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, delicious meal out of the humblest of ingredients. This potato leek soup is no exception. Made with simple ingredients, it’s incredibly delicious and comforting, yet comes together in about 30 minutes! It’s a solid reader favorite- just read all the 5-star reviews!
Why You’ll Love this 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
Potato Leek Soup Ingredients
- 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!
What Goes Well with Potato Soup
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.
Can you freeze potato leek soup?
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
- Easy Corn Soup
For more cozy recipes, check out our 15 Butternut Squash Recipes (including our Cozy Baked Beans with Butternut Sauce)!
More from Feasting at Home
Potato Leek Soup Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 8 cups 1x
- 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
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
My husband was looking at several potato leek recipes and chose this one as it looked healthier. It was delicious and definitely a keeper!
Glad you enjoyed!
I made this with the last of the potatoes from the garden and it was wonderful. I didn’t make the leek oil though for lack of time so I’ll have to try it again. I really appreciate how reliable your recipes are, they never disappoint.
Great to hear this Dena!
Easy and delicious!
Wonderful!
A very tasty and quick recipe that was perfect for lunch on this unusually cool and wet spring day. I added cauliflower, beans and zucchini I found lurking in fridge. The leek oil took it to another level. Thankyou
Glad you enjoyed and made it your own!
Delicious and satisfying!
Good to hear!
This soup is on heavy rotation in the fall and winter at my house!
Great to hear!
This soup is delicious and so good to bring some heat during fall cold weather.
Glad you are enjoying Nicole!
This is a family favorite, most delicious and satisfying and comes together so quickly 😋
Perfect Jan, thanks for your review!
Yum! I made this soup without any changes and also made the suggested White bean salad as a side. They were so good together! It’s not cold here yet so I froze some leftover soup to enjoy later but the rest of the bean salad will disappear soon. Thanks for the tasty recipes.
Glad you enjoyed Carleen!
I just made this tonight. As always, your recipes are amazing!!
Glad to hear this Rachel!
A delicious recipe!
Glad you enjoyed Barb!
Love this recipe! We put roasted chickpeas on top for protein & yummy crunch.
Yummy idea Karla! Glad you enjoyed.
One of the most delicious soups I’ve made! Thanks for the recipe. One thing I’d suggest is to use a really flavorful stock. I made mine from saved shrimp shells, parmesan crusts, and the parts of the garlic scape that were too touch to eat otherwise. The leek oil as a finish was also key to the deliciousness.
Your stock sounds delicious Laura! Glad you enjoyed the soup. 🙂
I’ve made this multiple times, and I love it. The leeks have that almost allium flavor.
I’d recommend having something staying on top of it (protein-rich), since it’s a low-calorie meal, but that doesn’t diminish how much I love the flavor itself.
Glad you like this one Thea!
Can’t wait to try the recipe 😋
Let us know what you think James!
No flavour. I added bacon and doubled/tripled the amount of pepper and salt to salvage it.
Hi Crystal- salting to taste is essential here, and the leek oil brings it over the top.
Ignore these recipes when they say discard the green part, and spend a bit more time till the leeks have caramelized a bit and you will get way more flavor out of them
Very good
Thanks Mariam!
I made this soup and it was FANTASTIC!!! Easy and fun to make and so pretty! My go to now! Thanks for this amazing recipe.
Great to hear this Pam! Appreciate you taking time to leave a review. 🙂