Potato Leek Soup is a creamy, comforting recipe made with simple ingredients that’s sure to warm you up on those cold fall and winter nights.
When the weather cools down, I crave cozy Soups like Slow Cooker Ham and Potato Soup and Cabbage Soup to warm me up. This hearty, yet humble soup is made with simple ingredients and ready in less than an hour.
Why You’ll Love This Soup?
- It’s hearty, inexpensive and comes together quickly!
- Perfectly smooth and creamy soup to warm you up on those cold night!
Sabrina’s Potato Leek Soup Recipe
Creamy soups filled with potatoes and veggies are classics that always hit the spot when you have a craving for a warm bowl of goodness. This simple creamy potato soup only takes just under an hour to cook on the stove top but it is loaded with so much flavor you’d think it was cooking all day long. It’s the perfect bowl of soup for dunking fresh Crusty French Bread Rolls into on a cold winter night.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 3 pounds russet potatoes , peeled and diced
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 2 cups leeks , thinly sliced (whites and light green only)
- 1 stalk celery , diced
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup chives , minced
Instructions
- Fill the dutch oven with water.
- Add in potatoes then turn heat onto high and bring to a simmer.
- Cook for 10 minutes until potatoes are tender.
- Drain pot, remove potatoes and set aside.
- In a large dutch oven add 4 tablespoons butter, leeks and celery on medium heat.
- Cook for 4-5 minutes until vegetables are translucent.
- Add in garlic, stir and cook for 30 seconds until aromatic.
- Add in salt, white pepper and sage and stir well.
- Add in the chicken broth (vegetarian broth if desired) and cooked potatoes.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
- Use an immersion blender until smooth.
- Add in heavy cream, stir well and bring to a simmer.
- Garnish with chives and serve with crusty bread.
Nutrition
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Chef’s Note
It’s important to clean your leeks for soup really well because layers of leaves hold a lot of hidden dirt. Cut off the dark green leaves down to the light green part of the leek. Then slice the leeks in half long-wise. Rinse under cold water. Thinly slice in half moons and then give them another rinse before patting them dry.
Table of contents
About this Recipe
Potato Leek Soup is a classic soup whose exact origins are hard to pin down but it comes from a need to make a filling meal made out of simple, inexpensive ingredients. It’s a creamy, comforting soup made with leeks, potatoes, sage, heavy cream, and chicken stock. The base of the soup is leeks and potatoes simmered in broth and then pureed until smooth. The special ingredient is leeks, which sound super fancy but really you can get them in pretty much any grocery store. Leeks are a cousin to onions and garlic, with a sweeter, milder onion flavor that is similar to green onions. If you’ve never cooked with leeks before, there are tips for how prepare them in my Chef’s Note above.
Ingredients
- Potatoes: This potato soup recipe uses russet potatoes because they puree easy and they are high in starch for a thicker soup that isn’t gummy. Make sure to peel the potatoes and cut them the same size so they cook evenly.
- Leeks: You only use the white and light green parts of leeks for soup. To make sure they are cleaned of any hidden dirt, give them a rinse after they are cut and then pat them dry before using.
- Butter: Butter makes this soup rich and adds a depth of flavor by almost caramelizing the leeks as they are cooked. You could always use olive oil or a blend of butter and oil, but it’s definitely better with all butter.
- Aromatics: The diced celery and fresh garlic cloves are the aromatics for the base of this soup. Aromatics are fresh veggies that are cooked first, usually in butter or oil, to add flavor and depth to dishes like soups, stews, and sauces.
- Sage: I only use sage in this soup because it compliments the light, earthy flavors of the potatoes and leeks without overpowering the soup. Other herbs that would taste good are whole thyme sprigs or bay leaves, just make sure to remove them before blending so you only get a light flavor.
Can this be made ahead of time?
