Name: Easy Potato Soup with Bacon Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 6 strips Bacon; 1 small yellow onion; 2 stalks celery; 2 medium carrots; 1 parsnip; ½ tsp salt; ¼ tsp black pepper; ¼ cup all-purpose flour; 2 cups whole milk; 2 cups broth; 1½ lbs yukon gold potatoes; fresh chives; For the Crispy Skillet Croutons:; 2 cups chopped bread; 2 tbsp olive oil; ¼ tsp dried thyme; pinch salt and pepper

How To Make Easy Potato Soup with Bacon

Savor a hearty dish with this potato soup made with carrots, potato, and parsnips cooked in milk and broth. It’s served topped with bacon bits and croutons.

Preparation: 20 minutes

Cooking: 30 minutes

Total: 50 minutes

Serves:

Ingredients

6stripsbacon,chopped
1small yellow onion,diced
2stalkscelery,diced
2medium carrots,peeled and diced
1parsnip,peeled and diced
½tspsalt
¼tspblack pepper
¼cupall-purpose flour
2cupswhole milk
2cupsbroth,vegetable or chicken
1½lbsyukon gold potatoes,(3 cups), peeled and chopped
fresh chives,garnish

For the Crispy Skillet Croutons:

2cupschopped bread,cut into ¼-inch cubes
2tbspolive oil
¼tspdried thyme
pinchsalt and pepper

Instructions

Croutons:

In a small bowl, toss chopped bread with olive oil, dried thyme, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Toast croutons in a nonstick skillet over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. It’s okay if the char on them becomes uneven. Some sides should be crunchy and some soft still. Remove and set aside.

Bacon:

Add chopped bacon to a large pot over medium heat. Cook until fat renders out and bacon is crispy.
Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel and set aside as a topping for the soup. Reserve the bacon grease in the pot.

Soup:

Add onions, celery, carrots, and parsnips to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until vegetables soften.
Stir in flour, cook for another 1 minute, then add broth and milk. Slowly stir. Bring to a slight simmer, then add potatoes and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until potatoes are very tender.
When potatoes are very tender, remove half of the soup from the pot and let cool briefly. Blend until smooth and return to the pot, stirring it into the non-blended soup base.
Alternatively, blend half the soup directly in the pot with an immersion blender. Be careful not to over-blend.
Taste the soup and adjust seasoning as desired. Keep warm until serving.
Serve the soup topped with fresh chives, crispy reserved bacon, and skillet croutons.
Leftover soup keeps well in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze for 3 months. Reheat gently on the stove with a splash of water.