Potato Leek Soup Recipe
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The Easiest Potato Leek Soup Recipe! This Potato and Leek Soup is simple to make with only a few ingredients, creamy and delicious!
We have loved our Creamy Potato Soup for so many years and this potato leek soup has everything we love about that soup with the added benefits of nutritious leeks!
It’s creamy and smooth while being vegetarian and vegan friendly, and can be made in your crock pot, instant pot, or on the stove! Use whichever option works best with your lifestyle and schedule.
Potato leek soup is a classic comfort food, and this healthier version has the creamy consistency and fantastic flavor of the original, but it’s dairy free and includes nutritious leeks.
The leek and potatoes in this healthy dish provide essential vitamins and minerals, plus fiber to help keep you feeling full. This healthy potato soup recipe makes a delicious meal that’s perfect on a cold or rainy day!
liz’s top tips for potato leek soup
- Use an immersion blender to puree the vegetables to make the creamiest soup. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use an upright blender, but you may need to puree the soup in batches. Also, be careful because it will be hot!
- Be sure to clean your leeks well. We have our top tips below!
Ingredients:
Substitutions
Olive Oil: Any neutral flavor of cooking oil (like avocado oil) will work, or you can use butter or ghee.
Veggies: feel free to add more carrots, celery, or potatoes to this recipe. For a veggie soup with even more veggies, check out our Creamy Veggie Soup. If you need to make a vegan potato soup, you’ll need to use vegetable broth. We like to ues low or no salt broth.
Broth: Homemade or store bought Beef Broth, Chicken Broth, or vegetable broth all work interchangeably. I always use low or no salt broth.
Milk: We usually use whole milk, but there are plenty of vegan and dairy free substitutions. Using non-dairy milk makes this recipe dairy free and vegan. Light coconut milk is a delicious option for vegan potato leek soup!
Potatoes: The best potatoes for a creamy soup are starchy russet potatoes. Starchy potatoes break down and become mushy as they cook, so they help thicken the soup as well. For a chunky consistency, use thin skinned potato varieties like Yukon Gold, yellow, or red potatoes.
how to make potato leek soup
- Sauté the leeks and garlic, just until fragrant. Fresh garlic burns easily – it just takes a minute for it to become fragrant.
- Add all remaining ingredients to the pot, except for the milk/cream or non-dairy milk products.
- Cover the pot and bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the soup to a simmer. Allow it to simmer for 20 minutes. Remember to remove the bay leaf. It sometimes sinks to the bottom, so you may need to use a large spoon to find it.
- To create the creamiest healthy potato soup, use an immersion blender to puree the vegetables. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a counter top blender, but you may need to puree the soup in batches.
- Be sure dairy products are at room temperature before adding them to the pot. This will ensure that they don’t curdle when you add them to the hot soup.
Leek and Potato Soup in the Instant Pot:
- Be sure the IP is hot before you add the vegetables. Soften the leeks first, then add the garlic during the last minute of cook time.
- Wait to add dairy products until after the potato soup is finished cooking.
If you’re making vegan potato leek soup, it’s also best to wait and add non-dairy milk after pressure cooking is finished. You’ll have an easier time finding the bay leaf in clear liquid. - Seal the pressure valve, and pressure cook for 10 minutes on high pressure.
- Be sure to remove the bay leaf.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the potato and leek soup. Or, use a counter top blender, but depending on its size, you may need to puree in batches.
How to Make Leek and Potato Soup in the Crock Pot:
- Don’t skip sautéing the leeks. It only takes a few extra minutes to do this in a sauté pan on the stove top. Trust us; it’s worth doing because it gives them an extra depth of flavor.
- Wait until after cooking to add dairy or non-dairy milk products.
- Be sure to remove the bay leaf before adding the milk to your healthy potato soup!
- If possible, use an immersion blender to puree the potato leek soup. It’s much easier than transferring everything to a blender.
how to cut and clean leeks
The leek is a vegetable in the Allium family, so it’s related to shallots, garlic, spring onions (scallion), and chives. Physically, it almost looks like an overgrown scallion, but with a bunch of fibrous leaves on the top. The taste is much milder and slightly sweeter than that of an onion.
Because they have tightly packed leaves and grow in sandy soil, leeks need to be rinsed well before you use them to remove any sandy soil, grit, and debris that is trapped between the layers. There are two options for cleaning and cutting leeks:
Soak first, then slice.
- Use a sharp knife to cut off the root end, then chop off the fibrous dark green leaves from the top of the stalk. Discard both.
- Place the remaining uncut stalk into a bowl of cool tap water for a few minutes, occasionally swishing it around to loosen the dirt/debris. When you’re confident that it’s clean, then slice the stalk into small pieces.
Slice first, then soak.
- Using a large, sharp knife (like a chef’s knife), cut off and discard the root and dark green leaves from the leek, leaving just the light green and white stalk.
