Todays recipe is a little more indulgent than it is healthy. I made vegetarian baked potato soup out of some leftover baked potatoes, and it was the perfect comfort food for a cold winter day.
I say that this recipe is more indulgent because it is heavy on the dairy and saturated fats. There are some recipes that just don’t work well when you try to lighten them up, and that’s ok. Reserve them for special occasions, not your weekly rotation.
This soup also comes together very fast using already-baked potatoes. Some soups need to simmer to build flavor, but this one does not.
I recommend batch cooking some baked potatoes and using them in multiple dishes, including this vegetarian baked potato soup. Other ideas include: Mushroom Swiss Twice Baked Potatoes, Southwest Twice Baked Potatoes, Chili and Cheddar Loaded Baked Potatoes or in a dinner salad, like this Green bean and trout salad.
Tips and tricks for the Vegetarian Baked Potato Soup recipe:
- Smoked Papria: use it generously as a garnish to add a hint of smokiness that you would normally get from bacon in a soup like this.
- Chop or dice the baked potatoes before mashing to cut up the skins. The potato skin is loaded with nutrients, so I always include it in my soup, but if you don’t chop the potato the skins will stay in large pieces.
- If you don’t have oven baked potatoes, try microwaving the potato so that you can quickly add it to the soup.
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- Splash olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ tsp each: salt and black pepper
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 3 large baked potatoes (leftovers or batch prepped)
- ½ cup each: half and half and sour cream
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- Smoked paprika, for garnish
- In a large pot or dutch oven, saute the onion in a splash of olive oil over medium heat until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme. Saute 1 more minute.
- Whisk flour into broth and stir into the pot. Chop baked potatoes into chunks, then coarsley mash. Mix into the pot and bring the soup to a boil. Let simmer for 1 minute.
- Stir in sour cream, half and half, and half of the cheese. Stir until the cheese melts and the soup is heated through. Don't bring back to a rapid boil because it can curdle the dairy.
- Serve topped with remaining cheese, and smoked paprika.
