook until soft and translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Sprinkle flour over onions and cook, stirring constantly for about a minute
- Slowly pour in chicken stock, whisking constantly until smooth. Add potatoes plus salt & pepper, bring to a boil then simmer until potatoes are very soft. I cooked mine for about 18 minutes
- Using a potato masher (since I don’t have one, I used a handheld electric mixer…hint hint Jerome…), mash up the potatoes so it thickens the soup – note leave some chunks! Stir in cheese until melted and smooth; then add in about ¾ of the bacon (or all if you don’t want some for toppings!). Add milk, bring back to a simmer and cook for an additional 10 minutes until very hot.
- Ladle soup into bowls and top each as desired. I had added all the bacon into the soup, so I just chopped up some chives from the garden and voila!