French Cream of Chestnut Soup (Potage aux Marrons)

5 from 19 votes

An elegant, creamy French soup that's a great way to celebrate chestnut season.

Prep Time5

Cook Time45

Total Time50

Course: Soup

Cuisine: French

Keyword: chestnut soup recipe

Servings: servings

Calories: 260kcal

Cost: 20

1.5 lbs Italian chestnuts 1 lb for the soup, ½ lb for garnishing. Or use 15 oz roasted, peeled chestnuts.
4 tbsp unsalted butter
6 oz diced yellow sweet onion 1 medium onion
4 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
½ cup heavy cream or half and half
¼ cup marsala wine or sherry optional
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground or grated nutmeg to taste
sliced cut chives or fresh parsley to garnish, optional

Keeping each nut flat-side down, score each chestnut with an X. Alternately, they can be cut in half. Put the chestnuts in a 12 inch skillet with 1 cup of water, cover, bring to a boil, turn the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes.
Remove the chestnuts a handful at a time and peel them, keeping the unpeeled nuts together in the pan to stay warm.
Set aside 10 ounces of nuts to puree into the soup. Reserve about 5 ounces of chestnuts (1-2 nuts per serving) cut into bite-sized pieces and reserve to garnish the finished soup.

Melt the butter in a 3 quart stock pot and add the onions. Cook on medium heat until cooked and translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add the marsala or sherry and cook until the pan is nearly dry.
Add the chicken stock, herb bouquet, and chestnuts. Cover the pot, bring to a gentle simmer and cook for twenty minutes. Discard the herb bouquet.
Working in batches if needed, puree the soup in a blender until very smooth.
Add the cream at the end, season the soup to taste with a few gratings of nutmeg, a splash of maple syrup to taste, and kosher salt. Stir, double check the seasoning again and adjust until it tastes good to you.

Serve the soup in small bowls like the luxury it is. A 6-8 ounce portion is plenty. Garnish with dollops of creme fraiche, chopped cooked chestnuts and a sprinkle of chives.

2 lbs of Italian chestnuts should yield about 20 ounces of finished nuts after peeling. Chinese chestnuts will have a slightly lower yield.
At holiday gatherings, I like to serve warm soups in a shot glass for larger parties. Loosen the soup with half and half or another liquid to make it easier to sip.
Double the amount of cream for a richer soup.