Description
This hearty Reuben soup combines tender corned beef, tangy sauerkraut, and melted Swiss cheese in a rich, creamy broth, topped with toasted rye bread and broiled cheese for the ultimate comfort meal.
Ingredients
For the Soup Base:
- 3 tablespoons butter (I use whatever’s in the fridge)
- ½ cup chopped onion (yellow onion works fine)
- ¼ cup chopped celery (those sad celery stalks from last week? Perfect)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups water
- 4 cubes beef bouillon (or those little packets if that’s what you have)
- 3 cups half-and-half cream (don’t cheap out here, trust me)
For the Reuben Elements:
- 3 cups shredded Swiss cheese, divided (buy the block and shred yourself – tastes way better)
- 8 ounces shredded corned beef (deli counter stuff works great)
- 1 cup sauerkraut, drained (squeeze it out good!)
- 8 slices rye bread, toasted and cut into triangles (seeded or plain, whatever you like)
Instructions
Get that butter melting in your biggest pot over medium-high heat. Dump in the chopped onion and celery. They’ll sizzle and smell incredible after maybe 5 minutes when they get all soft and see-through.
Dump in the flour and stir constantly for about 2 minutes. It’ll look like chunky wet sand at first, then smooth out and smell kind of toasty. Don’t walk away during this part or you’ll burn it.
Pro Tip: My mom drilled this into my head – never stop stirring the flour or you’ll get nasty lumps that ruin everything!
Pour water in really slowly while whisking like crazy. I mean it – don’t stop whisking or you’ll end up with flour chunks floating around. Toss in those bouillon cubes, let everything bubble up, then turn the heat way down and simmer 5 minutes.
Pour in the half-and-half, then stir in 1 cup of that Swiss cheese (hide the rest from your kids or they’ll eat it). Add the shredded corned beef and squeezed-out sauerkraut. Keep it bubbling gently for 30 whole minutes, stirring every so often. Don’t let it boil hard or the cream gets gross and chunky.
Crank up your broiler while the soup does its thing. Toast those rye slices until they’re golden and crunchy, then cut them into triangles. They need to be sturdy enough to survive under that broiler heat.
Ladle soup into your oven-safe bowls – fill them up good. Stick a rye triangle in each bowl, then pile on the rest of that cheese. Don’t be stingy! Slide them under the broiler for maybe 3 minutes until the cheese gets all bubbly and golden.
Notes
Keep that heat low once the cream goes in or it’ll separate and look disgusting. If it gets too thick, just splash in more half-and-half until it looks right to you. When you’re making the roux, add liquid super slowly while whisking – this stops those horrible lumps from forming. Make sure that rye bread is really crunchy or it’ll turn to mush under the broiler. Planning to make this tomorrow? Stop before adding the cream and cheese – those get weird when you reheat them. Got Worcestershire sauce in the pantry? A little splash makes it taste more like an actual Reuben sandwich.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 465
- Sugar: 8g
- Sodium: 1,200mg
- Fat: 32g
- Saturated Fat: 19g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 22g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 28g
- Cholesterol: 95mg