You know the cliché of licking the bowl when you make a fluffy, yummy cupcake frosting? Well, I have hit a new mark when it comes to bowl-scraping goodness. This soup. Along with spoon scraping every last drop of this soup, I was dancing around my kitchen singing, “Best soup ever. Best soup ev-errrrrrr.” My husband, who actually chose to have leftover spaghetti and meatless balls instead of this soup wasn’t in on my soup-satisfaction. But I can guarantee you that when I serve him a bowl tonight, he will be dancing along with me.
The Best Creamy Potato Soup. Rich and silky, creamy and luscious. Spicy, kinda cheezy, and lovingly smoky, with an accent of sweetness somewhere underneath all those rich, bold savory layers. But really, it is all about the texture. This classic thick, velvety, creamy potato texture that doesn’t come from just a quick heat and serve method. You slowly simmer this soup to let the starchiness from the potatoes mingle with the cauliflower and spices and wait for the soup magic to happen. I hope you try this soup and do a soup-happy dance in your kitchen as well..
The best. I do not use that label often. I even checked. All my “bests” are here.
My 25 Best Vegan Pumpkin Recipes
My Best Ice Cream
My 7 Tips for the Best Matcha Latte
My Best Vegan Cookie Recipe
My Best Little Snack Cookies to Nibble
So today, my best potato soup. Love love love this recipe.
Ingredients Chatter:
That white yam.. I had one small sized white yam that I used in this recipe. I think the white yam really helped both the texture (white yams are incredibly starchy and dense) and flavor, they have a mild sweetness. So if you can find a small white yam for this recipe that is the best outcome. BUT if you cannot find a white yam you have two options: 1) try a small regular sweet potato. But this will change the color a bit. 2) Use another plain white potato and if you’d like, add a teaspoon of maple or agave syrup to add a tiny accent of sweetness.
But seek out that white yam! They are pretty awesome in creamy soups. Anyone who has my cookbook will know that I actually have a soup called White Velvet Soup which uses white sweet potatoes. Sooooo good.
Shopping Tip: White yams/sweet potatoes may also be called Japanese sweet potatoes in the store. They usually have purple or purple-red skin and their skin seems a bit thinner than most orange sweet potatoes.
For the regular “white” potatoes, I used two extra large round-ish red potatoes and peeled off about 75% of the skin. I left some on just to add some extra fiber/nutrients because potato skin is so dense in those good things. You could also use one large russet potato (peeled) or two large yellow (round) potatoes. Lots of options for the white potatoes.
For Vegan Bacon, aka facon, I used Sweet Earth Food’s Benevolent Bacon. But you could also use vegan tempeh bacon.
Just make sure you simmer is slow + low. For as long as you can restrain yourself from pouring a bowl. It is all about the simmer.
The Best Creamy Potato Soup
By
Published 11/13/2015
Ingredients
- 2-3 large red potatoes, mostly peeled + chopped
- 1 small cauliflower or 1/2 large cauliflower, thick stems removed – broken into florets
- 1 small white sweet potato (could be replaced with regular sweet potato or another white potato)
- 1 Tbsp spices (my blend had: ancho chili, paprika, cumin, curry, turmeric, onion)
- 1 large sweet onion, diced
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 2-3 cups vegetable broth OR vegan ‘chickenless’ broth
- 1/2 cup diced vegan “bacon bits” – try: DIY smoky tempeh bacon or vegan Benevolent Bacon by SweetEarthFoods
- 3 cloves garlic
- Optional Garnish:
- diced avocado + lime juice
- more vegan bacon bits on top
- Also: salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a giant pot of water to a boil and add all the potatoes and the cauliflower. Boil until tender. If the cauliflower cook faster than your potatoes, you can start straining out whatever is “done” and add it to you large blender container.
- Onion: Add half of the portion of onion to the blender and the other half to a separate side bowl. This side bowl will be all your fold in “chunky” ingredients. So the soup is mostly pureed, but with some chunky accents. Also to this bowl you can add 1 cup cooked cauliflower and 1 cup of the cooked chopped potatoes.
- To the blender: Add all the cooked potatoes and cauliflower — except for the reserved portions you just added to the chunky add ins side bowl. Also add in the spices, nutritional yeast, EVOO, garlic and as much broth as you can add without overloading your blender. BLEND until silky and creamy.
- Empty out the big pot you have been using. Pour the blended mixture into the pot and turn the heat to medium. Fold in the “chunky side bowl” ingredients (potatoes, cauliflower and some onion). Also add in the bay leaf. Stir everything together. If your soup is really thick, like a soft hummus or thick pea soup, you need to add more broth. If it is nice and thin like a marinara sauce, then that is a good place to be. You will be simmering low and long. That will slowly thicken the soup.
- Simmer the soup over low-medium heat, uncovered if you are trying to thicken it and covered if you are happy with the consistency. I simmered for about 45 minutes before serving.
- About ten minutes before serving, fold in the vegan bacon bits. You can fold these in cold or saute them in a separate pan first. After adding the vegan bacon, do a taste test and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve your soup with optional avocado and more vegan bacon bits on top. Enjoy!
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 00 hrs. 10 mins.
Cook time: 00 hrs. 50 mins.
Total time: 60 mins.
Tags: soup,potato,cauliflower,vegan,creamy,entree,comfort food,
Estimate using tempeh bacon (per serving – 4 servings total):
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