Simple Potato Leek Soup
This simple potato leek soup is a classic cold-weather comfort food. Perfect as part of lunch or dinner, it’s a soup you can make ahead and reheat when it’s time to eat.
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Soup Season
Ok, so apparently, I often post a soup recipe this time of year. What can I say? It’s soup season! Two of our family favorites this winter have been Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup and Bean and Barley Veggie Chili. These are both soups that can be the main entree, but if you are looking for a soup that is more of an appetizer or side, then I recommend Celery Root and Parsnip Soup, Asparagus-Broccoli Soup, Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Cashew Cream, or the soup that I’m presenting here today: potato leek soup!
Simple Potato Leek Soup
What I love about this soup is its simplicity. All you need is 5 ingredients and 30 minutes. Here are the ingredients you need:
Ingredients:
- Butter – To saute the leeks! Some recipes skip this, but I find that it brings out the flavor of the leeks and adds a richer taste to the soup. If you are dairy-free you could use extra-virgin olive oil instead.
- Leeks – You can usually buy these individually at the grocery store. Just be sure to rinse them well after you chop them as dirt likes to get trapped in their layers. I like to use a salad spinner for this.
- Potatoes – I adore Yukon gold potatoes, which is what I used for this recipe. But you could use any potato; many potato-leek soup recipes use Russet. Just be sure to weigh the total amount to make sure you have around 1.5 pounds total. While I generally don’t peel potatoes (all that good fiber), for this recipe I did.
- Vegetable stock or bouillon – I usually use better than bouillon and add water, but any high-quality veggie stock will do. If you’re not vegetarian you could also use chicken stock.
- Half & half – Adding half & half gives the soup a creamy, dreamy texture and flavor. You could also use heavy cream or whole milk–the texture will be richer or less rich depending on the fat content. If you need a dairy-free substitute I recommend coconut milk or cashew cream.
Soup Toppings
You can serve it as is or top it with some greens such as chopped chives, scallions, or leek. I also love to serve it with a dollop of pesto, if I happen to have some on hand. (These days I usually do because I love to add pesto to everything from eggs, sandwiches, homemade pizza, and fish). I go through phases of making my pesto, especially in the summer when we have a lot of homegrown basil. But I also often buy fresh pesto at the grocery store. Our current favorite is Gotham Greens pesto available at Whole Foods.
Soup Sides
I also love to serve this (and pretty much any soup) with some good bread or crackers. Here I served it with seedy, whole-grain Norweigan crackers by Sigdal (we love all the Sigdal varieties). They are delicious on their own with this soup, but if you want a little extra fuel or flavor you could top them with avocado, cheese, or sliced turkey.
If I’m having soup for lunch it will likely be a sandwich and soup kind of lunch. But if I’m enjoying this soup for dinner I would probably serve it as an appetizer before the main meal. This feels very “proper” and a little fancy, but it’s easy when you’ve prepared the soup ahead of time. I love to store any kind of soup that I make in glass containers such as these. Having storage containers on hand and ready to go makes it easy to meal prep and store leftovers.
Other Helpful Tools
You could puree this soup with a whisk or a blender, but I prefer to use a hand-held immersion blender. It’s a versatile tool that I use on almost a monthly basis for soups like this, but you can make this soup without it too. Just be sure not to overblend because then the soup can take on a gluey consistency (though the flavor will still be good, and it will still be edible!)
Let’s Get Cooking
Alright, let’s get cooking. If you like this recipe, please leave a review or share it! Thank you!
Simple Potato Leek Soup
Equipment
- hand-held immersion blender (helpful but not neccessary)
Ingredients
- 3 leeks
- 1 ½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (or Russet) about 5-6 Yukon Gold Potatoes
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (or extra-virgin olive oil)
- 32 ounces vegetable stock or use 2-3 teaspoons of Better than Bouillon + 32 ounces (4 cups) of water
- ½ cup half and half (or cream, whole milk, coconut milk, cashew cream)
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh chives, chopped (optional, for topping)
Instructions
- Slice white and light green parts of the leek. Place in a colander or salad spinner to rinse off the dirt. (If you see dirt, immerse in water to let the dirt separate).
- Wash and peel the potatoes. Slice into big pieces, about 1-inches wide.
- In a Dutch oven or large, heavy-bottom pan, melt butter over medium-high heat.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and add the chopped leeks. Saute for 4-6 minutes, until fragrant but not browned.
- Add the potatoes and the stock and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook on low for about 25 minutes, until potatoes are soft.
- Use a hand-held immersion blender to puree the potatoes and leeks. (Alternatively you could transfer everything to a blender, but you will have to let it cool a bit first and work in batches).
- Stir in the half and half. Taste test and season with salt, pepper, and additional cream as desired. Top with fresh chives if desired or other suggested toppings and enjoy!
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