Rotisserie Chicken & Potato Soup with Bacon
This is a hearty, savory comfort food you’ll want to make over and over again. There is nothing more cozy to me than snuggling under a warm blanket with a hot bowl of this soup on a cold day.
Ingredients
16 oz bacon, reserve 2 tbsp. bacon drippings
1 Rotisserie Chicken (if they are small I use two)
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely diced
4-5 tsp. minced garlic * love garlic so I tend to be heavy handed here
1.5 cups diced carrots
4 ribs diced celery
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
10 cups chicken broth
2 cups half & half
3 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch chunks (roughly)
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I use Cabot aged block cheddar) *see note
2 tbsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. crushed dried rosemary, oregano
1 tsp. ground mustard
Prep Your Station
Chop your celery, onion and carrots and add them to a bowl then set aside.
Get your Dutch oven out, if you don’t have one an extra large pot will do.
Add your spices to a small bowl
Measure out your flour
Measure out your broth and half & half
Cut your bacon
Put a paper towel on a plate for your bacon once it is cooked
💡Pro Tip: place your package of bacon in the freezer while you’re setting things up. This gives it just enough time to firm up a little, making it a lot easier to cut. I use kitchen scissors to cut my bacon right over the pot.
Instructions
1. Cut your bacon, add it to your pot, and cook until crispy. Remove bacon and put it on the plate with the paper towel. Drain all but 2 Tbsp of bacon grease from the pot.
2. Add your carrots, celery, and onion to the pot, let that cook on Low/Med stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes or until the onions are translucent. When your stirring try to scrape the bacon drippings from the bottom of your pot.
3. Toss in your spices, garlic and Worcestershire sauce. Stir occasionally until the garlic is fragrant.
4. Stir in your flour and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the flour has entirely incorporated.
5. Slowly add your broth and half & half while constantly stirring to avoid clumping. Increase your temp to Med/Hi
6. Add your chicken, potatoes, and cheese. Stir well and let simmer on Low/Med until potatoes are soft. With Yukon gold potatoes it will only take about an hour or so but I like to let mine simmer on low throughout the afternoon. Crumble your crispy bacon and add about 1/2 to the soup.
Serve with cornbread, in a bread bowl, or with a nice artisan bread. Top each serving with crumbled bacon and a little extra cheese if you’d like. Enjoy !
Notes:
I use rotisserie chicken to save time. If you want to make this recipe more budget-friendly you can cook 1 lb. of chicken breast and skip the bacon.
For the cheese, I use the aged 14 months Cabot cheddar 1.5 lb. block and I shred it myself. Pre shredded cheese is coated so it doesn’t melt as well.
This recipe will easily serve 8-10 people so if you’d like it to be a little more budget-friendly or your only serving a couple of people cut it in half.
I hope this soup brings as much comfort to your home as it does to mine. On cold evenings, busy nights, or those “I just want something cozy” moments, this recipe never fails and depending on how many your feeding it will provide you with a lot of leftovers. If you try it, let me know how it turned out – and don’t forget to follow along on Hey Ivy for more easy, budget-friendly, feel-good meals. Stay warm, stay cozy, and happy cooking ! 🌿