This simple, healthy recipe for Potato Leek Soup is deceivingly flavorful. A nourishing, soul-satisfying meal in under 30 minutes, made with simple ingredients. Vegan adaptable. With a video!
Fall has officially arrived, and leeks and potatoes are showing up in full force at the farmer’s markets. As a chef, one of my favorite pastimes is creating a simple, delcious meal out of the humblest of ingredients. This potato leek soup is no exception. Made with simple ingredients, it’s incredibly delcious and comforting, yet comes together in about 30 minutes! It’s a solid reader favorite- just read all the 5-star reviews!
What You’ll Love about This Potato Leek Soup Recipe
The flavor! We use every part of the leek, including the green leek tops, to create “leek oil” to drizzle over the soup for a boost of leek flavor!. Sour cream or yogurt adds a delightful tanginess and richness.
Quick and easy. This soup can be made in 30 minutes, and you can make the flavorful leek oil while the soup simmers.
Watch How to make Potato Leek Soup
Ingredients in Potato Leek Soup
- Leeks – we use both the white parts and the green tops!
- Potatoes– yukon gold potatoes, russets, or any thin-skinned potatoes- red, fingerling.
- Extra Virgin Olive oil (or use butter or ghee)
- Garlic- for extra depth and savory flavor.
- Fresh thyme (or sub dry thyme)
- Veggie broth or chicken stock – to add depth and backbone to the coup
- Salt and pepper
- Sour cream, or plain Greek yogurt, for tangy richness, or sub-heavy cream
- 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 while 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).
Season. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Serve in bowls with chives, or a swirl of leek oil and crusty bread. Or make this Leek Bread!
Serving Suggestions
Serve this cozy soup with warm, crusty bread and a side of our White Bean Salad!
Storage
- Refrigerate any leftovers for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
- Freeze Potato Leek Soup without the sour cream for up to 6 months. Thaw, reheat, and stir in the sour cream.
Hope you enjoy this simple Potato Leek Soup as much as we do, please remember to rate it for us! xoxo Sylvia
More Favorite Potato recipes
- Savory Leek Bread
- Savory Leek Bread Pudding with Gruyere and Thyme
- Simple Celery Soup
- Caldo Verde (Portuguese Green Soup)
- Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Garlic & Sage
- Creamy Celeriac Soup
- Simple Cabbage Soup
- Simple Tomato Soup
- 25 Delicious Vegetarian & Vegan Soup Recipes
More from Feasting at Home
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
- 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
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
Fantastic! Can’t say enough good things about this easy and sumptuous soup.
Thanks Elise, so happy you enjoyed!
I have made this potato leek soup several times for an ill friend who says it is the best he has ever had. I squeeze a bit of lemon juice in after cooking. Thank you again for an amazing recipe.
So nice to take care of your friend! Glad to hear soup was enjoyed.
I have made the soup, the bread and the leek oil. A feast for sure. And shared it with my neighbors who are totally sold on the recipe. Thank you so much for your never ending wonderful recipes.
Really appreciate this Helene!
I’ve hit this hard, over and over—one of the best recipes for this magic combo ever
Wonderful to hear!
This was absolutely delicious
Great to hear!
This is my favourite easy soup to make in a pinch. I love potato leek soup but have made a few versions in the past which turned out too bland. This solved my problem! It’s my go-to soup when I can’t think of what else to make. I’ve made it without the leek oil if I’m short on time, and it’s still very yummy, but the leek oil makes it next level. I serve with some Oatly cream. Thank you!
Great to hear this Megan! Appreciate you circling back to let us know.
Basics are good, ratios are right, but I found the flavor too mild as written and doubled the seasonings. Thank you!
Glad you made it work to your taste!
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!