Southwestern Spud Soup – classic comfort food loaded with bacon, chiles, cheese – creamy and rich with flavorful chunks, a meal in itself
Southwestern Spud Soup with Bacon is an ideal comfort food – creamy, flavorful, with cheese, bacon, and a bit of a kick. It starts with mashed potatoes, so it’s a great way to use those leftovers. I like to use mild green chiles to get more of the chile flavor and also let the bacon, potato, and cheese flavors come through.
It’s nice to make a big pot of this to enjoy for a couple meals at least. It also can be frozen, but let thaw gradually and heat up slowly. If you’re like me, you may not have buttermilk on hand. It’s easy to make – just take a cup of whole milk, stir in 2 tbsp of either white vinegar or lemon juice, and let sit at room temperature for a half hour. Easy peasy.
Guess what I’ll be having for lunch today? Yup, leftover spud soup. Diet starts tomorrow. Hope you enjoy this!
- 8 slices bacon chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 14.5 oz cans low sodium chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 3 cups mashed potatoes
- 1½ cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded and divided
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup sour cream plus extra for garnish
- ½ cup diced mild green chiles
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- Fry bacon until crisp in a large pot. Remove bacon and set aside, leaving the bacon fat in the pot.
- Reduce heat to medium low and cook the onion in the fat until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add garlic and flour, cook 1 minute while stirring. Stir in chicken broth, bring to a boil over medium high heat then simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir in mashed potatoes, green chiles, and cumin, and simmer an additional 5 minutes. Add the buttermilk and stir to combine allowing mixture to just come to a boil. Add salt and pepper, as needed, to taste.
- Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup cheese, half of the bacon and ½ cup sour cream.
- Garnish with a dollop of sour cream, remaining bacon, remaining cheese, and serve hot.
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