Cheesy Potato Chowder {30-minute Meal}

This cheesy potato chowder is creamy, easy, and so tasty! It’s made from scratch, packed with vegetables, and comes together in just 30 minutes. 

Well well well.

How are you my friends?

I am doing great. It’s been a good week with lots going on. Without dwelling too much on the frazzled job of keeping up with the house, the meals, and my kids and all their activities, there’s been a long overdue visit with a kindred friend from my college days and a fun ice-skating adventure with the 12-17 year-old girls in our church congregation. And it’s not over yet. I’ve still got two chess tournaments (for the boys) to go before the week’s out.

But today I’m so excited to be here right now talking to you about this cheesy potato chowder because it is one yummy soup!

I’ve tried so many different types of recipes like it over the years but this one beats all.

I love the fact that the bacon is added afterwards as a garnish to the individual soup bowls (no worry about soggy bacon which is really not my favorite thing). I like to cook the bacon a little on the crispier side so it adds a little crunch to the delicious creamy soup.

Also the bacon isn’t essential but I for one love it. If you’re trying for a meatless or vegetarian meal, feel free to leave it out. But really the bacon is one of my favorite things.

A few tips & things I love about this recipe

The added vegetables make this soup heartier and healthier than your typical potato cheese soup. And when you puree them up they basically disappear — Oh yeah. Talk about kid friendly! You can puree them as much or as little as you’d like. I normally go for mostly pureed with a few small bites of potato or vegetables now and again because I like a little texture. Also because the soup is thickened by pureed vegetables, it happens to be gluten free if that’s important to you.

And speaking of kid friendly, if your kids don’t like green things in their soup, you have my permission to leave out the green onions in their bowls, but I think they add a really delicious flavor that I personally wouldn’t leave out.

I use this homemade chicken bouillon substitute in this recipe and it works great. Love that stuff. But if you’d rather you can also make it with low sodium chicken stock. We love it that way too.

My favorite type of cheese to use in this recipe is sharp or extra sharp cheddar. It really adds a lovely flavor, but I’m guessing any cheddar (or even other kinds of cheese) would be good too.

I usually serve this soup with a yummy bread. This Rustic Asiago Bread would be amazing. These Best Buttermilk Biscuits are also a huge favorite with soups around here.

Okay my friends. Go make this. Its quick and easy – just 30 minutes away. Have I mentioned how much I love fast recipes?

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Cheesy Potato Chowder

This cheesy potato chowder is creamy, easy, and so tasty! It's made from scratch, packed with vegetables, and comes together in just 30 minutes. 

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword Soup

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 6 Servings

Author Heather @ thecookstreat.com

Ingredients

• 6 medium potatoes
• 2-3 large carrots
• 1 celery stalk washed
• 4 cups water see note
• 3 teaspoons chicken bouillon see note
• 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese see note
• 1 cup frozen corn
• salt & black pepper to taste
• ¼ cup chopped green onions
• ¼ cup cooked, chopped bacon optional, see note

Instructions

1. Wash and peel potatoes and carrots. Dice potatoes, carrots and celery into ½-inch pieces.

2. Add vegetable to a medium saucepan. Cover with water and add chicken bouillon. Simmer over medium high heat for 10 to 15 minutes until vegetables are tender. 

3. When vegetables are tender enough that they can be pierced easily with a fork, they are ready. Puree with an immersion blender until desired consistency is achieved (see note). Soup can also be blended in batches in a regular blender or even mashed with a potato masher.

4. Return soup to heat. Chop cream cheese into ½-inch pieces and add it and cheddar cheese to soup, stirring until melted. Add frozen corn and stir until heated through. Taste and add additional salt and pepper to taste.

5. Serve soup garnished with green onions and chopped bacon, if desired.

Recipe Notes

1.  In this soup I use this homemade chicken bouillon substitute. You can also substitute 1 quart low sodium chicken broth in place of the water and chicken bouillon.

2. My preferred type of cheddar cheese in this soup is sharp or extra sharp.

3. I like the soup a creamy consistency with a few smaller pieces of potatoes and vegetables, but you can puree the soup to whatever consistency you like.

4. I prefer the bacon cooked quite crispy. It gives a nice little crunch that pairs well with the smooth, creamy soup.

Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat

All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat

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