Potato Spinach Bacon Soup is a classic, flavorful belly-warming comfort food recipe at it’s finest. It is combining red potatoes, leftover mashed potatoes, fresh spinach, and other veggies with hickory-smoked bacon in a cloud of delicious creaminess.
½cupmatchstick carrotsmay sub with very finely diced carrots
4clovesgarlicsmashed or minced
3cupschicken stockmay sub low-sodium chicken broth
4mediumRed potatoes dicedmay sub with Yukon Gold or Russet
4cupsleftover mashed potatoesmay sub with an equal amount of instant potatoes in a pinch only
2cupshalf and half creamer+ more if needed to thin
1teaspoonCajun Seasoningoptional
Kosher saltto own taste
½teaspoonwhite pepperor to own taste
1-10-ouncebag of fresh spinachwashed
Instructions
Add the thick-sliced bacon slices to a soup pot over medium heat and cook the bacon until crisp and fat is rendered off the bacon. Remove the bacon from the pot and set it aside. Empty the grease from the soup pot. Do not wash.
Add 2 tablespoon of unsalted butter to the same soup pot and let melt before adding sliced celery, chopped yellow onion and garlic, cook until the veggies are softened. Leave in the soup pot.
Next, add three cups of chicken stock to the soup pot, bring up to a good simmer, then add diced potatoes and matchstick carrots. Simmer for about 15-18 minutes or the diced potatoes are fork-tender yet still firm. reduce heat to low.
Add four cups of cold leftover mashed potatoes to the soup pot and slowly add the 2 cups of half and half creamer. Do not increase the heat under the pot.
Once the soup pot warms up, season the ingredients with kosher salt, Cajun seasoning, and white pepper. Taste the soup base and adjust seasoning to your own taste.
Next, slowly add the fresh spinach a little at a time, stirring as you go and once all the spinach is in the pot, cover the soup pot and turn off the heat to let spinach only slightly wilt. Do not overcook the spinach.
Immediately ladle the soup into soup bowls and add the crisp bacon crumbles to the top.