Get your homemade potato soup with this recipe, made with earthy guajillo peppers, loads of seasoning, melty cheese, fresh lime juice and more. You're gonna want a second bowl.
It's DEFINITELY time to bust out the soup, my friends. It's getting pretty chilly where I live. It's hard to complain because we've had far worse years in terms of snow and cold temperatures, but the temps are dropping into the teens around here and they're calling for a "wintry mix". No one wants a "wintry mix", let me tell you!
I can deal with cooler weather, but that's just getting too much for me. I may be unable to control the weather, but I CAN control what goes in my belly, and that includes bone warming SOUP!
YES!
Soup in the form of this flavorful potato soup that is sure to warm your soul - Cheesy Guajillo Potato Soup. SO. GOOD.
I've always been a fan of a good potato soup, though I don't order them at restaurants very much. When you order them out, they're typically thickened with heavy cream and overly cheesy to point where you can't even taste the potato. I don't enjoy soups that are overly rich.
Don't get me wrong, cream and cheese have their places, but in moderation. You don't need to overdo them on my account. In fact, please don't!
This soup does not include cream, nor does it need it, as the potato does MORE than enough to thicken the soup. It also doesn't overdo the cheese. I swirled a cup of shredded cheddar into the entire pot, giving it JUST enough cheesiness, though you can easily swirl in more.
The cheese melts throughout, and you'll get that cheesy flavor with every bite.
The Big Recipe Secret
The big SECRET here to making this soup GREAT is the inclusion of guajillo peppers. Guajillos are reddish brown dried peppers and they add a rich, complex flavor to dishes when they are rehydrated and ground into a chili paste. Learn more about the Guajillo Peppers here.
How to Make Cheesy Guajillo-Potato Soup - The Recipe Method
The process is simple enough. You'll rehydrate the guajillo peppers in hot water, then process them in a food processor to form a chili paste. I like to lightly toast my dried peppers first before rehydrating.
It releases the oils a bit from the skins and brings out their flavor.
Next, cook down your potatoes in a pot with carrots, jalapenos, celery and garlic,all your veggies. Toss in your seasonings, a bit of white wine to reduce and scrape off those flavorful brown bits that form on the bottom of the pot, then pour in your stock.
Use vegetable stock if you'd like to go vegetarian. I used chicken stock here. Swirl in your chili paste.
Then! Simmer and wait.
Hang out a while. Grab a brewski or a cold beverage. I let mine simmer at least 20 minutes, but you can definitely go longer.
In fact, I encourage it. The flavors develop more the longer you let it sit. Just don't let it evaporate too much. Add more stock if you need to.
When it's done, I like to use a stick blender to smooth it out. You can use a food processor as well. Or, don't process it at all for a chunkier soup. Or, use a wooden spoon to mash it up a bit. You have options. The choice is yours.
Swirl in the cheese and stir until it is nicely melted through.
And it's ready! Serve it up in bowls and warm them chilly bones! Don't forget the fresh limes for serving! It is SO GOOD with a splash of fresh lime juice. No joke. Go for it.
I hope you like it! Let me know how it turns out for you. Send pics! -- Mike H.
Try Some of My Other Popular Soup Recipes
- Zesty Chicken & Tortellini Soup
- 30-Minute Sweet Potato Soup
- Spicy Thai Curry Chicken Soup
- Sweet Pepper-Sweet Corn Chowder
- Spicy Sausage Soup
- Roasted Poblano Soup
- Roasted Tomato Soup
- Spicy Pumpkin Soup
- Cajun Style Carrot Soup
- Chunky Southwest Chicken Soup
If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you'll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don't forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I'll be sure to share! Thanks! -- Mike H.
Cheesy Guajillo Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 3 guajillo peppers
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 medium sized yellow potatoes about 1 pound, peeled and cubed
- 1 large carrot peeled and chopped
- 2 jalapeno peppers chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 2-3 tablespoons spicy chili powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup white wine
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 cup melty cheese shredded , or more as desired – cheddar is good, or American
FOR SERVING: Fresh herbs, lime slices, crackers, chili flakes
Instructions
- Heat a pan to medium heat and dry toast the dried peppers until they become fragrant, about 30 seconds per side. Remove them from the heat and add them to a pot of boiling water, just enough to cover them.
- Turn off the heat and let them rehydrate for 20 minutes.
- When the peppers are rehydrated, drain them but reserve a few tablespoons of the darkened water. Remove the stems and seeds from the peppers and add them to a food processor with the reserved water and process to form a paste. Strain, if desired, to remove any remaining bits.
- Heat a large pot to medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the potatoes, carrot, peppers and celery and cook, stirring a bit, about 10 minutes to soften everything up.
- Add the garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper and stir. Cook another minute.
- Add the white wine to deglaze the pan. Stir up the brown bits from the bottom.
- Add the chicken stock and swirl in your chili paste. Let it simmer for 20 minutes, though you can easily simer longer to further develop the flavor.
- Taste and adjust for salt and pepper.
- At this point, you can transfer as much to a food processor and process until smooth. I like to process only about half and leave it a bit chunky. You can also use stick blender.
- Swirl in the cheese and stir until it is nicely melted through.
- Serve in bowls with fresh herbs, limes, chili flakes and crackers.
Nutrition Information
Damien C. says
This is a new one to be made over and over. And over. Delicious.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Damien! Glad you enjoyed this one.
Noreen Davidson says
I followed the recipe exactly and the soup was delicious. The problem I ran into was that my little food processor left small pieces of the skin of the guajillo peppers in the paste. They had the consistency of paper so I pulled as many as I could out of the soup. How could I avoid this? I have a bigger more powerful processor. Would that make a difference. We used an immersion blender at the end but there were still bits of skin, only smaller.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Noreen, you can strain the paste to remove any remaining bits of skin if needed, but yes, a more powerful blender will work best. Plus, you can soak the peppers longer to be completely softened to avoid any bits moving forward.
brent says
This looks great. I want to use up some guajillos and stew beef.
My one question, before I make this is:
will a crock pot and some stew beef change this recipe too much? Or good additions? Thank you.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Brent, you should be able to make this with stew beef and a crock pot. Let me know how it turns out for you.
John says
Sounds yummy and will be in the winter rotation. How do you handle the potatoes ? Sliced, chopped, cubbed ?
REPLY: John, the potatoes are cubed. Enjoy! -- Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.