You can prepare the leeks, celery and potatoes the day before you want to serve the soup. Clean and cut the leeks then store with diced celery in an airtight container. To keep diced potatoes from browning, store them submerged in a large bowl of water. Refrigerate everything and when you are ready to make the soup, drain the potatoes and pat them dry before cooking like usual.
How to Store
- Store: Potato Leek Soup can be at room temperature for up to 2 hours before it should be stored. Cool soup completely before storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Leftover soup will stay good for up to 5 days.
- Reheat: To reheat this creamy potato soup, bring to a simmer over low or medium heat on the stove top. You want to heat it up slowly, stirring occasionally, so it doesn’t separate and become gritty.
- Freeze: It’s best to freeze a batch of soup before you add the heavy cream. Dairy separates if it’s frozen and then thaws so you won’t get the same creamy texture back. Thaw the soup overnight in the fridge then heat on the stove top, simmering for 5-10 minutes until heated through. Stir in cream before serving.
Alternative Cooking Techniques
Slow Cooker Method
- In a large skillet, sauté leeks and celery in butter until softened and translucent. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Add leek mixture to the slow cooker, then add the remaining ingredients except the heavy cream and chives.
- Cover and cook on High for 4-5 hours or Low for 7-8 hours, until potatoes are tender.
- Blend finished soup with an immersion blender, pulsing for 2-3 seconds at a time in different parts of the soup until smooth. Do not over blend.
- Stir in the heavy cream and garnish with fresh chives.
Instant Pot Method
- Turn the pressure cooker to the Sauté Function.
- When hot, add the butter, leeks, and celery. Sauté veggies for 4-5 minutes, then add garlic and cook another 30 seconds.
- Hit Cancel. Add 1 cup broth to the pot to deglaze, scraping up any browned bits.
- Stir in the remaining broth, potatoes, and seasonings.
- Secure lid and seal the pressure valve. Cook for 8 minutes on Manual High Pressure.
- Once done, let pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure.
- Carefully remove the lid. Blend soup in batches with a high-powered blender or in the pot with a stick blender.
- Stir in the heavy cream then turn back on Sauté to bring to a simmer before serving.
Frequent Questions
Usually the reason Potato soup gets gummy or gluey is because the potatoes have been pureed too much. The longer they are blended, the more starch they release which is a thickener. You only need to pulse the blender a few times for 2-3 seconds at a time to get a thick, smooth soup.
Since this is a pureed soup, you want to use starchy potatoes that blend well like Yukon gold potatoes and russet potatoes. Smaller, waxy potatoes like red potatoes are good for chunky soups where you want big pieces of potato.
Variations
- Veggies: Load this soup with more aromatic veggies by cooking carrots and onions until softened with the leek mixture. Once you’ve pureed that soup, you can add cooked vegetables like frozen peas, canned corn, chopped mushrooms, or diced zucchini for a heartier, chunkier soup.
- Meat: Blend soup first then stir in some cooked bacon, ground sausage, diced Baked Ham, or smoked sausage and simmer for 5 minutes before adding the cream. For super rich soup, use bacon fat instead of sauteing the leeks and celery in butter.
- Cream: You can substitute half and half, whole milk or 2% milk for the cream. For a lighter soup, use lower fat content milk like 1% or non-fat milk. To make it extra creamy, you can add room temperature cream cheese or sour cream.
- Cheese: Add 1-2 cups of shredded cheese like cheddar cheese, Gruyere cheese, Colby jack cheese, Gouda cheese, or Swiss cheese. Stir the cheese in batches until combined and use freshly grated cheese for a smooth soup.
- Vegan: With a couple substitutions, you can make this into Vegan Potato Leek Soup. You’ll need to use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and olive oil instead of butter. It’s best to swap the heavy cream with coconut cream or coconut milk because they are thicker than most non-dairy milk substitutes.
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For leek and potato soup does one have to use cream or milk.ps you are my go to.
Thanks for asking Brenda. Cream or milk will determine the richness of the soup so it’s up to your tastes. Let us know what you decided to go with and how your soup turns out!