Chunky Potato Soup

A green ceramic soup bowl filled with a mixture of potatoes, mushrooms, celery, carrots, and other vegetables. The top mixture is covered in a light dusting of freshly cracked black pepper and freshly sliced green onions. Behind the bowl sits seven to-go containers filled with the same mixture.

8 servings | gluten-free, vegetarian

This is a low-effort recipe that is great for meal prepping. The varied flavor and textural components of the dish still come through when reheated, and it is relatively cheap to gather the ingredients for. I mono-eat the shit out of this soup every time I make it, and it is delicious every time.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of avocado oil (or other cooking oil)
1 large yellow onion, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
10 ounces of shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 large carrots, sliced
3 celery sticks, sliced
1/4 cup of oat flour
4 cups of vegetable stock
2 pounds of russet potatoes (~6 large potatoes), cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup of whole milk
1 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (plus extra for serving)
3 green onions, sliced
2 teaspoons kosher salt (plus extra for cooking vegetables and serving)
1 teaspoon of black pepper (plus extra for cooking vegetables and serving)

Instructions

Heat avocado oil in a pot over medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook until fragrant (~5 minutes), seasoning with a bit of salt and pepper along the way.
Add the baby bella and shiitake mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms have released their moisture (~5 minutes).
Add carrots and celery. Cook for another few minutes, seasoning with a bit more salt and pepper along the way. Sprinkle the oat flour into the mixture and stir for about a minute right before moving to the next step.
Add the potatoes, vegetable stock, whole milk, and heavy cream. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Let simmer until the potatoes are soft (~10 minutes).
Turn off the heat, take an immersion blender on medium-low power, and loosely blend the contents of the pot. The goal is to blend about half of the contents into a creamy soup-like texture while leaving many large chunks of potato, mushroom, carrot, and celery for texture. I will usually walk the immersion blender around the pot once such that every vertical slice of the soup pot receives one blender plunge. Alternatively, if you do not have an immersion blender, pour half the contents of the pot into a countertop blender, blend, and then return the contents to the pot.
Stir in the measured portions of salt, pepper, and shredded cheese.
Ladle the soup into bowls or containers. Top with an additional sprinkle of cheddar cheese, a little bit of black pepper, and green onions.

Notes

The amount of mushrooms you add to the soup is arbitrary and can be changed or omitted based on personal preference. This kind of soup is traditionally made with bacon, and shiitake mushrooms in particular help to restore some of the umami flavor that would otherwise be missing without the bacon.

This soup has a lot of textures going on: soft potato, chewy mushrooms, crunchy carrots and celery, and the lumpy blended soup. Depending on personal preference, you can choose to peel the potatoes before cubing, but I like to leave the potato skin on as it adds an additional textural component that works well with the dish.

When in doubt, add more black pepper. Potato soups in particular can turn out bland if not spiced correctly, and it is better to over-spice the soup than under-spice the soup. The instructions call for adding salt and pepper multiple times for a reason!