Description
This comforting Cheesy Sausage Potato Soup combines smoky sausage, tender potatoes, and a creamy cheesy broth for a hearty and satisfying meal. Perfect for chilly days, this soup is easy to make and packed with rich flavors and comforting textures.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 14-ounce smoked sausage, chopped into ½-inch pieces
- ½ cup finely diced onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
- 4 cups (2 15oz cans) chicken broth
- 3½ cups (about 2 large) russet potatoes, peeled and diced medium
- 2 celery ribs, diced small
Cheese Sauce
- 5 tablespoons (71g) butter, salted or unsalted
- ¼ cup and 1 tablespoon (44g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk, any percentage
- 6 ounces (about 1½ cups) shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for topping
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Salt, to taste
Optional Toppings
- Sour cream
Instructions
- Cook the Sausage: In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add diced smoked sausage and cook until lightly browned. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage to a bowl and set aside.
- Sauté Onions: Add diced onions to the same pot and cook over medium heat, stirring often, for about 5 minutes until onions begin to become translucent around the edges.
- Add Garlic: Stir in minced garlic and cook for about 1 minute until lightly golden and fragrant.
- Simmer Vegetables: Add chicken broth, diced potatoes, and celery to the pot. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 to 15 minutes until potatoes are tender enough to be easily smashed with a fork.
- Mash Potatoes: Using a potato masher or spatula, roughly smash about half of the potatoes in the pot to help thicken the soup.
- Make the Cheese Sauce: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add flour and cook, whisking continuously, until it turns lightly golden, about 1 minute. Slowly drizzle in milk, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Continue whisking and cooking until the mixture thickens and bubbles around the edges, about 5 minutes.
- Add Cheese: Remove the cheese sauce from heat and gradually whisk in shredded cheddar cheese until fully melted and smooth.
- Combine Soup and Cheese Sauce: Stir the cheese sauce into the soup. Add black pepper and salt to taste. Then add the cooked sausage back into the pot and stir everything together until heated through.
- Serve: Ladle soup into bowls, and top with sour cream and additional shredded cheese if desired. Enjoy warm.
Notes
- For a thicker soup, mash more potatoes or add a bit more flour to your cheese sauce.
- You can substitute smoked sausage with kielbasa or your favorite smoked sausage variety.
- Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper at the end to suit your taste.
- Leftover soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and reheated gently on the stovetop.
- Adding sour cream on top gives a nice tangy contrast to the cheesy richness.
