This simple healthy recipe for Potato Leek Soup is deceiving flavorful. A nourishing, soul-satisfying meal in under 30 minutes, made with simple ingredients. Vegan adaptable. With a video!
This Potato Leek Soup is cozy and warming, perfect for cooler fall weather. Fall has officially arrived and leeks and potatoes are showing up in full force at the farmer’s markets.
A quick, nourishing meal with simple ingredients that comes together in about 30 minutes!
What I love about this Soup
I love the use of sour cream in this recipe, which gives it a delightful tanginess and richness. You can also use yogurt with a similar effect. While the soup simmers, whip up the flavorful Leek oil made the green leek tops. Drizzle this over the soup for a boost of leek flavor!
Potato Leek Soup Recipe | 45-sec video
To be honest, in the past I have tended to shy away from Potato Leek Soup because of the many occasions when ordered, it arrived bland and lifeless.
This version, I assure you, is not. It’s rich and flavorful, all the while staying light and healthy.
Ingredients in Potato Leek Soup
- Leeks
- Olive oil (or butter or ghee)
- Garlic
- Fresh thyme (or sub dry thyme)
- Potatoes- yukon gold potatoes, russets, or any thin-skinned potatoes- red, fingerling.
- veggie broth or chicken stock
- salt and pepper
- Sour cream, or sub-heavy cream. See notes for vegan version.
- Fresh chives (or scallions) for garnish
How to make Potato Leek Soup
Step One: Slice the leeks into ¼-inch slices using the white, yellow and pale green parts. Rinse under running water to remove any dirt. You’ll need about 4-5 cups.
TIP: If feeling even just a little ambitious, save the dark green tops and make the flavorful Leek Oil ! You can do this at the same time the soup is simmering. Use this Leek oil to drizzle over the soup and many other things.
Step 2: Saute the leeks and garlic over medium-low heat until leeks are tender, about 8-10 minutes.
Step 3: Add the thyme, broth and sliced potatoes, cover, and simmer gently until tender ( about 15 minutes)
Step 4: Blend the soup until just creamy. Over blending may create a “gummy” texture- so just blend until mostly smooth.
Step 5: Whisk in sour cream or heavy cream. ( See notes for vegan version).
Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
Serve!
Serve in bowls with chives, or a swirl of leek oil and crusty bread.
Or make this Leek Bread!
Refrigerate any leftovers for up to 4 days.
Freeze Potato Leek Soup without the sour cream for up to 6 months.
Hope you enjoy this simple Potato Leek Soup as much as we do!
xoxo
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Potato Leek Soup
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 8 cups
- Category: Soup, stew, vegetarain
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This delicious healthy recipe for Potato Leek Soup is deceiving flavorful! A nourishing, soul-satisfying meal made with the humblest of ingredients. Serve with optional Leek oil and Crusty Bread.
Ingredients
Units
- 3–4 large leeks, (4–5 cups sliced)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil (or sub butter or ghee)
- 4 cloves garlic, rough chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dry thyme)
- 1 1/2 pounds yukon gold potatoes, thinly sliced. Or sub any thin-skinned potatoes- red, fingerling, or use russets, peeled.
- 4 cups veggie broth or chicken stock
- 1 teaspoons salt, more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
- 1/2 cup sour cream (or heavy cream) see notes for vegan.
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives (or scallions) for garnish
Optional – Leek oil for drizzling! (Make this with the green tops of leeks while the soup simmers.)
Instructions
- Slice leeks into ¼-inch thick slices. Rinse under running water to remove dirt and sediment. Drain. ( The water will help soften the leeks as well.)
- Heat oil in a heavy-bottom pot or dutch oven, over medium-low heat. Add rinsed leeks and garlic and thyme, sauté until tender, golden and fragrant, 8-10 minutes.
- Add potatoes, stock, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, turn heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender.
- Make the optional leek oil.
