Your favorite queso dip, turned into a quick and easy dinner! (Don’t you wish you could always eat dip for dinner?) This potato soup is full of mild peppers and cheese and is SO satisfying!
The other day I was scrolling through Facebook and saw this post from someone on a neighborhood mom’s group I’m in:
“Tonight I made warm quinoa salad with sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, kale and chicken. My children literally cried until they fell out of their chairs. My sister was over for dinner, she thanks us for the continuous stream of birth control inducing experiences.”
I busted up laughing when I read this because can I just say, SAME STORY going on over here. Tonight I thawed out some Ham Mac and Cheese Soup that I had tucked away in the freezer. A kid’s dream dinner, right?? Mac and Cheese, in soup form. It’s not even green. But nooooo. You would have thought I was ACTUALLY twisting Charlotte’s arm.
Although I probably should cut her some slack because she’s sick right now. Today we made a cake together, and later I was shooting it. She asked what it was and I said, the cake we made together! Want some? and she said NO. What? That’s when you know the tummy ache is real I guess. Poor thing.
I made this Queso Dip Potato Soup a few weeks ago and my kids ate it right up. When I chose this recipe I was expecting to like it, but I didn’t expect to LOVE it. It is so good! And super easy. And cheesy. It is also vegetarian if you swap out the chicken broth for vegetable broth. It really does taste just like Queso Dip. Who doesn’t love Queso Dip, right?? Now you can have it for dinner.
Have you guys ever tried Oaxaca cheese? (wah-ha-ka) I thought Eric was going to die of cheesy happiness when he saw that I had bought this. He lived in Mexico for 2 years while serving a mission for our church, and this is the kind of cheese they use there. We made a ton of quesadillas with the cheese that we didn’t use in the soup, and dipped them in. Crunchy, cheesy perfection. You will not believe the cheese stretch you will get from quesadillas made with Oaxaca.
So far my kids have never rejected cheesy quesadillas, no matter how sick they are. Pair it with this soup and you might just have a winner! Or maybe your kids will still cry until they fall off their chairs. You just never know.
Do you guys give up? Or are you thirsty for more?
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Easy Queso Dip Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 poblano peppers, seeded and finely chopped*
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 10 ounces frozen Southwestern-style hash brown potatoes, 1/2 package
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 & 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup half and half
- 1 cup shredded asadero (Oaxaca) cheese**, 4 ounces
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, 4 ounces
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
- blue tortilla chips, To garnish: red bell pepper, red onion, sliced jalapeno, cilantro
Instructions
- Heat the butter over medium-high heat in a large soup pot. When it is hot, add bell pepper, onion, poblano peppers, and garlic.
- Saute until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add potatoes and cumin and saute another 5 minutes or until tender.
- Slowly stir in chicken broth, scraping the bottom of the pot to stir up the bits. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 25-30 minutes.
- In a small bowl whisk flour, milk, and half and half. Turn the heat up to medium and add the milk mixture. Stir constantly for 5 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat to low.
- Add all the shredded cheese and cook on low, stirring constantly until cheese is melted.
- Garnish with tons of cilantro and more cheese!
- This soup does great in the freezer. Just heat it back up and serve when you want it!
Notes
**If you can't find any, use Monterey Jack cheese. Source: lightly adapted from Fix it and Freeze it, Heat it and Eat it from Southern Living
Nutrition
I can’t get enough soup this fall!
Cowboy Pinto Bean Soup (Slow Cooker) <<this is a classic in Eric’s family! He grew up eating this.
Cream Cheese Chicken Chili << this is seriously one of the easiest meals you will ever make. And sooo good…can be eaten as a soup or your could serve it as a dip!
Ham and Potato Soup << Just because I used to not know how to take pictures doesn’t mean I used to not know how to make good soup. This one’s legit.
Chicken Enchilada Soup << Another family classic. This soup has masa in it that makes it so enchilada-y! It’s delicious.
Kay so now you want more queso right? (ok. That was bad.)
Queso Dip from Two Peas and Their Pod
Cheesy Pepper Jack Potato Chowder from Iowa Girl Eats
Slow Cooker Taco Queso Dip from No. 2 Pencil Blog
The purple corn chips in the soup look great as a topper along with the other garnishes. I usually never buy blue corn tortillas because they are gray and to me look unappetizing. But these were vibrant. Can you tell me what brand of purple tortilla chips you used? I love to make potato soup, and usually go out of my way to garnish because potato soup can look so blah without added color.
Ah darnit you’ve got me stumped Marils. I made this years ago and can’t remember what brand they were. Keep in mind that I do using editing software to make the colors on all my food look more vibrant, so it might just be that! I know what you mean though. some blue chips don’t look great while others look really purple.
This looks so yummy! I’ve really been looking into different soup recipes since it seems like I always eat the same three during fall, and this is definitely going on the list!
I love Oaxaca cheese and queso dip. I have to make this soon. It looks addictive!
That is hilarious! I would have probably been that kid, ha! This soup looks amazing though!
No adult should ever be held responsible for food tantrums they threw as a child. I think we would all be doomed if so. haha!
LOL!! That FB story is soooo true!! Only my husband is right along with them sometimes (he hates most veggies, great role model I know!) I love this soup and all that cheesey goodness!!
Malinda you should try making your husband warm quinoa and kale and see if it actually makes him cry. lol!! Thanks friend!!
Ha! I hate to say it, but my husband has a similar reaction whenever I make fairly healthy recipes. The other day, he asked me in the most pitiful voice “can we stop making everything taste like curry?” Um, sure sweetie. My bad. I think I need to get on this taste like queso soup pronto! If only for the sake of my marriage ;)
hahaha!!! That is kind of pitiful. The stuff we put our husbands through in the name of food blogging! (Although I have to say I don’t feel that bad for them :)
our favorite dip, now can be a meal…where have I been :) this looks incredible Karen
Thanks Heather!! Now I am craving it again!
Such a brilliant idea! You’ve combined two of my favorite things here. :)
Thanks Rachel! I’m on a mission to soup-ify everything apparently, lol.