Make Your Potato Soup Extra Cozy With Just One Smoky Step

Velvety heavy cream, thick, starchy potatoes simmering into gooey perfection — potato soup can't get any better than that, right? It can, though, and not just with a sprinkle of cheese or crumbles of bacon. To make ultra-cozy potato soup, smoke the spuds prior to cooking.

Given that they're probably the most versatile ingredient around, there are a myriad ways to cook potatoes that don't seem all that strange. Everything from roasting to boiling and mashing is well-loved, but smoking the vegetable is a frontier unexplored by many. One of potatoes' best features is that it easily absorbs the flavors of the other ingredients, and nothing gives it more of an impact than hickory wood chips.

The bold, slightly sweet wood chips punch up the flavor of the spuds with ease, making for a rich, woodsy pot of smoked potato soup. You can, of course, give potatoes that heady flavor using an actual smoker. If you don't have one, though, your oven works just as well. After soaking the chips in water for a while, put them in a pan — along with some of the water — with a roasting rack on top. With the potatoes on the rack, heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and loosely cover the spuds with foil to trap the smoky steam.

Using hickory wood chips is definitely one of the best ingredients to use for better potato soup, but it doesn't end there. Cheese is an important component for potato soup, but make sure the dairy product mirrors the vegetables in some way. The deep, smoky varieties pair best with smoked potato soup, bolstering the rich hickory wood chip-infused spuds. Smoked Gouda's nuttiness pairs well with the earthy potatoes, while sharp, smoky cheddar brings a welcomed tangy touch to the soup.

Bacon bits are a common pork topping for potato soup, but to give it a twist, opt for andouille sausage instead. This simple three-ingredient potato and sausage soup tastes anything but basic with such heavy-hitters making up the dish. Andouille sausage's decadently spiced taste, coupled with the hickory-smoked potatoes, makes the soup a dinner to remember.

To ensure your smoked potato soup really stands out, you should also take the extra step of making homemade broth or stock for it. There are nuances that are coaxed out of fresh vegetables and chicken carcasses that just aren't present in store-bought broth. Umami vegetable stock brings a bold touch to vegan potato soup, while bone broth is an incredible choice for a hearty, meaty batch of the dish. Don't forget to roast the bones and any other ingredients before simmering them.