Cream Of Bacon Soup Recipe
Of all the ways to enjoy bacon – and there are nearly countless ways — one of the best options is to add it to soup. The rich, fatty, and salty bacon flavors work incredibly well in soup, especially a creamy one. Recipe developer Cecilia Ryu has brought us the best of both worlds with this cream of bacon soup recipe, one that she likens to a cream of potato soup. "This is so similar in taste without the addition of potatoes," she explains. "It's savory, creamy, and loaded with bacon and cheese!"
If you weren't sold at "loaded with bacon and cheese," then maybe the fact that this soup comes together in just 45 minutes will seal the deal. In less than an hour, you can build a rich, hearty, and simply delicious soup, and it all essentially comes together in one pot (okay, well, maybe two). "This soup is hearty and creamy and smooth," Ryu raves. "It's also absolutely delicious. It's my type of comfort food." Once you finish this recipe, we imagine it'll be your type of comfort food, too.
Grab the right ingredients for cream of bacon soup
Unsurprisingly, you'll need bacon to make this recipe — specifically, 10 slices of it, and be sure to chop it up. Additionally, you'll need olive oil, unsalted butter, chopped onion, minced garlic, fresh thyme, flour, chicken broth, heavy cream, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and crème fraîche. "The special ingredient in this dish is the crème fraîche," Ryu says. "It's added at the end as a topping but cannot be overlooked. It adds a slight tanginess/acidity that cuts the richness of the soup." Speaking of toppings, you can also top off the soup with some fresh chopped chives and shredded cheddar cheese.
Sauté and season the onion and garlic
Add the olive oil to a large skillet and place it over medium-low heat. Add in the diced onion and minced garlic, and allow them to sauté for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion turns translucent and tender. Just be careful not to allow the aromatics to brown. After a few minutes of sautéing, go ahead and add in the thyme, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Mix the seasonings into the onion and garlic, then remove the mixture from the heat and set aside.
Cook the bacon and begin building the soup
Get out a large soup pot or Dutch oven and add the chopped bacon in. Cook it over medium heat until it's browned all over, then remove it from the pot with a slotted spoon and place it onto some paper towels to drain. Keep about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the pot, but remove the rest. Then, add in the butter and allow it to melt along with the remaining bacon fat, and follow it up with the flour. Whisk the flour in, followed by the chicken broth, then the heavy cream.
Finish making the soup
Into the pot, add the sautéed onion and garlic mixture. Then, use an immersion blender to blend the soup. Ryu notes that you can also blend the soup in a food processor, just make sure that it comes out nice and smooth. Once you're done blending (and the soup is back in the pot, if you opted for the food processor route), add half of the cooked bacon into the soup. Give the soup a little taste test, and optionally add more salt and pepper to taste.
Serve your cream of bacon soup
Portion the soup out into bowls, then top each bowl off with a dollop of crème fraîche, the other half of the cooked bacon, chopped chives, and shredded cheese. "I would eat this with crusty bread to soak up the soup, but it would go well with a sandwich or salad as well," Ryu suggests for serving. Of course, this soup is also delicious and filling on its own.
If you happen to have leftovers, you're in luck. "Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days," Ryu says. Just top each bowl off with another dollop of crème fraîche, chives, and cheese, and you'll be good to go.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cups chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 10 slices of bacon, approximately ½ pound, chopped
- ⅓ cup flour
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- ¼ cup crème fraîche
- chopped chives, for garnish
- shredded cheddar cheese, for garnish
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low and add chopped onion and garlic. Sauté until translucent and tender, stirring occasionally. Do not brown. Add the thyme and season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Remove from the heat and reserve.
- In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain over paper towels.
- Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat and add butter. Melt over medium heat and add flour. Whisk until blended. Slowly add the chicken stock and heavy cream. Continue to whisk until smooth and creamy.
- Add the reserved chopped onion mixture. Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Alternatively, you can use a food processor to blend until smooth. Add half of the reserved cooked bacon, leaving the rest for garnish. Check for seasoning and add more salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve in bowls garnished with a tablespoon of crème fraîche, reserved bacon, chopped chives, and shredded cheese.