This easy potato leek soup is the perfect soup to come home to after a long day!
I love a good potato soup, so if you are looking for more recipes try my Cheesy Bacon Potato Soup, or my Creamy Potato Hamburger Soup , they are both incredibly popular soup recipes on this website.
You can also make Instant Pot potato leek soup if you want to use your pressure cooker!
Ingredients in Potato Leek Soup
Of course, you need leeks! Leeks are found in all major grocery stores and are relatively inexpensive as well.
- Butter – you use this to fry the leeks in
- Leeks – you only use the white/pale green parts
- Russet potatoes – Russet potatoes are the best potatoes for breaking down into a soup
- Chicken or veggie broth – use vegetable broth to make this completely vegetarian
- Heavy cream – you can use milk to lessen the calories but it won’t be as creamy
How to Make Potato Leek Soup
Potato leek soup is seriously easy to make, the worst part is prepping the vegetables!
- Fry the leeks in a large stock pot in butter until soft, trying not to brown any of the leeks in the process.
- Add the potatoes and chicken stock.
- Cook for 30-40 minutes on a low simmer, until the potatoes are soft and falling apart. Alternatively, you can also cook this in your crock pot on low all day.
- Using a hand immersion blender, process the soup until smooth.
- Stir in the cream until mixed through completely.
How to Clean Leeks
The key to using leeks in your cooking is to clean those suckers out, and well. They are infamous for having grit hiding in their layers, which can be slightly time-consuming. Slightly.
- You might have to add another five minutes to your prep time for leeks and that’s about it. This recipe only uses four, so it’s safe to say that you can still tackle this and have it ready for dinner in no time.
- Leeks have hidden dirt between the layers usually. You are going to have to chop off the dark green parts and then make sure to rinse the paler parts well!
- Chop the dark green part off and then rinse out the leeks the best that you can.
- Chop into small circles like shown in the photo below.
What part of the leeks do I use in soup?
You don’t use the woody green stalks of leeks, just the pale white/pale green parts. You can see in the photo above how and where you are supposed to chop them. You DO want to use as much as possible, so a little bit of light green color is fine. Leeks are like onions, you have to make sure they are cooked fairly well before you add them to a soup or dish.
How to Make Dairy Free Potato Leek Soup
The beauty of this soup is that yes, it’s an easy potato leek soup, but it’s also a snap to make it dairy free! And I don’t mean dairy-free by adding non-dairy kinds of milk, I mean it’s completely fine without any dairy.
- I made sure that the amount of potatoes in this recipe purees into a smooth, delicious soup without using any thickeners and you don’t even miss the dairy. So hey, this is gluten-free as well!
- Use olive oil instead of butter to fry the leeks in
- You can always try soy or your favorite non-dairy alternative but honestly? Just use lots of potatoes as the thickener. You won’t even miss it!
The key is to use an amazing chicken or vegetable broth and make it strong. I never use the cartons of pre-made bouillon, I use the powder that comes in a can or the cubes and makes it about twice as tasty as the cartons. Remember, I said that this is an easy potato leek soup, so I went easy! I don’t like covering the taste of the leeks with strong garlic or spices, this is perfect as is for me, I like that onion taste!
Happy cooking! If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below!
Love you more than chocolate,
Karlynn
Easy Potato Leek Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 large leeks washed of all the grit and white/pale green parts chopped
- 6 cups Russet potatoes peeled and sliced
- 7 cups chicken or veggie broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
Instructions
Stove Top Method
- In a large soup pot on medium heat, melt the butter then add the leeks.
- Fry until soft, trying not to brown any of the leeks in the process. You simply want to cook them until they are soft.
- Add the potatoes and chicken stock.
- Cook for 30-40 minutes on a low simmer, until the potatoes are soft and falling apart.
- Using a hand immersion blender, process the soup until smooth.
- Stir in the cream until mixed through completely.
- Serve and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Method
- In a frying pan over medium heat, fry the leeks in the butter until soft, trying not to brown any of the leeks in the process. You simply want to cook them until they are soft.
- Place the leeks into a slow cooker then add the potatoes and chicken stock.
- Cook on low for 8-10 hours until the potatoes are falling apart and the leeks are soft,
- Stir in the cream until mixed through completely.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
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Susan Secord says
Hi,
Have you tried making this with cauliflower instead of russet potatoes? Maybe use some arrow root to thicken without the russet starch. I ham staying away from wheat products, rice and potatoes.
Thank you,
Susan
Anisa says
I was very skeptical initially, but I made this soup for the first time, and it came out perfect. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Midge says
Looks good but for someone only allowed 1500 mg. of sodium per day not an option to get max flavour
Heather Jensen says
That looks delicious! I adore that soup cup too! :)
Margo Haynes says
I cook my leeks first like you do, but I like my potato soup with some small bite size chunks of potatoes in it. If this leaves my soup
with a bit too much liquid I make a smooth paste with 2 Tblspns. of soft butter & 2 level Tblspns of flour, drop into the soup & it dissolves smoothly, give it a simmer for about 10 minutes for the flour in the paste to cook & it is ready to go. I was trying to figure out what to fix for lunch today & it will be my very favorite soup which is potato! I haven’t had it in a long time. BTW, if anyone has diabetes 2 like I do, After you slice your potatoes into the pot allow them to sit in cold water until the water is cloudy, pour the water off & do it again until your water is clear. It usually takes about rinsing twice & maybe 5 mins, extra time wise & you now have the starch out of the potatoes. I even do this before roasting my chunks of russets. I’ve never noticed that this affects the taste in a negative way. Karlynn, I love your blog & I love your recipes, they are always top notch & very delicious! Thanks for all of the great ideas you pass on to us! Wishing you & your family a blessed February & Valentine’s day!
Heather Jensen says
That looks delicious! I adore that soup cup too! 🙂
dsemeniuk1 says
I made this tonight for my family. I have never cooked with leeks before and just like you said it was super easy and very tasty without adding the cream. I will definitely make this again!
thekitchenmagpie says
_u**********@li******.com" profile_url="https://www.livefyre.com/profile/115735954/" ns="true">dsemeniuk1 Awesome! Yes, if you use enough potatoes you can skip the cream entirely! I’m so glad that you liked it, thanks for letting me know!