- Slice the stalk in half from top to bottom, then place both halves cut side down on a cutting board. Slice each half into half-moon shaped slices, about 1/4-inch thick.
- Put the cut leeks into a strainer and place it under cold running tap water to remove any dirt or debris
What part of the leek do you use in soup?
You want to use the white and green parts of the leek in soup.
How do you cut a leek for soup?
Cut off the root end of the leek, then cut the white and light green part of the leek in half. Cut those slices into 1/4.
serving suggestions
Garnishes – Feel free to garnish the soup with any toppings of your choice. Good options are shredded cheese, chopped fresh chives, fresh parsley, or crisply cooked and crumbled bacon.
To make our potato and leek soup recipe heartier, you can include additional vegetables, like carrots, celery, or broccoli. If you don’t need a vegan potato leek soup, you could even make and stir in a bit of Instant Pot shredded chicken or turkey breast.
Salad, Vegetables, or a source of meat go great with this soup. Here are some of our favorites:
- salad – Easy Kale Salad or Apple Walnut Salad
- veggies – Green Beans Almondine, Crispy Potatoes, Honey Roasted Carrots, or Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
- meat – Baked Chicken Tenders or Baked Boneless Chicken Breast
Potato and Leek Soup Recipe FAQ
To thicken a dairy free and vegan potato leek soup, you can use a cornstarch slurry. For a thinner consistency, don’t puree all of the potatoes. Before pureeing, use a ladle to remove about 1 1/2 cups of vegetables from the broth.
Storage
How long will potato and leek soup keep in the fridge? : This will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container
Can you freeze potato leek soup? : Because this potato soup doesn’t contain dairy, you can freeze it for up to 3 months.
If you include dairy products like cream, half and half, or whole milk, freezing the soup is not recommended. Technically, creamy soups can be frozen for up to 3 months, but dairy products that are high in fat tend to separate as the soup thaws. This can change the overall consistency and texture.
We like these containers for freezing.
Reheating: You can reheat this recipe in the microwave or on the stove. We recommend reheating in a pot on the stove top. Try to avoid cooking at super high heat so that the milk doesn’t curdle.
Other healthy soup recipes:
Looking for another easy soup? Check out these 40+ Healthy Soup Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy 30 minute dinners cookbook.
Potato Leek Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup leeks chopped, about 1 large leek
- 6 cups potatoes peeled and chopped into 1 inch pieces about 1 lb or 5-6 medium sized potatoes
- 8 cups vegetable broth low or no salt
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme optional
- ¼ teaspoon dried parsley optional
- 3/4 cup milk of choice regular or nondairy
- Chives for decoration
Instructions
Stove Top Directions:
- In a large pot, heat olive oil. While oil is heating, chop veggies.
- Sauté leeks and garlic until fragrant, about 5 minutes
- Add all remaining ingredients to the pot, except milk.
- Cover the pot and bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the soup to a simmer. Allow it to simmer for 20 minutes, or until your potatoes are fork tender.
- Once cooked, remove bay leaf if you used one. Blend soup with an immersion blender until smooth.
- Stir in room temperature milk.
- Serve with your favorite toppings like bacon, chives or cheese.
Instant Pot Directions:
- Set the Instant Pot to sauté mode for 5 minutes. Heat olive oil. While oil is heating, chop veggies.
- Sauté leeks and garlic until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Turn off sauté mode. Make sure to scrape off any pieces of food on the bottom of the Instant Pot or you will get a burn notice during cooking.
- Pour in remaining ingredients, except milk.
- Set the Instant Pot to sealing, pressure cook for 10 minutes on high pressure. It will take about 10 minutes for the pot to come to pressure before it starts to count down.
- Manually release pressure when the timer goes off.
- Once cooked, remove bay leaf if you used one. Blend soup with an immersion blender until smooth.
- Stir in room temperature milk. Serve with your favorite toppings like bacon, chives or cheese.
Crockpot Directions:
- In a sauté pan, heat olive oil. While oil is heating, chop veggies.
- Sauté leeks and garlic until fragrant, about 5 minutes. (This step is optional, but adds flavor)
- Add all ingredients into the crockpot, except milk.
- Set the crockpot to cook for 6 hours on high, or 8 hours on low.
- Once cooked, remove bay leaf if you used one. Blend soup with an immersion blender until smooth. Stir in room temperature milk.
- Stir in room temperature milk. Serve with your favorite toppings like bacon, chives or cheese.
I tried this (didn’t have all the ingredients, so it was a bit modified). Tasted great, and very healthy. Thank you!
I tried this (didn’t have all the ingredients, so it was a bit modified). Tasted great, and very healthy. Thank you!
Just made this loved how quick and easy it was. Always had these ingredients on hand didn’t even have to go to the store. Great flavor. Nice warm bowl of soup to eat on a snowy day.