Editor’s Note: Now that most of us are spending a bit of extra time out of the parks and in the kitchen, we’re bringing back all kinds of WDWNT recipes from our archives. This recipe was originally posted in 2018, written and taste-tested by our very own Tyler Mann of Ride Rehab. If you need a little taste of EPCOT in your life, look no further than this tried-and-true recipe. With easily accessible ingredients you may already have in your pantry or fridge, this comforting, cheesy soup is a no-brainer.

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Being a Canadian and visiting EPCOT’s Canada Pavilion is a delight. The smell of maple popcorn, the friendly faces from familiar locations, bumping into a Cast Member also from Toronto… but nothing compares to the food, especially around EPCOT’s Food & Wine Festival.

The Canadian Bacon Cheddar Soup is a guest favourite, on the menu regularly at Le Cellier, and now being served year round at the Refreshment Port just beside the Canada Pavilion. Now with the Food and Wine Festival Menus being announced, the soup has made it back into the booth this year, but you can make it right at home for that nostalgic Walt Disney World feeling, wherever you are.

If you’ve listened to Ride Rehab, you know that we ourselves are Canadian, and wanted to bring this tasty dish home. Many Disney fan sites, including Oh My Disney, have posted the recipe for this soup. We found after a few cooking sessions that it could be improved upon, and so we have laid out a Canadian-approved, revamped recipe guide. We will detail out the ingredients and steps, making sure to let you know how they compare to the existing recipes.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 Pound of Bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1 Medium Red Onion, shredded

4 Tablespoons of Butter or Margarine

1 Cup of All Purpose Flour

3 Cups of Chicken Stock

4 Cups of Milk

1 Pound of Old White Cheddar Cheese

1/2 Cup of Sharp Asiago Cheese

4 Dashes of Tabasco Sauce

4 Dashes of Worcestershire Sauce

Coarse Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper to taste

3/4 Cup of Pale Ale, room temperature

RECIPE MODIFICATIONS

We found that laying the bacon out on a baking sheet, and then freezing the bacon for around 30 minutes makes it easier to cut into pieces. The consistency of the onion also made for a creamier soup when shredded instead of cut. If you prefer a slightly chunkier soup, you can chop it into 1/4-inch pieces. We used margarine and didn’t notice a taste difference, but salted butter did give it more flavor. We could not find “Whole Milk” in a Canadian grocery before finding out that homo or homogenized is the same thing. It’s basically a large milk-fat content. We removed the celery entirely from the original recipe as it gave a stringy texture that we felt contributed nothing to the soup. Some recipes called for dashes or certain tablespoons of both Tabasco and Worcestershire, we found that quick dashes from the bottle into the pot was easier to do, and extra Tabasco worked much better for a small kick. The alcohol called for Moosehead originally, however any pale ale can be used, and upping it to 3/4 of a cup added a better flavor, especially with more Tabasco mixed in.

Important note on the cheese: We experimented with different types of cheeses, and found a few we liked the most. Smoked white cheddar gave a delicious backyard BBQ taste, however it wasn’t strong enough of a flavor, so we mixed it with some sharp asiago cheese around 1/2 cup, which definitely made both cheeses stand out more. The original recipe called for sharp white cheddar, which in Canada is called old white cheddar. Mixing a few different cheeses gave the best taste.

PREPARATION:

1. Cook the bacon in a 16-20 cup pot or saucepan over medium high heat, stirring frequently until lightly browned. Do not drain.
2. Add the onion and butter to the cooked bacon; sautéing about 5 minutes. Be careful not to leave it too long or it may burn.
3. Remove the pan from the heat, add the flour and stir constantly until the flour is incorporated into the existing ingredients.
4. Return the pan to the heat, whisking in the chicken stock, and bringing just to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat to medium-low and summer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Add the milk and continue to simmer on medium-low for another 15 minutes. Do not let it boil after adding the milk.
7. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese, tabasco, worcestershire, salt and pepper to taste, until the cheese is melted and the soup is smooth. Stir in the ale. If you find the soup too thick, thin by adding in more warm milk.
8. Serve hot, garnish with any scallions or chives, or top with crumbled bacon.

We hope you enjoy making this delicious soup at home, and adding your own flair to it the next time you prepare it. We recommend serving it with a filet mignon, roasted potatoes, and roasted red peppers. If you end up making this recipe, be sure to share it on Twitter or Instagram and let us know by tagging us using @WDWNT and @RideRehab. Got your own suggestions how you prepare it? Let us know in the comments section below. Bon appétit!

Jessica Figueroa