Description
This Ultimate Creamy Potato Soup is a comforting, hearty dish perfect for chilly days. Featuring tender potatoes blended into a smooth, velvety base enriched with heavy cream and seasoned with thyme, it’s elevated by crispy sausage and optional cheddar cheese and green onions for an indulgent finish.
Ingredients
Scale
Meat
- 4 slices sausage, diced
Vegetables
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 large potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1/4 cup chopped green onions (optional, for garnish)
Dairy
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional, for topping)
Pantry
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook the Sausage: In a large pot over medium heat, cook diced sausage until golden and slightly crispy, rendering flavorful drippings.
- Remove Sausage: Use a slotted spoon to take out the cooked sausage and set it aside, leaving the drippings in the pot for extra flavor.
- Sauté Vegetables: Add the diced onion to the pot and sauté in the sausage drippings for 3-4 minutes until softened and fragrant.
- Add Garlic: Stir in the minced garlic and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant, being careful not to burn it.
- Make the Roux: Melt the butter in the same pot, then stir in the flour. Cook this mixture for 1-2 minutes until it turns lightly golden, forming a roux to thicken the soup.
- Create the Broth: Gradually whisk in the chicken broth and milk, ensuring that no lumps form and the mixture is smooth.
- Cook the Potatoes: Add the diced potatoes and dried thyme to the pot. Let the soup simmer gently for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.
- Blend and Cream: Use an immersion blender to puree the soup to your desired consistency, either fully smooth or slightly chunky. Then stir in the heavy cream and season with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Serve: Ladle the creamy soup into bowls and top with the crispy cooked sausage, shredded cheddar cheese, and chopped green onions for garnish if desired.
Notes
- For a vegetarian version, omit sausage and use vegetable broth.
- You can substitute milk with a dairy-free alternative to reduce lactose.
- Adjust thickness by blending more or less and adding extra broth if needed.
- Leftover soup stores well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Reheat gently on stovetop to prevent curdling the cream.
