COPYCAT PANERA BAKED POTATO SOUP

While this heading may seem paradoxical, it really isn’t.

This baked potato soup has a rich taste, but at the same time, it’s very light. It relies primarily on the taste of a good chicken stock, tangy cream cheese and a bit of bacon for flavor.

With cream, cream cheese and chicken stock, this wouldn’t convert to a vegan recipe all that easily, but it can be made meat free for lacto-vegetarians by using a good veggie stock and eliminating the bacon. For a bacony flavor, some of the vegetarian soy-based bacon isn’t too bad so you might want to consider using some of that if you desire a smoky flavor in the soup



You will doubtless find many similar recipes for Panera’s Baked Potato Soup on the web.

They all are good and will only differ most times by one or two ingredients or amounts of those ingredients. I based this recipe off of Stephanie’s recipe on Copycat Recipes as it aligned more closely with my tastes. However, I like more creaminess in a soup and I like these types of soups a bit thicker, so I altered her amounts of butter and flour. And of course, I love bacon, so more of that was added!

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups unsalted chicken stock
• 3 tsp chicken base (I use Better Than Bouillon)
• 4 large potatoes, peeled & diced into 1-inch cubes
• ¼ cup finely chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ¼ cup flour
• 4 tbs butter
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 4 oz cream cheese, cut in cubes
• ¼ cup chopped chives
• ⅓ cup diced cooked bacon
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place potatoes, chicken stock and chicken base in a large pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
2. In another large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent and aromatic, about 5 minutes.
3. ..............................................

for full instruction please see : bakeatmidnite.com