Babies, mommas, and babies’ mommas, it’s cold outside. So warm up your belly with a bowl full of this deliciously satisfying Irish Potato Soup.
Every culture has its own version of a potato soup because a. potatoes are delicious and b. potatoes are an affordable way to fill your belly with pure satisfaction. A good bowl of this creamy, savory potato soup, made with wholesome ingredients like real butter, half and half, russet potatoes, yellow onions, and seasonings is a truly satisfying meal of a soup … especially when paired with half of a sweet and savory-style sandwich.
Those tender morsels of potato get all dewy and glistening in this delectable soup base, which plays flavor against flavor so deliciously, with that salty broth so complementing the sweet cream the half and half brings, all punctuated with a big exclamation mark by those pungent onions.
You can amp up the flavor of this scrumptious soup, too, by topping it with all manner of savory, crunchy nibbles, like shredded cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon, chopped onions—all the fixings you might put on your favorite twice baked potato or in this delicious loaded baked potato salad.
What You and Your Family Will Love Most About Irish Potato Soup
There’s nothing that smells more like home to me than a home with a big pot of soup just a-bubbling on the stove. Potato soup is something all of us have deep food memories of from childhood, when our mother or grandmother made us our first big, steaming-hot bowl of comforting potato soup …. I just picture big hearts of food memories floating off that cooking pot and into the hearts and bellies of all the people I make it for.
Irish potato soup is a particularly old, peasant-style soup that comes to us by way of the Irish immigrants that fled to our country during the great Irish potato famine that ran from 1845 to 1852, bringing to America many Irish folk, with all their delicious recipes, like the one for this soup.
What’s great about Irish potato soup, too, is you can get as singular as you want with the texture. You can make a really hearty “stoup” (Rachel Ray coined this term) by cutting back a cup or two on the broth for a really hearty, stew-meets-soup-like experience. When you want an especially creamy soup, add a bit more half and half at the end or, on those days when you want a big, steaming, bowl full of really broth-y potato soup, just waiting for you to top it with big heaps of your favorite crackers, croutons, or the delicious fixins’ suggested below, add a bit more vegetable or chicken broth, and enjoy your Irish Potato Soup just the way you like it.
How to Make Ahead and Store?
You can keep this soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 5 days. To freeze this soup, simply omit the half and half and add this the day of service. You can freeze this soup, without the half and half, up to 90 days. Thaw in the fridge overnight, and heat on the stove, adding heavy cream as the soup begins to warm and bubble.
Serving Suggestions
I love to enjoy this soup with something crispy or crunchy to complement all this creaminess, and there are so many sandwich and side option to accomplish this with because a forkful of a delicious pastry, a half a sandwich, or a bite of salad all taste or salad delicious dunked into this creamy, succulent soup. A bite of this ham and cheese puff pastry melt all coated with some of that velvety potato soup is sheer heaven to experience. Even better, try this three cheese, ham, and bacon melt that tastes amazing with this soup. Or, go with a cold pairing of soup and salad, in this Italian, meat-loaded salad with a simply amazing lemon vinaigrette that complements this potato soup marvelously. If you love this soup, try this new zesty, tomato-tortellini soup, made ultra-delicious with sausage, spinach, tomatoes, garlic, and cream.
Irish Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large yellow onion peeled and chopped
- 4 medium russet potatoes peeled and chopped
- 4 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup half-and-half
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Chopped parsley for garnish
- Shredded cheese for garnish (optional)
- Cooked and crumbled bacon for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and potatoes. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 10-15 minutes. Avoid browning.
- Pour in the stock and half-and-half. Bring to a low simmer. Continue cooking, stirring often, until the potatoes and onions are fully soft.
- For a smooth soup, use an immersion blender to blend the soup directly in the pot until smooth. For a chunkier texture, skip this step.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Adjust seasoning as needed. If too thick, add a bit more stock to thin it out.
- Serve hot, garnished with chopped parsley and optional shredded cheese and bacon bits.
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