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
Absolutely loved this soup. I used the vegetable stock and I chose to wait on adding the sour cream to see how it would taste without it. I thought it was very good without the sour cream too if someone wanted to keep out the dairy. It would also be fine to add a dollop of sour cream per bowl to taste. I also chose to blend half of it very smooth creamy and the other half I left some chunks of potatoe, the mixed it all together. Excellent recipe. Thank you.
Thanks Steven, I’m so happy you enjoyed! Appreciate the feedback!
Will be making next ????
I just wanted to say this is by far the best soup recipe I’ve ever made! I am allergic to dairy and did not add the sour cream, so delicious still !!
Oh this makes me so happy! Glad you enjoyed. I hope you find more here that you like. Have you tried the Mexican Noodle Soup ? Another favorite dairy free.
I just made this tonight, and the flavor was amazing! I was A little heavy-handed on the leaks so that the soup was more green than cream colored, but it was incredibly smooth and velvety. Will be making again!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Really loved making this soup, it was so simple yet flavourful. I didn’t really need the cream as it was rich enough for me without any, but I’m sure adding it would enhance it even more!
Glad you enjoyed it Alice!
Hi, im just wondering if the addition of sour cream will freeze ok?
You know, honestly, I’m not sure. I haven’t tried freezing the soup. Let me know if you try it and how it goes….thanks!
Love this soup! xx
https://asparklingjourney.wordpress.com/2016/04/14/leek-and-potato-soup/
I was doing leek-potato soup for quite a while now but there was always something missin’…thyme!
I did use other spices but it wasn’t what i wanted…sometimes spices overpowered the taste of leek….and i was just like “what the heck…”
Thank you, you made my day today…this soup is so creamy and delicious. I made it with vegetable stock. I have one that is very light in flavour so it didn’t overpowered the leek. Even my husband loved it…he never takes another bowl of soup, but today he did 🙂 🙂 !
Thank you for this gorgeous recipe
xoxo
That is always the true test, isn’t it? If our spouses take another serving! Thanks and Im so glad you enjoyed it!!
I made this soup with the following modifications:
Chicken broth Instead of stock;
No added cream;
Added mushrooms;
Doubled the leeks (6).
That kept the calorie count to 130 (8 1-cup servings). It was delicious! Thanks for this fantastic recipe that I plan to use all the time!
YUM! This sounds delicious!
Really delicious! I thought the vegetable stock overpowered the flavor a little. I think next time I will cut it with water.
This one knocks it out of the park – full-bodied and full-flavored, and immensely satisfying. Thank you for sharing!
Oh yay!! Glad you enjoyed!!
This sounds lovely. Going to give this a go. thanks for sharing this recipe.
Simon
Does it freeze well?
It was very interesting comparing the nutritional values with veggie stock vs chicken stock. Made me sway towards making this with the veggie stock. On my menu for this week. Do you have to peel the potatoes?
It was very interesting comparing the nutritional values with veggie stock vs chicken stock. Made me sway towards making this with the veggie stock. On my menu for this week.
It was interesting to me as well!! Let us know how you like it.
Thanks- found the bowl at a thrift store. 🙂
This soup sounds delicious! Also, love the bowl- where did you get it?
Ooops I forgot to say, didn’t I? I will update the recipe. 4-6 servings. Thanks!
Thanks
Oh yummy. I love leek and potato soup! I actually have both leeks and potatoes in my fridge right now and I was wondering whether to make soup or try to find a new recipe with these ingredients. You post has me leaning towards the soup now!
This has to be awesome. Yukon potatoes are the best. Garlic and leeks and creams and and—gotta be great.
Love potato and leek soup, lovely photos!
I love potato and leek soup! Thanks for reminding me how delicious it is.. definitely need to recreate the recipe soon. Pinned!
perfect… very easy to find leeks in france. Can’t wait to make this!
Valentina
Valentina Duracinsky Blog
Yes, I think this is a classic French soup, isn’t it?
Such a gorgeous fall soup. This looks lovely!