BLT Soup
I know what you’re thinking. Why make BLT soup when you can just eat a BLT sandwich?
I can sum it up in two words: Grilled Cheese.
See? Did you follow my logic? (And did you first have to wrap your mind around the possibility that SoupAddict has any logic? (Me, too!)
Or, to put it another way: what two sandwiches were made for — are soul mates with — soup?
BLTs and grilled cheese, right?
Right!
But, when was the last time you had both a BLT and a grilled cheese sandwich with the same bowl of soup? Never, ’cause it’s too much work, making soup and a BLT and a grilled cheese.
[Breaking into obnoxiously cheery infomercial voice] “But now you can have all three, with only 2/3rds of the work! That’s right: 33% less work! The secret is in the soup! It’s a BLT … but it’s soup! Which means you can have soup and a grilled cheese sandwich without missing out on the BLT!” [/end obnoxiously cheery voice]
[Scratches head] See?
“Dear SoupAddict: Your logic does not resemble our Earth logic.
Signed, Confused”“Dear Confused: That’s right, mine’s more, um, advanced! Yeah, that’s it, advanced!
Signed—and patiently waiting for the rest of the world to catch up to the brilliance of the BLT soup/grilled cheese sandwich combo—SoupAddict.”
BLT Soup
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
4 slices bacon, uncooked, chopped (or 5 slices vegetarian substitute, chopped)
2 green onions, chopped
1 small sweet onion (Vidala, Walla Walla, etc.), diced
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 head boston lettuce, cored and chopped or grated
1/4 cup fine-milled all-purpose flour (such as the Wondra brand)
4 cups stock, chicken or vegetable
2 medium fresh, in-season tomatoes, peeled and diced, or (1) 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 dash crushed red pepper
2 bay leaves
1 cup whole milk or half and half
2 tablespoons creme fraiche or mayonnaise (mayo, if you like it sweeter)
1 tablespoon butter (optional)
1 clove garlic, minced
6 slices thick, crusty, country (day-old is fine)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
1. In a large stock pot or dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium until shimmering. Add bacon pieces and cook until it begins to brown. Add the green onions and onions cook until soft and translucent. Make sure the bacon has cooked to your desired crispness. Add the lettuce and stir well. When the lettuce begins to turn bright green, about a minute or two, add the flour and stir well into the other ingredients.
2. Add the stock, tomatoes, crushed red pepper and bay leaves. Turn heat to high and bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
3. Whisk the milk and creme fraiche in a small bowl. Add a ladle of soup into the diary mixture and whisk until smooth, then pour now-warmed dairy mixture into the soup, blending well. Top the soup with the butter (if using). Turn heat to low and allow butter to melt into soup before stirring.
4. Toast two of the bread slices in a toaster or under the broiler. Cut in half, and one half in the bottom of each of four soup bowls or large mugs.
5. Slice the remaining bread into large croutons (about 1/2″).
6. Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic and stir until fragrant (about a minute). Add croutons, and stir to coat in the garlic oil. Sprinkle a couple pinches of salt over croutons, and saute until toasted. Remove from heat.
7. Remove the bay leaves and give the soup one final stir, and ladle into the bread-lined bowls. Top each with the croutons.
Hello, and welcome to SoupAddict, my little corner of the foodie world on the Interwebs. I'm Karen, and it's true, I'm addicted to soup. The seasons guide my cooking and eating, and when I'm not behind the stove — or the keyboard: I'm a writer by trade — you can find me in my vegetable garden. 
Your logic is great, and you had me at bacon. Since it is cooler in the AM in Florida this looks like a great choice for lunch. Thanks.
I’m with Phyllis, except for the part about being in Florida. You had me at “bacon” and I have the ingredients, so soup’s on.
I too am with Phyliss and I am in Bonita Springs, FL> and I will make for dinner this week. YUM> How bad can it be with crisp bacon.
This is brilliant! What a great idea! The croutons on the top just bring the whole recipe together. I will definitely be adding this to the menu sometime! Nicely done!
I DO like your logic! What a fabulous soup…and gorgeous photos of it~
Love the idea and love your soup bowl. Nice photos too. I’m wondering how the lettuce holds up in the soup, but I can see it.
It holds up amazingly well. I know how it sounds (I paused at the thought myself, even though I was determined to do it), but it really works.
I swear I just came up with an idea for a BLT soup the other day! Great minds….
I kinda’ can follow your logic. I love BLT sandwich but there are times when we are lazy enough to just crave for soup and want it in soup form. I admit I have those days too. And this is the answer to my craving such. This is awesome!
How do I print this recipe without printing everything?
Hi Susan!
Grrr – you’d think this would all be second nature by now …. I left off the print link … but it’s back, at the bottom of the recipe. This will open another window with just the recipe, which you can print.
Ha! Great idea and such a funny note!
You seriously make me laugh! Love it. And this soup makes perfectly good sense to me–I’d rather have soup AND a sandwich than just a measly 1.
What a great idea. This sounds like an absolutly delicious soup, yum.
I really like your soup logic here.
BLT AND Grilled Cheese? I totally see the logic! Why have just one great sandwich when you can have both?
you are now my hero! two sandwiches, one soup, two of my all-time favorites!! BLT and grilled cheese heaven!!!
The BLT soup is wonderful!!! I can rarely take a new recipe and not tinker with it – before adding the lettuce, I deglazed the pan with some dry sherry. We were going to have a grilled cheese sandwich with it but decided not to and were glad. This soup is much richer and filling than it sounds. I did make croutons out of some home-made onion, dill rolls. I used whole milk and a scosh more creme fraiche. We can’t wait to serve this to friends on our annual winter escape week end! THANK YOU!!!!!
That’s the great thing about the wonderful world of food blogs: you start with a recipe, and then make your own riff so it’s perfect just for you. I love that!
I just made this soup, and while it’s quite tasty, my only problem is that you recommend letting the bacon crisp until desired doneness *after* adding the onions and scallions. At this point, it is already too late for the bacon to continue crisping (trust me, I waited a long time seeing if it would cook further). In the future, I would let the bacon cook fully, and then add everything else. Flavor wise, I’m sure it would taste about the same, but texturally, I bet it would make a big difference. Otherwise, very delicious!
I just made this (AMAZING) and added a nice handful of parmigiana reggiano to my bowl and OMG.
So glad you liked it!
I think you just made me a soup fan. No lie. I have never been much of a soup person but this thing just knocked my socks off! I made it “Paleo-ish” by omitting the bread and used a tablespoon of arrowroot starch instead of flour. I also only used one tomato instead of two as it seemed enough for me. And man, the butter really makes a difference! I didn’t have any mayo or creme fraiche so I used sour cream with great results. Thank you for this post! Now time to go troll the rest of your site for other winners
I’m absolutely loving all the recipes, I’m a proper soup addict these days and spreading that healthy addiction amongst my friends.
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Quick question about a dash of crushed red pepper, do you mean the vegetable – fresh red pepper or some sort of a spice?
Many thanks and please post more recipes