Roasted Potato and Fennel Soup

Kindly do me a favor and throw away – no, burn – every other soup recipe you’ve ever made and MAKE THIS AND ONLY THIS FOREVER. I’m fo reals. It’s the only soup you’ll ever need. We struck gold here, people. This soup is seriously one of the best things I’ve ever eaten, and it is ab-so-LUTELY going on my repeat list and, more importantly, my make-for-people-when-they-come-over-for-dinner list, and that’s saying something.

A recipe has to be really extra good to go on that list. And this soup easily, easily makes it.

It’s so simple – I was shocked to taste how amazing the end result was. The flavors here are just so deep and warm and delicious. We get the roasted veggie flavor from the potatoes and fennel, we get the added punch of flavor from the shallots and garlic, and we get creamy + flavor from the milk and chicken stock combo.

Then it all gets blended together and forms a super thick, super luxurious, and insanely flavorful pot of soup that will heal and comfort you on your lowest days! It is seriously a hug in a bowl. You are being hugged. By the soup. As you eat it. It is NEEDED in your house this winter! And every other day even when it’s blazing hot outside.

Fennel might be a new and strange ingredient for you. It’s definitely not your average weeknight veggie. When eaten raw, it has a licorice flavor (which I only like in certain situations), but when it’s roasted, that flavor goes away and it definitely doesn’t come through in your soup. The fennel adds so much extra yumminess here and takes what would normally be just a regular ol’ baked potato soup and brings so much new life to it.

If you’re hesitant to hop on the fennel wagon, just do it. Trust me. You’ll LOVE it. Promise.

Roasted veggies = heaven. In my opinion, it is THE best way to prepare vegetables. Some crazy magic happens in the oven and the most amazing flavors develop! And since we roast the potatoes and fennel for this soup, we get that depth that comes with oven baked veggies, and it just brings this dish to a WHOLE new level, man.

And then after the roasted veggies, we have the sauteed shallot and garlic. The perfect background to give this soup a wonderful, rounded flavor. Then it all simmers together in chicken stock and milk for just a little while so the potatoes can fully cook through. And then our immersion blender does all the hard pureeing work for us and leaves you with seriously the thickest, most comforting pot of soup you’ve ever had!

Now speaking of something a little bit less warm and comforting, the time is rapidly approaching that Ford and I will be traveling to North Carolina for Christmas, and I am rellllaattiiveellyy nervous about it. I’ve never traveled with Ford before, never had him on a plane, never been in the car with him for more than like 45 minutes at a time, and we are about to make a 2 hour road trip together and then fly for 2 more hours.

Ohhhh LAWD it could be rough. Or maybe it won’t be and he’ll be wonderful! There is so much unknown. The way I see it, we basically have two options:

1. Ford is awesome, he sleeps in the car, he naps in my arms for part of the flight, and for the rest of it he is content to just look around and chill. No one leaves the plane thinking that I am the worst human being ever for bringing a screaming infant into their lives for a solid two hours.
2. OR – he doesn’t sleep in the car, cries most the drive to Kansas City, is super cranky in the airport, and screams his little overtired lungs out the entire two hour flight while I receive dagger glares from everyone in nearby seats as I try and pretend I am currently living in a bubble of solitude. Merry Christmas, Annie.

Let’s just hope and pray for option 1, shall we?! If option 2 happens, maybe I can just close my eyes and go to my happy place: sitting in front of a fireplace eating approximately eleven bowls of this perfect soup 😍.

This recipe is 7 Freestyle SmartPoints per serving!

Roasted Potato and Fennel Soup

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Annie Chesson
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: 5 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 bulb fennel, core removed, roughly diced
• 3 teaspoons of olive oil, divided
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups 2% milk

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and lay out your diced potatoes and fennel. Drizzle with 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss so everything is evenly coated
3. Roast in your preheated oven for 20 minutes, remove the baking sheet from the oven and toss the veggies around with a spatula, and place back in the oven to roast for a final 10 minutes
4. When done, remove from the oven and set aside
5. Heat a large pot over medium high heat with your remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil. When hot, add your shallots and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook until softened
6. Add your potatoes, fennel, chicken stock, and milk and stir to combine
7. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Try not to let the mixture boil – it can scald the milk
8. Simmer for several minutes until your potatoes are very tender when pierced with a knife
9. Puree the soup using an immersion blender (stick blender) until totally smooth
10. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve! Top with parmesan cheese (optional)

Notes

If you don’t have an immersion blender, puree this in batches using a regular blender or a food processor.

This recipe is made up largely of potatoes, and potatoes need a lot of salt. If it tastes bland to you at the end, just keep adding salt until it’s seasoned just right!

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cup
• Calories: 223
• Sugar: 8 g
• Sodium: 121 mg
• Fat: 5 g
• Carbohydrates: 40 g
• Fiber: 4 g
• Protein: 8 g
• Cholesterol: 8 mg

If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!

In the mood for more yummy soup recipes? Check these out:

Spicy Curried Carrot Soup

Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup

Roasted Tomato Soup