Creamy Purple Potato Soup with Cheesy Croutons

Creamy purple potato soup is as tasty as it is colorful, and features lots of fresh flavors, a simple homemade crema, and crusty, cheesy croutons!

I hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend and fun celebrating Labor Day with family and friends! I’m so ready for fall and today I’m sharing this fall-ready recipe from my kitchen to yours! This is my spin on a potato soup. I started by using purple potatoes as my base, and added onions, garlic and thyme.

After the soup simmers, it gets a creamy topping with a simple homemade crema – one of my favorite things to add to soups! I served the soup with simple cheesy croutons with one of my favorite cheese: Raclette! If you can’t find this delicious cows milk cheese, I recommend subbing for something melty like Gruyere, or Jarlsberg.

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Creamy Purple Potato Soup with Cheesy Croutons

Creamy purple potato soup is as tasty as it is colorful, and features lots of fresh flavors, a simple homemade crema, and crusty, cheesy croutons!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

For soup:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 white onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 pounds purple potatoes washed and chopped into 1″ cubes
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

For crema:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For croutons:

• 8 slices crusty bread
• 8 slices Raclette cheese can substitute for your favorite melty cheese, such as Jarlsberg, Swiss, or gruyere
• Garnish:
• Fresh chives minced

Instructions

1. In a large dutch oven (or other heavy-bottomed pot with a lid), melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 6-8 minutes. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute more, until fragrant. Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until it started to become bubbly and golden brown, about 1-2 minutes. Add potatoes, vegetable stock, thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat low-medium and simmer for about 25-30 minutes, until the potatoes are soft and easily mashable.
2. While soup is simmering, prepare crema. Combine sour cream, heavy cream, and salt in a small mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Leave at room temperature until soup is finished.
3. Once potatoes are fork-tender, remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Use an immersion blender to carefully blend the soup. (Alternatively, you could transfer the soup in small batches to a regular blender and carefully blend it.)
4. To prepare croutons, heat broiler to high heat. Place bread slices on a baking sheet and top each slice with one piece of cheese. Transfer tray to the oven and bake for about 2-3 minutes, but keep a close eye on the croutons: each oven is different and you want to take them out before they burn!
5. Serve soup with croutons, fresh chives, and dollops of crema.