As the weather turns colder I always gravitate towards making soup to warm the soul and this loaded baked potato soup certainly fulfils the brief.
This soup is one that I make every year. It's an elevated version of a leek and potato soup and tastes like a buttery baked potato full of smoky, garlic aroma and topped with cheese, fresh chives and vegan bacon.
You can use whatever vegan cheese you desire on this one, I personally lean toward the Applewood smoked vegan cheese as it's a great melting cheese and adds a luxury smoky note to the creamy soup.
The most beautiful thing about almost every recipe is that it can be easily adapted for whatever flavour profile you are craving. Fancy something a bit spicier to heat up your evening - why not top the soup with fried Squeaky Bean cooking chorizo, vegan Mexicana cheese and a sprinkle of chilli flakes for that fiery kick.
Ingredients
Soup
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 - 5 large potatoes, peeled and diced into small chunks
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 leeks, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp rosemary (either dried or fresh)
700ml - 1l stock dependent on how many potatoes used and whether you are using a soup maker(I used a vegan chicken stock cube)
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
250 ml vegan cream (I use Oatly)
Toppings
150g vegan bacon lardons/ 2 strips of vegan bacon, diced
1 tbsp vegan sour cream
100g vegan cheese, grated
2 tbsp chives, chopped
1 tbsp spring onion, chopped
Method
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. When hot, add the carrots, leeks, and garlic. Sauté until they soften.
Add the potatoes, rosemary and stock. Cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and can be easily pierce with a knife/fork.
Stir in the nooch, smoked paprika and blend smooth using an immersion blender in the pot. If you don't have an immersion blender you can use a standing blender in small batches (Be careful not to fill the blender up too high with the hot mixture as this can make a mess). If you prefer your soup chunky no need to blend at all.
Once blended stir in your vegan cream, bringing the soup back up to a hot temperature.
Season to taste, with salt and black pepper.
Top your soup with vegan sour cream, a generous sprinkle of vegan cheese, chives, spring onions, cooked vegan bacon and a twist of black pepper. Serve with some sexy buttered bread (I love a sourdough for this dish)
Note: If you have a soup maker you can pop in all the ingredients, except for the nutritional yeast and vegan cream. Let the soup maker do its magic and stir in the nooch and cream at the end.
And there we have it something comforting and warming for those cold nights - surely to be adopted into your soup recipe arsenal. Have you made our baked potato soup? If so, what did you top yours with?
Blessed be,