Gluten-Free Loaded Potato Soup
The weather man is calling for snow and it’s dark at like 4pm now… So basically it’s soup weather. I grew up eating potato soup with “ho cakes” aka fried cornbread. The soup itself wasn’t thick but we’d crumble up the ho cakes into our soup bowls. I have yet to figure out the science of a good gluten-free ho cake but I’ll keep you posted. (Yes, cornbread doesn’t normally contain wheat but it’s typically processed in the same facility/on the same machines as flour or other gluten products and it can be risky to cook with because of cross-contamination.) Without the ho cakes, the potato soup just isn’t the same so I’ve not cooked it since going gluten-free.
Unfortunately, most thick soups like I love call for flour and are therefore full of gluten. But I had some gluten-free flour I had used for other recipes and decided I wanted to experiment with a loaded potato soup recipe. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Flour allows me to enjoy this delicious potato soup recipe.
Darrell generally isn’t a big fan of hot liquids like soup, hot chocolate and coffee, but he was willing to try this soup. We absolutely loved it! Over the following week, we had some guests over and decided to make the soup again. It was a huge hit. We’ve since made this recipe again and it’s definitely going to be repeated throughout this winter.
In order to fit all of our dietary needs and preferences, we swapped out a few ingredients, which I’ll spell out further down in this post.
And if you’re not yet sold on just how great this soup is, it also makes use of the microwave, so you know it’s also not difficult or super time consuming! Does it get any better than that??
Notes:
I prefer shallots to the chopped yellow onion that this recipe calls for. I tend to have shallots on hand and they’re finer and therefore I get the flavor without the texture getting in the way.
Darrell’s poultry allergy requires us to switch the chicken stock for vegetable stock.
As I mentioned earlier in the post, Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Flour made a great alternative to the all-purpose flour in the recipe.
I used unsalted butter because it’s what I had in the fridge! Can’t say I’m familiar with “challenge butter” used in the recipe.
Bacon… I was not about to heat up the skillet to cook the bacon called for because let’s be real here… it makes a greasy mess, I get popped with the hot grease and it’s therefore anxiety-inducing. And I don’t cook so that I can be MORE anxious! No thank you. (Yes, I know you can also bake bacon and while I’m not opposed to that, there’s this magical pre-cooked bacon at the grocery that saves you time and is actually better in my opinion!) I just pop a few pieces in the microwave and call it a day!
On the topic of bacon, the recipe says to use the leftover bacon grease in the early steps of combining some of the ingredients in the main pot. Well pre-cooked bacon doesn’t really give you that kind of bacon grease so I suggest using a little more butter if you think it needs it.
When I whisk in the GF flour, I’ve found it’s best to slowly add in the flour. I will also say that I do generally get some lumps in the flour when I start adding in the half-and-half and milk, etc. Do not fear! Just keep whisking and you’ll have smooth soup soon enough.
This reheats well! The first time we each ate two somewhat small bowls and then reheated the pot of soup on the stove the next day for lunch and it was just as great! So I’d say it makes 8ish servings.
I found this recipe on Pinterest and from what I can tell, it has been posted on a variety of websites/blogs but originated from a cookbook from the blog I Heart Naptime by author Jamielyn Nye. I always try to give credit and do my best to figure out where the recipes I try, originate.
Let me know if you try this recipe! I’d love to hear your experience, especially those who juggle food allergies/dietary restrictions like us!
Disclaimer: I am not a dietitian or medical professional and while I share what ingredients work for me, I advise you do your homework when choosing ingredients. I highly encourage everyone to do their own research when it comes to the products they cook with. I do not have celiac disease but rather a gluten-intolerance and I’m not an expert on gluten or other food intolerances, autoimmune diseases, or food allergies. I simply share the ingredients I have found work for me.