Creamy Carrot Cheddar Soup

This is a fast, comforting carrot soup that leans on the pantry to do the work. Canned cream of cheddar shortcuts the long cheese-saucing step, while a homemade roux thickens whole milk and chicken broth into a velvety base for finely chopped carrots and onions sauteed in butter.

The trick is chopping the vegetables extra fine so they soften through in the short cooking window. Larger dice will leave you with crunchy carrot bits floating in a thick soup. A quick mince does the work of a long simmer.

A spoonful of Worcestershire, a dash of paprika, and seasoned salt round out the flavor and keep the canned-soup base from tasting flat. The result is a sunset-orange bowl with a sharp cheddar kick that lands somewhere between a cream of vegetable and a beer-cheese soup.

Pro Tips

• Cook the flour into the butter for a full minute to make a proper blond roux. Raw flour gives the soup a chalky, pasty mouthfeel that cheese cannot mask.
• Pour the hot milk slowly into the roux while whisking constantly. Dumping it in all at once gives you a lumpy, broken sauce that no amount of stirring will smooth out.
• Skip the MSG if you prefer. The soup is plenty seasoned with Worcestershire and seasoned salt. Adjust to taste at the end.
• Use whole milk, not skim. Low-fat milk thins the soup and the dairy can break when it meets the warm canned cheese sauce.

Variations

• Add a quarter teaspoon of curry powder with the paprika for a warming, slightly Indian-leaning carrot cheddar soup.
• Stir in a half cup of freshly grated sharp cheddar at the very end, off the heat, to deepen the cheese flavor and add a fresh-cheese finish.
• Top each bowl with crisp bacon crumbles and a swirl of sour cream for a loaded baked-potato style finish.