Warm up this winter with Wisconsin Cheese Soup. It’s creamy and comforting for lunch or dinner. We like to top this cheddar soup with our seasoned sourdough pretzel nuggets for added crunch and flavor.Â
Homemade soups like this one are easy to make with the help of a slow cooker. Plus, they are better for you than the cans you find on the shelves since you can control the ingredients. We always use fresh produce and quality items when crafting our pretzel nuggets and the recipes that complement them.
How to Make Wisconsin Cheese Soup
The Base: Onions, carrots and celery are the base of many soups and stews, so it’s no surprise that they are the first ingredients for this cheddar cheese soup recipe. For the chicken broth, you can use a low sodium boxed stock or make your own.Â
HINT: If you prefer this to be a vegetarian soup, use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.
The Cheese: Choose a good quality block of cheese and grate it by hand or using a food processor. It is also important to use full fat cheese, including the cream cheese. This will give your soup a richer taste and creamier texture. For Wisconsin cheese soup, we prefer a sharp cheddar cheese.
The Slurry: A little cornstarch and milk create a slurry that will help thicken your cheddar cheese soup. It is important to mix the slurry well before adding it to the soup. Similar to purpose flour, be sure to allow the slurry to cook into the soup for at least 15 minutes to prevent any raw taste from remaining.
The Toppings: Here’s where you can really jazz up your Wisconsin cheese soup. If you want to add vegetables, broccoli is a great idea. For smokiness, use crumbled bacon. Prefer herbs? Try scallions, parsley or dill. Of course, we are partial to crunch and always top our soup with proutons!Â
Cheese Soup and Pretzel Combinations
Traditionally, cheese soup calls for sharp cheddar and that’s what we used in the recipe below. But, if you want to change up the flavors a bit, you definitely can. Just swap the shredded cheddar for another cheese that melts well and leave the rest of the Wisconsin cheese soup recipe alone. Here are some of our favorite variations and pretzel-tastic topping ideas:
- Gruyere and Lemon Pepper OMG! Pretzels
- Monterey Jack and Cheddar Jalapeno OMG! Pretzels
- Fontina and Garlic OMG! Pretzels
- Gouda and Buffalo OMG! Pretzels
Wisconsin Cheese Soup Recipe
Wisconsin Cheese Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 carrot peeled and diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 3 cups Wisconsin Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 block of cream cheese
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk, divided
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 cup of Chesapeake OMG! Pretzels
Instructions
- Add stock, onion, carrot, celery, butter, salt and pepper to your slow cooker. Cover and cook on high until vegetables are tender, about 3 hours. If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can do this in a dutch oven on the stovetop over low heat.
- Whisk shredded cheese, cream cheese, and 1 cup of the milk into the stock and vegetable mixture. Cover and cook on high until the cheese is melted and smooth, whisking occasionally, about 45 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and remaining ¼ cup milk until smooth. Whisk the slurry into soup in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high, whisking occasionally, until thickened, about 15 minutes.
- Serve warm with Chesapeake OMG! Pretzels on top.
