I loooove this soup!
That’s what I used to tell my mom when she made this soup for me when I was a kid… And, now that I’ve made it myself, I’m still raving about how much I love this soup!
I guess I should start at the beginning. Long before Lonely Island proclaimed their love for being on a boat, there were Bert and Ernie… You know who I’m talking about – from Sesame Street! Perhaps this clip will jog your memory a bit…
I watched quite a bit of Sesame Street in my day. So, when my mom made this carrot and potato soup for me when I was a kid, I would walk around letting everyone know how I felt about the soup, Ernie style. In fact, my mom has a handwritten note in her cookbook that says “Jenny LOVES this soup!” (Yes, I was known as Jenny back then, too… And, there may be a few people who still call me that.)
Fast forward a few years to this Christmas… My mom gave me a copy of the More With Less Cookbook,the source of the infamous soup recipe. If you’re not familiar with it, I’d recommend picking up a copy. My mom did a lot of cooking and baking from the cookbook when my brother and I were growing up, and she still does. It’s a great source for feeding your family on a budget while also being responsible about what you eat.
I knew that I had to give the soup recipe a try, and I put a bookmark on the page so that I wouldn’t forget. After a bit of a hiatus over the holidays, I am doing my best to get back to the kitchen this week, so I thought that this soup would be a good place to start… Especially since I chose soups as this month’s Kitchen Bootcamp challenge.
I did change up the recipe a bit. Since my hubby and I do our best to eat “meatless” meals on Mondays, I made a vegetarian version of the soup. The original recipe called for chicken broth and Worcestershire sauce (which often contains anchovies, did you know that?). Instead, I used vegetable broth and decided to add some Dijon mustard and change up the herbs a bit. The end result was still the familiar soup that I remember from my childhood. And, I still love it.
It gets better, though… Now my husband “LOVES” this soup, too. In fact, he’s added it to his Husband’s Picks page!
Creamy Carrot and Potato Soup
(Makes 6-8 servings, adapted from More With Less Cookbook)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 3 russet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
- 6 large carrots (about 1 pound)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon dried dill
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Hot sauce
Begin by heating the olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes until soft and translucent.
Meanwhile, peel and shred the potatoes and carrots using a box grater. Add the shredded potatoes and carrots to the pot and stir to combine with the onions. Stir in the thyme and dill. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer for about 15 – 20 minutes, until the potatoes and carrots are tender.
Stir in the milk and dijon mustard. Continue to cook for an additional minute or two, until the milk is warmed through. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheddar cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve each bowl of soup topped with a dash or two of hot sauce.
Disclosure – Please note that the link to the More With Less Cookbook provided on this page is an Amazon affiliate link.
This looks so yummy. If I have dill – I’m going to try this tonight!
I’m with you I LOVE SOUP!!! Just posted an easy one yesterday too :) this looks great I love the carrots in it.
I love this soup too! We watched lots of Sesame Street too when we were little and my kids love it too! I have to look up that cookbook b/c it sounds like a good one.
Ohh I love this soup. It looks so good.
Delicious looking bowl of comfort food for sure. Love that all the carrots and potatoes are shredded.
We’re having red lentil soup today, but this carrot and potato soup screams to be made mañana! Looks absolutely delish!
What a fab combination – adding this to my soup repertoire soon!
I saw two other carrot-ingredient soups recently that I wanted to make. I thought this one would appeal more to my kids and I whipped it up within an hour before bringing it to a neighbor’s house to have with dinner. The food processor was great for the shredding. The soup tasted good, but not great, when I was done with it, but as it sat, the mustard/cheddar flavors really gave this soup an amazing flavor! We used to love a pototo leek soup, but this has replaced that! Will definitely make it again! Oh, and it was nice and creamy even though it only has a little bit of milk. Not a fan of super chunky/cheesy soups, but this was perfect!
I tried this soup because I don’t have a blender or food processor of any kind that are typically required to make creamy soups. And I must say that this was a very tasty soup and is very easy to make! Especially when my boyfriend does all the grating. :) He really enjoyed it too, and even had some for leftovers which almost never happens. Thanks! I look forward to eating this again when I take the other half of this batch out of the freezer.
This soup turned out great! I like my soups a bit thicker so I used my immersion blender right before serving. It’s delicious!
It looks wonderful!My son is 12 and loves helping out in the kitchen,we cant wait to try this.I followed you from the foodie blog roll and I’d love to guide Foodista readers to your site. I hope you could add this carrot widget at the end of this post so we could add you in our list of food bloggers who blogged about carrot recipes,Thanks!
I used frozen, shredded potatoes. (Hash browns.) Turned out beautifully and cut out a step!
A wonderful recipe to enjoy on one of our few cold and rainy So. Cal. days. Thank you!
This soup is very good, but mustard overwhelms the soup. I did not have hot sauce in stock, so maybe that would have balanced it out.It is a soup I will make again and again.