Vegetarian Fiesta Con Queso Soup
photo by Bayhill
- Ready In:
- 1hr 40mins
- Ingredients:
- 18
- Yields:
-
5 quarts
- Serves:
- 8-10
ingredients
- 1⁄8 - 1⁄4 cup butter or 1/8-1/4 cup margarine
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1⁄2 cup carrot, diced
- 1⁄2 cup celery, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1⁄3 - 1⁄2 cup diced roasted anaheim chili (I use 1 medium sized pepper)
- 4 knorr vegetarian vegetable bouillon cubes (extra lg. cubes)
- 4 cups hot water
- 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 1⁄2 cup boiling water
- 1⁄2 lb sliced good quality American cheese
- 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1⁄4 - 1⁄3 cup roasted red pepper, julienne then roughly chop
- 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
- 1⁄4 cup cholula brand hot sauce
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin (cumino)
directions
- Over medium heat melt butter or margarine in a 6 quart stock pot, add onions carrot and celery and sauté until onions are transparent and carrots have softened, add garlic toward the end and allow to soften (about 2 minutes), remove from heat.
- In a blender combine sautéed onions, carrots, celery and garlic with roasted Anaheim chili, 4 cubes of bouillon and 4 cups of hot water-- puree.
- Return vegetable puree to stock pot and place over medium heat, add both packages of cream cheese stirring until completely blended with vegetable puree.
- In separate bowl blend 4 tablespoons of flour with 1/2 cup of the warm cream cheese and vegetable puree mixture to get out lumps then stir in 1/2 cup boiling water, combine with contents of stock pot.
- While stirring the pot bring contents to a boil.
- Allow contents to boil while stirring for about 2 minutes then simmer.
- Add the 1/2 lb of American cheese a couple of slices at a time until melted.
- Once cheese is melted incorporate the can of tomatoes (with juice), roasted red pepper, corn, hot sauce, cayenne pepper and cumin.
- Allow to simmer for at least 1 hour stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
- Serve and enjoy!
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Reviews
-
i became very addicted to this soup at Panera and this recipe is pretty close. i made a few changes though: -fat free cream cheese -1 lb of 2% milk velveeta (unlike others, i felt it wasnt cheesy enough as written) -i omitted the part with the boiling water and the flour...i feel like the soup is thick enough without it -i used an immersion blender in the pot instead of a regular blender -i didnt use the hot sauce or the anaheim chile and it was plenty spicy. also, if i'm in a hurry, i'll microwave the corn before i put it in, to save time. lol i make this a lot. :)
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After having the Con queso soup at Panera, my whole family became an addict to this dish!!!. But as its tooooo cheesy i tried a small variation and it was a great way to enjoy the soup without adding on your body mass!!! Instead of all cheese, i used 5-6 slices of American cheese and substituted the rest of the cheese rteq with some well boiled and mashed "masoor dhal". Masoor dhal is the orange lentil that u can find in most Asian markets, especially Indian. Great in taste and healthy too. Just ensure u dont add way too much lentil to give way to the powdery taste of lentil. just a good measure should do the trick!!! It was a great way to indulge without getting tooo cheesy!!
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I haven't had this soup at Panera so I don't know how close it comes to their's, but it was very good. It is VERY thick and cheesy. I used half the amount of hot sauce because I didn't think that my family would eat it as written. Also, I saved a step by using an immersion blender directly in the soup pot, (no blender to wash)!! I served this topped with coarsely crushed tortilla chips. My family loved this soup. Thank you for sharing.
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Tweaks
-
i became very addicted to this soup at Panera and this recipe is pretty close. i made a few changes though: -fat free cream cheese -1 lb of 2% milk velveeta (unlike others, i felt it wasnt cheesy enough as written) -i omitted the part with the boiling water and the flour...i feel like the soup is thick enough without it -i used an immersion blender in the pot instead of a regular blender -i didnt use the hot sauce or the anaheim chile and it was plenty spicy. also, if i'm in a hurry, i'll microwave the corn before i put it in, to save time. lol i make this a lot. :)
-
After having the Con queso soup at Panera, my whole family became an addict to this dish!!!. But as its tooooo cheesy i tried a small variation and it was a great way to enjoy the soup without adding on your body mass!!! Instead of all cheese, i used 5-6 slices of American cheese and substituted the rest of the cheese rteq with some well boiled and mashed "masoor dhal". Masoor dhal is the orange lentil that u can find in most Asian markets, especially Indian. Great in taste and healthy too. Just ensure u dont add way too much lentil to give way to the powdery taste of lentil. just a good measure should do the trick!!! It was a great way to indulge without getting tooo cheesy!!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
My name is Helen and I found the love of my life on the internet of all places. At the time I didn't realize he was a nice Jewish boy (raised Kosher) but I count my blessings on a daily basis. Being raised Catholic and non-Kosher, I have been going through a great period of adjustment. I'm currently going through conversion here in South Carolina while my husband pursues a career in the Air Force. With that being said, I'm facing the challenges of keeping a Kosher kitchen from one state/continent to the next and let me tell you, its been an experience :) I'm becoming quite adept at vegetarian cooking (where there's a lack of available meat) as well as recipe modifications to make "local" favorites Kosher-friendly for my family and friends.