Cheesy Guajillo Potato Soup is made with earthy guajillo peppers, a medley of bold seasonings, melty cheese, freshly squeezed lime juice and more! As hearty as it is, you'll definitely be going back for a second bowl.
Cheese and Potato Soup Recipe with Guajillo
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.
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.
Let's talk about how to make Cheese & Potato Soup with Guajillo, shall we?
Ingredients in Cheese & Potato Soup
- Guajillo peppers
- Olive oil
- Yellow potatoes
- Carrot
- Jalapeños
- Celery
- Garlic
- Spicy chili powder
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- White wine
- Chicken stock
- Cheddar cheese
How to Make Cheesy Guajillo Potato Soup
Rehydrate the peppers. Heat a pan over medium heat and dry toast the dried peppers for 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.
Blend the peppers. 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.
Cook the veggies. Heat a large pot over medium heat and add olive oil. Add the potatoes, carrot, peppers and celery and cook, stirring a bit, for 10 minutes to soften everything up.
Add seasonings. Add the garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper and stir. Cook another minute.
Deglaze the pan. Add the white wine to deglaze the pan. Stir up the brown bits from the bottom.
Simmer. Add the chicken stock and swirl in your chili paste. Let it simmer for 20 minutes, though you can easily simmer longer to further develop the flavor. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper.
Blend it. 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.
Make it cheesy and serve! Swirl in the cheese and stir until it's nicely melted through. Serve in bowls with fresh herbs, limes, chili flakes and crackers.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Use 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.
- Toast the peppers before rehydrating. It releases the oils a bit from the skins and really brings out their flavor.
- Create your desired consistency. 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. You can also use a wooden spoon to mash it up a bit.
Storage
Once the soup has cheesy potato cooled to room temperature, you can transfer it to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for 2-3 days. Reheat in the microwave or back on your stovetop until warmed through.
Try More of Our Favorite Soup Recipes
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.
Guajillo Spiced Cheese & Potato Soup Recipe
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.