- Blend the soup. When the potatoes are very tender, use an immersion blender and blend the soup until relatively smooth. TIP: Over blending may cause the soup to have a gummy texture. Alternatively, blend in batches in a regular blender (remember, you don’t want to fill up a blender with hot liquid, or you will have a soup explosion- so blend in small batches, less than half full, holding the lid down firmly covered with a kitchen towel. )
- Return the blended soup to the pot, and whisk in the sour cream. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Gently warm over low heat.
- To serve, divide among bowls, drizzle with the leek oil, sprinkle with fresh chives or scallions.
Notes
To make this vegan, you can altogether leave out the dairy- it is quite creamy on its own. Or use vegan sour cream or vegan cream. Alternatively, you could add a 1/4-1/2 cup raw cashews to the simmering potatoes and leeks, and let them get soft. Blend the soup. Place back in the pot. Add a couple of drops of vinegar or lemon juice (1/4 teaspoon) and stir in a teaspoon or two of nutritional yeast to taste if you like. Adjust salt and pepper.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ⅓ cup ( without leek oil)
- Calories: 198
- Sugar: 5.2 g
- Sodium: 784.5 mg
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 24.1 g
- Fiber: 3.1 g
- Protein: 2.8 g
- Cholesterol: 11.3 mg
Easy and delicious!
Great!
This came out so, so tasty. I usually peel the potatoes, so I was a bit nervous, but it was not an issue at all! Will be using this recipe from now on, thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Awesome to hear!
Outstanding! Used our garden potatoes, too many, so had to add some 1% milk, threw in some fresh parsley, butter and sour cream for the heck of it. (My folks don’t care for thyme)….Best soup, ever! Will put some leftover kale in my daughter’s as she loves kale!
Perfect Theresa! Thanks for the review. 🙂
I’ve always wanted to try a potato leek soup and I’m happy that I did. I used dairy free cream as a substitute for my MiL (lactose intolerance)
My family loved it. I’ll definitely make this again with the leek oil.
So glad you gave it a try Courtney!
I bought some leeks from the farmers market this wknd. Just made this recipe for potato leek soup and it is amazing!!
Great to hear!
This soup is incredibly delicious and the leek oil takes it to a whole new level. What a fun new thing for me to make!!
Yay! Great to hear. 🙂
This soup is something special and is elevated by the must have leek oil. Leek oil is one of my favorite discoveries. It is so bright and vibrant. So so good!
So happy you enjoyed this Joelle- yes leek oil is the BEST!
This potato soup recipe is the best!
Thanks so much Sara!
Very delicious- can’t decide if I prefer it blended or unblended. I have added a can of rinsed cannellini beans for extra protein.
Glad you enjoyed the flavor!
Delicious! I used my homemade chicken stock, and didn’t blend it up. I like the chunkiness of a soup. I used fresh thyme from my garden, and that was certainly an additional key to the deliciousness. I will make this again. So yummy!
Glad you enjoyed Carol!
This was easy and delicious. Also made the leek oil. We enjoyed it and probably would’ve been even better had I been able to let it sit overnight before straining.
Great to hear!
Have made this several times and it’s one of the best versions of potato leek soup I’ve ever made. Now my ‘go to’. Gets rave reviews every time and its quick & easy.
Awesome to hear thanks for circling back and rating it for us!
Made this tonight. After a day at work wanted a quick and easy supper and this was delicious.
Wonderful, so glad you enjoyed!
Excellent!
This was delicious!
Wonderful! What a perfect comforting soup for a cold rainy day (or really any day!). My husband couldn’t stop commenting on how good it was. I made the leek oil and it made it so fancy! I served it with your Whole Roast Chicken and some toasted ciabatta. Completely delicious and impressive!
Great to hear this Cristine!
I just made this and couldn’t wait to have a cup. It’s delicious and I’m sure will be even better tomorrow. I did not make any changes, and could have used more potatoes (only what I had)! The leek oil still needs straining, but I think that will be great too! Thank you!
Yay Jackie! Glad you liked it!
My partner claims to hate leeks, so I told him was just potato soup and he said it was one of the best soups ever. I also really enjoyed it! I used rosemary instead of thyme but otherwise followed the recipe exactly, and it came out great!
Haha, yay!