It’s FINALLY feeling like Winter here in Florida! (Don’t laugh too hard!) Of course, Winter here means the lows are in the 40’s or 50’s, and the highs are in the 60’s or 70’s, but it’s a welcome respite to the 95-degree summers, so I will take it! It’s totally turning into “soup weather”! (Especially Potato Soup Weather!) 

I adore “soup weather”. Don’t you?! Especially on a chilly day when I’ve been outside for a while, to come inside for a meal and have a lovely bowl of soup is just delightful! My husband thinks so, too, and as a result, this potato soup (originally from my momma’s recipe box) is one of the first things I ever cooked for him! Like many of the dishes my kitchen produces, this one is full of variables, which I’ll share as we go along. So let’s get started! (Scroll down to the bottom for the printable version!)

Momma’s Chunky Potato Soup

3 red potatoes
2 cups water
1 small onion
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Crushed red pepper flakes
Ground black pepper
3 cups milk
1/2 teaspon sugar
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup cubed ham

1. Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes. (I actually used Russet potatoes this time around, so if you don’t have any red potatoes on hand, no worries!)

2. Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add potatoes and cook until tender. Drain, reserving liquid. Set aside potatoes. Measure 1 cup cooking liquid, adding water, if necessary; set aside.

As you can see, when I drain the liquid, I drain it right into a measuring cup. Easy peasy!

3. Peel and finely chop onion. Melt butter in saucepan over medium head. Add onion to saucepan; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent and tender, but not brown.

4. Add flour to saucepan; season with pepper flakes and black pepper to taste. Cook 3 to 4 minutes. (I normally leave out the pepper flakes so I can garnish with them, so you could do that, as well!)

5. Gradually add potatoes, reserved 1 cup cooking liquid, milk and sugar to onion mixture in saucepan; stir well. Add cheese and ham.

And let me just say something about the ham: add any kind you like! This is great if you’ve had a ham for some kind of a holiday dinner and you have lots of leftovers! And if you have no ham and want to be cost-effective, just grab a canned ham and use that!

Simmer over low heat 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Store leftovers, covered, in refrigerator.

You can see that at first it’s VERY thin. No worries, it will thicken up very nicely!

See?

And there you have it! Y’all, this potato soup is SO GOOD!

I normally garnish with the red pepper flakes (or bacon bits!), and serve it with some rolls or biscuits, as pictured. I should really serve it with some salad, but I figure there are already enough carbs in it – how are a few more really gonna hurt anything at this point?!

If you try it, I’d love to hear what you think!

And here’s the printable, as promised: