Hash Brown Potato Soup is so quick and easy that it is one of my “crisis meals”—meals that can be made in 20-30 minutes with shelf-stable (or freezer) ingredients that I keep on hand:
- frozen hash browns
- cheddar cheese
- cream of chicken soup
- cream of celery soup
- chicken broth
- evaporated milk
- onion (and a little oil if you need to sauté)
If you have sautéed onions in the freezer, this soup can be ready in under 20 minutes. If not, it’s still a quick 30 minutes from start to finish.
You might be wondering how onion and cheddar cheese are shelf-stable, and it’s a reasonable question. Shredded cheese can be frozen for several months (I have a huge basket in my freezer full of various shredded cheeses that I replenish when they are on sale). While onions are prone to getting soft, if you use our method of bulk cooking onions a bag at a time and freezing in 1 cup portions, you will always have prepared onions ready to go. The onions can be put into the soup still frozen, but it will increase cooking time so I like to thaw them first.
If you don’t have onions in the freezer, start by sautéing the onion in the same pot you will cook the soup in. If you want to stock up, go ahead and do all the onions in a bag and freeze the rest. It takes a little longer to chop, but you only have to sauté and wash the prep dishes once instead of 7 or 8 times.
Add all of the other ingredients (reserve 1/2 cup cheese and the green onions for garnish) and cook until heated through.
Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese and green onion and serve. I like to serve this soup with salad and crusty bread for dipping.
Sides that work well with 30 Minute Hash Brown Soup: bread (crusty bread for dipping is a great choice), salad
Hash Brown Soup
Ingredients
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 3 14.5 oz. cans chicken broth
- 32 oz. bag frozen hash browns, diced, not shredded
- 10.5 oz. cream of celery soup
- 10.5 oz. cream of chicken soup
- 12 oz. evaporated milk
- 16 oz. cheddar cheese, divided
- green onions, chopped (for garnish)
Instructions
- Sauté onion in oil in soup pot.
- Add broth and bring to boil.
- Add hash browns and bring to boil.
- Add soups and evaporated milk, bring to a simmer.
- Add 3-1/2 cups cheddar cheese.
- Heat, stirring frequently, until cheese melts.
- Serve garnished with remaining shredded cheddar and green onions.
Notes
- If you have sautéed onions in the freezer, use the equivalent of 1 onion. If not, consider sautéing a whole bag of onions either while preparing this dish or later when you have more time and freezing them in 1 cup portions. Next time a recipe calls for a sautéed onion, you have it already prepared!
- For a vegetarian version of this soup, use vegetable stock in place of chicken broth, and use two cans of cream of celery soup and omit the cream of chicken soup.
Nutrition
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Darlene
How many Ounces isthe broth????
Mary Ann
Sorry! 3 x 14.5 oz. cans.