Chestnut Soup with Crispy Bacon: Easy Recipe

Some ingredients instantly give you mental images of a season, and one such ingredient is chestnuts. People typically associate them with the winter months, especially the festive period. Therefore, roasted chestnut soup with crispy bacon and croutons is a fantastic winter soup, and it is also a good option with a Christmas dinner.

Chestnuts are often eaten as a snack over the Christmas period, and they are seasonally available from late September until the end of January. The texture of cooked chestnuts is ideal for soup making as they become a lovely, thick puree when blender.

You can go foraging for your own chestnuts or buy fresh chestnuts from the store. If you use fresh chestnuts in a soup, then you will need to roast them prior to making soup in the same way as creating roasted chestnut snacks.

However, it is also possible to buy precooked chestnuts in cans, and these are a great option if you have limited time. Personally, I prefer the flavour of freshly roasted chestnuts, so I think it is worth taking the time and effort to roast the chestnuts prior to making the soup.

Before the main instructions for making the soup, I have included instructions for how to roast chestnuts. If you want to use fresh chestnuts, then you should follow the cooking method from that point. However, if you opt to use precooked chestnuts, you can skip to the main recipe instructions.

Chestnuts have a sweet and savoury flavour, so the salty taste of crispy bacon is a fantastic addition to this soup. Both the crispy bacon and the crunchy croutons add texture to the dish. If you are vegetarian, simply omit the crispy bacon from the recipe.

Not only is this easy soup recipe simple to make, but it is also budget-friendly, adaptable, and delicious. Here is how to make roasted chestnut soup with crispy bacon and croutons.

How to Roast Chestnuts

If you decide to make this soup using fresh chestnuts, then you will need to roast them first. Here is how to roast chestnuts.

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6.
2. Lie the chestnuts flat-side down on a chopping board.
3. Carefully, cut a cross through the top of each chestnut using a sharp knife. Make sure you cut through the shell without cutting the chestnut inside.
4. Place a baking sheet onto a baking tray or roasting tin, then put all the chestnuts cut-side up on the baking sheet.
5. Put the roasting tin in the oven and cook for 30 minutes. During cooking, the shells will begin to peel back.
6. Remove from the oven, then leave to cool down.
7. TIP: Cover the roasting tin while the chestnuts are cooling as this will trap the steam and make it easier to peel them. Alternatively, soak the chestnuts in boiling water for a few minutes as this will help to loosen them.
8. Serve the chestnuts as they are for a snack, or peel to use in your cooking, such as in this roasted chestnut soup with crispy bacon.

Ingredients for Roasted Chestnut Soup with Crispy Bacon

• 10 oz/ 300g cooked and peeled chestnuts
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 sticks of celery, trimmed and finely chopped
• 2 litres of vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 6 rashers smoked streaky bacon
• 3 slices of stale bread (optional for croutons)
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make Roasted Chestnut Soup with Crispy Bacon

1. Add half the olive oil to a large pan and put over medium heat on the hob.
2. Then, add the diced onion and celery to the pan, and saute for five minutes or until they are tender.
3. Next, add the chestnuts to the pan, season the ingredients with salt and black pepper, then cover the ingredients with the vegetable stock.
4. Put the lid on the pan, then leave to simmer for 45 minutes.
5. While the soup is cooking, heat the remaining olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
6. Add the streaky bacon to the pan and cook for a few minutes on each side until the bacon is crispy, then set aside until the soup is cooked.
7. If you are serving the soup with croutons, you can fry the diced bread cubes in the same pan as the bacon or read our guide on how to make croutons.
8. When the soup is cooked, transfer all the ingredients and liquid to a blender and blitz until smooth. Alternatively, use a stick blender to blend the soup in the pan.
9. Heat the soup through in a pan for a few more minutes before stirring.
10. Break up the crispy bacon into small pieces, and sprinkle over the top of the soup with the croutons.

Additional Tips

• I prefer streaky smoked bacon with this soup, but you can use unsmoked or cured if you prefer.
• For a creamier soup, replace 500 ml of the vegetable stock with 500 ml double cream.
• If you omit the bacon from this recipe, it is suitable for vegans.
• You can use ham stock instead of vegetable stock if you are not a vegetarian.
• In addition to the crispy bacon and croutons, fried thyme works well with the chestnut soup.