My sister and I both love Panera Bread’s soups. I love their broccoli cheddar and I have come up with my own version of it. My sister does not like broccoli though, so she does not enjoy the broccoli soup. She does however love Panera’s potato soup. I also really like that one and always have trouble deciding between the two soups when I eat at Panera. What I like about the potato soup there is that it is so creamy. Most potato soups are cheesy, but not this one. It is just a perfectly creamy potato soup.
My sister told me that she had found a recipe online for a copycat version of this soup. She thought that it was very good and close to the real thing. I decided to give it a try. I agreed that it was pretty close, but I thought it needed some tweaking. I finally have it the way we think it is best. I hope you enjoy it too. It is so easy, pretty economical, and a great meal for a cold day.
Panera Bread’s Creamy Potato Soup
6 cups chicken broth
6 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cut into chunks, room temperature
6 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cut into chunks, room temperature
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional, but makes it really good)
Combine broth, potatoes and spices. Boil on medium heat until potatoes are tender. Smash a few of the potatoes to release their starch for thickening. If you like it smooth smash more, if you like it chunky just smash a little of it. You can decide the texture of it. Reduce to low heat. Add cream cheese. Heat, stirring frequently, until cheese melts. Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle a little bacon over each bowl of soup.
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Andi and I both had the same immediate reaction when we saw the picture…”That looks great.” I’ll be making that in the near future.
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Another yummy recipe that I will have to try!! Thanks so, so much for the yeast tip. I would have been so sad if it had ruined. And I wouldn’t have known why my bread didn’t work out:) Do you have a good recipe for baking bread for someone who has NO experience with baking bread? I don’t have a bread machine. I was going to try pizza crust first, I think, and make homemade pizza.
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LB, I would suggest trying pizza first. It is easier to make and a great thing to know how to do. You can really change up home made pizza with different toppings. We have it several times a month. Here is the link to my favorite pizza crust, you might want to start with all white flour in it instead of using part whole wheat. Allrecipes also have some good pizza crusts. http://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2008/03/whole-wheat-pizza-crust.html
I also have a recipe for 40 minute rolls that are very easy to make you might try those too. Look under the bread and rolls catagory. I hope that helps.
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Wow, this looks amazing. I feel another bookmark coming on!
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mmmMMmmm, dreamy. I can’t wait to cook this for my family tomorrow!!
Blessings ~
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Wow! That looks so delicious! I can’t wait to try it! I like making potato soup, and have always tried to make it nice and creamy, but have always failed. I see were you add cream cheese; brillant!! I never would have thought of that!
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I tried this soup tonight, it was delicious! I lost count of how many times I said “This is SOOO good!”
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I googled Creamy Potato Soup and chose your link…I made this soup tonight and it is SOOOO good!
Yum…thanks for the recipe! I didn’t have chicken bouillion, but made beef broth as the base and it was still great!
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Been looking for a good potato recipe for a long time…found it…made it…love it! Thanks!
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hey lynn, i am going to make the panera soup tomorrow. i am wondering if you used a certain type of potatoes or if there is any difference. i seem to have a negative breathing reaction to white potatoes and cannot peel them or cut them up. so, does it make a difference if i use yellow potatoes?
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Lynn Reply:
December 16th, 2009 at 9:00 am
@kristen reynolds, I usually use white potatoes because that is what I usually have, but yellow will also work fine. And I have used them before. I wonder what is in white potatoes that is not in gold ones that would bother you? I hope you enjoy it, let me know if you like it.
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Hi Lynn, thanks so much for the Panera Bread Baked Potato Soup recipe. Just made it and the taste mimics PB’s more than any other recipe I’ve tried. I’ll cut back on the red and white pepper by about half on the next batch-my family & I thought it was a bit spicier/hotter than Panera’s version. I also added approximately 1/2 teaspoon of chopped scallions just to give it a little color. Again, thank you for sharing the recipe-you saved me a lot of time and money by my not having to experiment on my own and I greatly appreciate the time & effort you put into your site & recipes. Will try the Broccoli Cheddar ASAP.
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I LOOOOVE their potato and broccoli soups!! I’ve been thinking about them lately, how nice it would be to have them on our menu one week. This is awesome! (I found this from Crystal’s Money Saving Mom blog, which I’m totally reading through right now
)
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