Recipe: Bacon, Cheddar and Onion Soup

I first discovered this soup while staying over at a friends for the weekend. Her mom made it, served with a nice hunk of crusty bread, and it was absolute heaven. She explained that this was a knockoff recipe for "Walkabout Soup". With a heavy blanket of snow on the ground and more on the way, I've was craving pure comfort food. So, I decided to try and find a recipe for myself.

I used this recipe and simple tweaked it to fit the items I had in my kitchen and pantry. I just tweaked a few things and added the bacon for a bit of crunch and texture. Click through for the full recipe!


5 Strips of Bacon
2 Cups of yellow, sweet onions (I used about 2 medium-large onions), thinly sliced
1 Can (15 Ounces) of Chicken Broth
2 Cups of Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Salt and Pepper (to taste)
Croutons (optional)

White Sauce:
3 Tablespoons Butter
3 Tablespoons Flour
1 1/2 Cups Milk
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Paprika

Start by chopping your bacon into small pieces and sautéing it over medium heat. When the bacon it slightly browned toss in your chopped onions. Cook until the bacon is crispy and the onions are translucent.

While the bacon and onions are cooking, in a separate sauce pan start making your white sauce. This will act as a thickening agent for the soup later on. Add the butter to your heated sauce pan and let it melt slightly. Whisk in the flour and mix until it creates a paste. Then slowly add in your milk, constantly stirring to prevent lumps. Then season with a pinch of salt and paprika. Take your mixture off the heat to let it set up.

Back to the soup! Once your bacon and onions are all set, add them to a large soup pot. Add the chicken broth and season with salt and pepper. Let the mixture cook until it is heated through. It should simmer and bubble a bit when it is completely heated through.

Once your chicken broth mixture is simmering, you can add the white sauce. After that, stir in your shredded cheese. The soup should thicken quite a bit. Let it cook on low heat for about 30 minutes. 

 When the soup is ready you can serve it with toasted bread or croutons and an extra bit of shredded cheese on top!

What's your favorite winter comfort food?