They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and when it comes to this recipe it’s absolutely true. The building where I work has a cafe which occasionally serves a delightful, decadent, creamy buffalo chicken soup.
That’s a lot of adjectives, but believe me, it earns every one of them. It’s my weakness. Well, it was my weakness before I resolved to bring healthy lunches from home every day.
After the winter break I was eating a nice little salad for lunch when my coworker brought in a bowl of the soup. It smelled heavenly and warm, and on that cold winter afternoon I decided that something must be done.
I went home that evening and concocted my own buffalo soup from ingredients that I had on hand. My new favorite Creamy Buffalo Potato Soup was born.
Fortunately for me it’s simple to make and even more delicious than the original.
CREAMY BUFFALO POTATO SOUP
2.5 lbs potatoes
6 cups chicken broth (reserve 1/2 cup)
1 large onion
2 large carrots
2 large celery stalks
4 oz. fat free cream cheese or neufchatel
1/4 cup Frank’s Buffalo Wing Sauce (or to taste)
Chop the potatoes into cubes and boil in the chicken broth. I used bullion, but you can also use reduced sodium broth if that’s a better fit for you.
While the potatoes are cooking chop the onion, carrots and celery into cubes. Cook the vegetables in the reserved broth until the carrots are tender and celery is just slightly crisp. Set aside.
Now for the secret step that makes the soup deliciously creamy and rich.Ladle about half of the tender potatoes and broth into a blender and blend on high until creamy. Add the cream cheese and blend again until smooth.
Add the creamy mixture back into the potatoes and stir in the vegetables and buffalo sauce. The recipe is rather mild, so if you prefer more spicy buffalo heat you can increase the amount of sauce.
Heat through and serve warm.
Makes approximately 12 cups or 6 teenager-friendly 2 cup servings
This soup was a big hit the night I made it. It was an even bigger hit for lunch the next day, paired with my coworker’s famous sourdough bread.
It’s very filling and tastes rich and sinful even though it’s a lighter, healthier alternative to the original.
It’s also one of the only creamy soups I’ve found that is safe to share with friends who suffer from gluten allergies (double check your cream cheese and broth just to be safe).
