Miso Potato Soup

I received free samples of Progresso Cooking Stock mentioned in this post at no cost. By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by Progresso Cooking Stock and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time. #ProgressoEatsContest

When I was growing up one of our little town’s restaurants had potato soup Thursdays.  In high school, we spent countless Thursdays eating potato soup at Clementine’s.  Such good memories!  Clem’s potato soup was delicious, creamy, and I think it actually had noodles in it.  I haven’t had it in years but can taste it like it was yesterday.   So needless to say potato soup has a special place in my heart and also is one of my favorite comfort foods.

Fast forward to today, with New Year resolutions of healthy eating on the brain, I wanted to create a recipe that evoked rich memories of Clementine’s potato soup while also keeping things on the light and healthy side.  This potato soup contains ample veggies and no heavy creams or cheese.  It also fits into vegan, dairy free, or gluten free categories if that’s your jam.   So you can enjoy it while still sticking to your resolutions.  (Extra health points if you top with a little shredded kale but that’s totally optional – I admit a few crunchy croutons would probably taste much better. )

Derek actually made a similar soup a while back and came up with the idea of adding the miso. I’ve been wanting to recreate it for awhile. Miso has a delicious nutty salty flavor that goes perfect in a potato soup, giving it a creaminess and richness without the need for butter or cream.  If you are new to miso, it is a fermented soybean product.  It is also good in salad dressings, stir frys, or just plain miso soup is pretty delicious too. Just make sure to add the miso at the end of the cooking process since it is fairly delicate.

I have a couple of other tricks for creating a creamy dairy free soup.  First is adding nutritional yeast, which lends a creamy cheesy flavor.  Nutritional yeast is an amazing product – vegans everywhere bow down to nutritional yeast since it tastes so cheesy.  I usually find it in the bulk section of our health food store.

Second is taking a few cups of the soup, blending it, and then adding it back into the pot.  This adds a smooth texture and thickens the soup a bit.

We often make our own homemade stock but sometimes there just isn’t time for that and it is handy to have a few containers of ready-to-go stock in the pantry.  Progresso recently came out with a new line of cooking stocks that are a pretty darn good substitute for homemade stock. They are made by simmering real bones (pretty sure 2016 is going to be the year of bone broth btw), vegetables, and herbs.  Plus no artificial colors or crazy weird ingredients are anywhere to be found.  I used Progresso vegetable stock in this recipe and it gave the soup a wonderful deep homemade flavor but I think chicken stock would also work well too.

As always, I encourage you to play around with this recipe.  If you do not have nutritional yeast and want to add milk or cheese, do it!  The miso is optional also but I might recommend adding a bit more salt if left out.  Enjoy!

Miso Potato Soup

Makes 6-8 servings

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

2 cups white onion, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup carrot, chopped

1 cup parsnip, chopped

6 white Russet potatoes, chopped (I peeled 3 and left the skin on 3)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 box (32 oz) Progresso Vegetable Cooking Stock

2 cups water

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

2 cups finely chopped kale

2 tablespoons white miso

1-2 teaspoon salt (more to taste)

Heat a large stock pot over medium heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil.  Add chopped onions and cook until soft and translucent.  Add in celery, carrots, parsnips, and potatoes.  Cook on medium to low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add oregano and thyme and stir until incorporated.  Add the 4 cups of broth and two cups of water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook for 30-40 minutes or until potatoes are soft.  Add in nutritional yeast and chopped kale and cook until kale is wilted.  If you want a creamier texture, take two cups of the soup and blend until smooth in a blender and add back in.  While heat is on the low, stir in the 2 tablespoons of miso.  Salt to taste (I added about 2 teaspoons of salt at the end.)

If I haven’t shown my love for soup enough yet, check out a few of my other soup recipes.

Butternut Squash Soup 

Curry Chicken Lentil Soup

Curried Broccoli Soup

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

As always my fellow Recipe Reduxers knocked it out of the park with all their creative recipes.  Check them out below!