Grandma's Cream of Potato Soup or Broccoli Soup

Name: Grandma's Cream of Potato Soup or Broccoli Soup
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 35 min
Yield: 8-12 serving(s)
Ingredients: 2 (31 ounce) cans college inn chicken broth; 6 medium potatoes (cubed); 4 stalks celery (diced); 4 medium carrots (diced); 1/2 cup cubed ham (optional); 1/4 lb of deli bacon (smoked); 1 medium Spanish onion (diced); 1 quart heavy cream; 4 tablespoons butter; 1/4-1/2 cup cornstarch; 12 ounces cheddar cheese (optional); 2 heads broccoli, chopped, peel stems of skins and slice (skins are tough and bitter)

Community Pick

Submitted by Jim Tasker

"This recipe has a slight smoky flavor due to the deli bacon. Broccoli can be substituted for potatoes for Cream of Broccoli Soup. **This recipe can also be used for Clam Chowder. Eliminate the broccoli and use Chopped Clams."

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photo by Bonnie G #2

Ready In:: 1hr 35mins
Ingredients:: 12
Serves:: 8-12

ingredients

2 (31 ounce) cans college inn chicken broth
6 medium potatoes (cubed)
4 stalks celery (diced)
4 medium carrots (diced)
¹⁄₂ cup cubed ham (optional)
¹⁄₄ lb of deli bacon (smoked)
1 medium Spanish onion (diced)
1 quart heavy cream
4 tablespoons butter
¹⁄₄ - ¹⁄₂ cup cornstarch
12 ounces cheddar cheese (optional)
If making Cream of Broccoli Soup
2 heads broccoli, chopped, peel stems of skins and slice (skins are tough and bitter)

directions

Empty cans of chicken broth in pot.
Add cubed potatoes and bring to a boil.
While potatoes are starting to cook pan fry bacon until crisp and add bacon grease to chicken and potato broth.
Crumble bacon and add to broth.
Add diced ham to broth (optional).
In a sauce pan melt butter and add diced onion, celery and carrots.
Pan fry until soft.
When potatoes are done add the celery, carrot and onion mixture with butter to broth.
Reduce heat to medium and add about 1/4 to 1/2 of the quart of heavy cream.
Be careful not to have soup at a heavy boil or cream will curdle.
Add enough cream to make soup look creamy throughout.
Add cheese (optional).
Mix corn starch with very cold water and add to soup.
Continue medium boil until soup thickens.
If it isn't thick enough repeat corn starch and add slowly.
Remove from heat and enjoy.
Soup will thicken when it gets cold.
Can add milk or water to thin out.

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Reviews

Wow! We made this soup for Chrismas last year and it was wonderful! We are planning on making it ahead this year and putting it in our ice cold garage to keep until Christmas [a COLD garage *if you can keep the critters out* is a wonderful place for an extra refridgerator in the winter]. A few exceptions with my notes . . . Use half and half for the cream and go light on the cornstarch, otherwise - OH YEAH!

Shepardess
I made this today, and I cut the recipe in half since there were only two of us eating today. Very good!! Husband loved it! I did make a few changes..used half n half and heavy cream, equal parts..and skipped the ham. Will definitely make again!!!

ENG1054
This is my new favorite recipe! I LOVE this soup! I think next time I'll use less cream (what are you supposed to do with the other half a quart of cream by the way??) and sub milk instead. But this was YUMM!!!

emcquaid
Tried this soup as both cream of potato and cream of broccoli - it was a hit both times. My grandmother (who is very particular about her cream of potato soup) couldn't stop raving about it! We will be making this a lot in the future. Thanks for sharing!

Gwenillian
This soup was delicious. I used half & half instead of heavy cream, and flour instead of cornstarch. Looking forward to making it again as clam chowder, great recipe!

lisa6682

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Tweaks

This soup was delicious. I used half & half instead of heavy cream, and flour instead of cornstarch. Looking forward to making it again as clam chowder, great recipe!

lisa6682
The soup was very good. To speed up the cooking process I precooked the carrots, celery and onion in a little water in the microwave, drained them and added them to the soup rather than sauteeing them. I also used fat free creamer instead of the heavy whipping cream. Next time I will also add some pepper and garlic powder. All in all very good!

blondie59
This is sooo good i did the broccoli instead of potatoes but im sure ill try it with both has definately become a family favorite

borba292002
I used two cubes of chicken bullion with water and instead of cream I used 1 can evaporated milk and left out the cheese. This was delicious. My husband doesn't like potato soup, but it is one of my favorite foods so I have been looking for a recipe that he could handle too. Not only did he like this, but he volunteered to take the leftovers to work the next day for lunch. Thanks for such a great recipe.

healthy cook for 8
We made this every week for a month after trying it! Great hearty winter soup. We tried variations each time. We used milk instead of cream and added corn, it was delicious!

designrgal