My favorite sandwich on this earth is none other than a Reuben. Essentially the Rolls Royce of grilled cheeses, the combination of buttery rye bread holding together hot pastrami or corned beef blanketed with sauerkraut, melty Swiss cheese and Russian or Thousand Island dressing makes it something I simply cannot resist. And then I had a crazy idea – why not transform this iconic sandwich into a Cream of Reuben soup? Yup! You read that correctly. We are going to take every element of a Reuben sandwich, deconstruct it, and make it a soup-to-sandwich creation that’s beyond your wildest creams. Now instead of having both a soup AND sandwich in one sitting, you can have it all at once!
Watch the Video!
Prep The Soup
Under Pressure
Purée Away
The Finishing Touches
It’s All About The Garnish
The Taste Test
Instant Pot Cream of Reuben Soup
My favorite sandwich on this earth is none other than a Reuben. Essentially the Rolls Royce of grilled cheeses, the combination of buttery rye bread holding together hot pastrami or corned beef blanketed with sauerkraut, melty Swiss cheese and Russian or Thousand Island dressing makes it something I simply cannot resist. And then I had a crazy idea - why not transform this iconic sandwich into a Cream of Reuben soup? Yup! You read that correctly. We are going to take every element of a Reuben sandwich, deconstruct it, and make it a soup-to-sandwich creation that's beyond your wildest creams. Now instead of having both a soup AND sandwich in one sitting, you can have it all at once!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Idaho/russet potatoes, peeled and diced into bite-size chunks (NOTE: you can also use baby potatoes and quarter them with the skins on)
- 4 cups chicken or garlic broth (I use 4 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon Roasted Garlic Base + 4 cups water)
- 1/4 cup sherry wine (optional, if not using sub an additional 1/4 cup broth)
- 4 cups (1 pound) shredded cheese, plus more for topping (I used half Swiss and half mozzarella - see Jeff's Tips)
- 2 cups heavy cream or half-&-half
- 1/4-1/2 cup Russian (I like Ken's Steakhouse brand) or Thousand Island dressing (see Jeff's Tips)
- 1 1/2 pounds pastrami (preferred) or corned beef, thinly sliced at the deli counter and cut into bite-size pieces, with some reserved for garnish
- 1/2-1 cup sauerkraut (roughly a 16-ounce bag), drained and with some reserved for garnish
- Caraway seeds, for garnish
- Rye croutons (I like the New York Bakery Texas Style brand Caesar croutons), for garnish
Instructions
- Add the potatoes, broth, and sherry to the Instant Pot.
- Secure the lid, move the valve to the sealing position, hit Cancel and then hit Manual or Pressure Cook on High Pressure for 5 minutes. Quick release when done.
- Using an immersion blender, blend the potatoes in the broth until totally puréed.
- Hit Cancel and then hit Sauté and Adjust so it’s on the More or High setting. Once bubbling, stir in the cream and 1/4 cup of the Russian or Thousand Island dressing, and cheese until fully combined. Then, stir in the pastrami and 1/2 cup of sauerkraut. Taste the soup. If at this point you find you want more dressing, add up to 1/4 cup more, to taste. You can also add up to another cup or sauerkraut if you desire.
- Ladle into bowls and serve topped with additonal pastrami/corned beef and sauerkraut, if desired. Then, finish it off with a sprinkling of caraway seeds and croutons.
Jeffrey's Tips
Start with 1/4 cup of Russian or Thousand Island dressing. Then, just beforre serving the soup in Step 5, taste it. If you find you want more, you can stir in 1/4 cup more, or to your liking.
For the cheese, I like using 8 ounces each of shredded mozzarella and Swiss. If you can't find shredded Swiss, just get thin sliced and rip into pieces like shown in the video and step-by-step photos above.
For the croutons, if you can't find the New York Bakery Texas Style brand Caesar croutons, butter some rye bread and grill it in a frying pan over medium heat or toast it and then diced into croutons.
I find the caraway seeds work best as a garnish one the soup is in a bowl, but you can definitely add them to the soup as well. If so, start with 1 teaspoon and work your way up until happy.
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