Creamy Potato, White Cheddar, and Kielbasa Soup

Creamy Potato, White Cheddar, and Kielbasa Soup is a little taste of Oktoberfest you can have anytime of the year! The addition of Hillshire Farm® Kielbasa takes a simple potato cheddar soup to a whole new taste level!

 

With both my husband and I being of Eastern European decent, one of the events that we like to attend every year is our local Oktoberfest. 

Cleveland has a wonderful annual Oktoberfest event full of beer, great food and entertainment. It's something we both look forward to every year! 

Who doesn't love a cold beer when you are listening to a German Oompah Band?   

But why enjoy those Oktoberfest flavors only once a year?

I made this tasty potato soup last week, because I was thinking about all those great Old World Oktoberfest flavors I enjoyed at the festival last month.  Adding kielbasa and cheddar really elevates this soup in the flavor department and makes it a hearty choice for the colder weather months. 

Hillshire Farm® Rope Sausage is a regular item on my shopping trips.  We love them because they are full of the flavors that we both grew up with.  I've used the Hillshire Farm® Rope Sausage in all sorts of recipes through the years like in this Smoked Sausage and Pepper Pasta Skillet.  

It adds so much flavor to recipes, but it is also a convenient choice for a quick dinner making them the perfect sausage to celebrate Oktoberfest and beyond!  

This soup is easy to make and get on your table even on a weeknight. If you don't own an immersion blender (but why wouldn't you?  They are awesome!) you can blend half of it up in a blender or go old school and use a potato masher.  

Garnished with a little dollop of sour cream and some fresh thyme, it not only tastes great but looks pretty too! 

creamy potato, white cheddar, and kielbasa soup, potato soup with cheddar, sausage and potato soup

main dish, soup

American

Yield: 10 servings

Author: Renee Paj

Creamy Potato, White Cheddar, and Kielbasa Soup

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 50 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

A hearty and creamy potato soup with white cheddar cheese and Kielbasa for a taste of the Old World!

Ingredients

• 1 TBSP unsalted butter
• 3 carrots, peeled and diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 3 lbs. (approx) white potatoes, peeled and diced
• 64 oz. chicken broth
• 2 cups half and half
• 3 TBSP all purpose flour
• 8 oz. shredded white cheddar cheese
• 2 (14 oz.) packages of Hillshire Farm® Turkey Polska Kielbasa , diced
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In large cast iron Dutch oven or stock pot, melt butter over med heat. Add in carrots, celery, and onion. Sauté until veggies begin to soften. Add in the bay leaf and thyme.
2. Add in the potatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer, with pot partially covered. Cook until potatoes are tender, but not falling apart. (this time will vary with the size of your potatoes) Remove bay leaf.
3. In small bowl, whisk together half and half with the flour and pour into soup. Cook for another 5 -10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. With an immersion blender, blend up the soup so about half is blended creamy, leaving a about half of the potatoes and veggies unblended.
5. Stir in cheese and diced kielbasa. Taste for salt and pepper, and add as desired.
6. Garnish with sour cream and fresh thyme, if desired.

Notes

If you don't own an immersion blender, you can skip blending and just eat as a chunky soup.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

471.31

Fat (grams)

26.17 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

12.36 g

Cholesterol (grams)

85.58 mg

Carbs (grams)

40.39 g

Fiber (grams)

4.02 g

Sugar (grams)

7.76 g

Net carbs

36.37 g

Protein (grams)

19.91 g

Sodium (milligrams)

1381.73 mg

Nutritional Information provided is an estimate.

https://www.reneeskitchenadventures.com/2015/11/creamy-potato-white-cheddar-and.html

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