By:Nagi
299 Comments
Leek and Potato Soup is a thick and creamy classic French Potato Soup that starts with garlic butter in which leeks are slowly sautéed to bring out the sweet flavour.
It’s simple to make, cosy and comforting yet also luxurious and elegant. I love how this Leek Soup can be Couch Food OR an elegant starter for a dinner party.Good food is a universal language!
Leek and Potato Soup
Though France might be the epicentre of Michelin star restaurants (second only to Tokyo!) where sauces come in the form of foam and dishes are given excessively fancy names, the heart and soul of French food is simple food made well. It’s rustic, cosy, and often generous on the butter and cheese.
Hence French food and I are very good friends. (Hello Quiche Lorraine, Gougeres, Potato au Gratin, French Onion Soup…to name a few of my best mates!)
Leek soup is another such example. (Though no cheese!).
Few ingredients, prepared well. It’s quick to make, and ridiculously delicious!
What goes in Leek and Potato Soup
Here what you need:
Leeks –essential for a LEEK soup!! 😂 Though if you are desperate to make this an leeks are obscenely expensive / you can’t get your hands on them, substitute for onions;
Potatoes –use starchy or all rounders, they fall apart when simmered which means less blending for creamy soup = less risk of gluey soup*. 🇦🇺Australia: Sebago (dirt brushed, most common potatoes), 🇺🇸US: Russet 🇬🇧UK: Maris Piper;
Broth – I choose chicken because it has more depth of flavour than vegetable stock/broth. But vegetable stock is also ideal here!
Creamy is optional. This soup is still thick and creamy even without, it just adds a luxurious mouthfeel.
* Common problem with Potato Leek Soups that call for blitzing to death until completely smooth. Power of blender = activates starch in potatoes = gluey. Same thing that happens if you use a food processor or blender for mashed potato!
How to cut leeks
Trim the root off. Take a peek and if you can see dirt in the layers, then split the leek in half and separate all the layers, wash them well, then slice per below.
If you don’t see dirt (like mine pictured above), cut your leeks as pictured below:
Cut off the dark green reedy top and discard (leftmost on leek above);
White end (and the very pale green part) – finely slice; and
Pale green middle part – peel off reedy outer layers and finely slice the softer middle part.
How to make Leek and Potato Soup
Leek are like onions – they have a pretty harsh raw flavour. So the key to a really great Leek Soup is to slowly sauté them ingarlic butter until they transform and become soft and sweet. It’s kind of like caramelising onions for French Onion Soup – except we don’t take it as far.
After that, just plonk the potatoes and stock in, simmer until the potato is literally crumbling (the softer they are, the less blending we have to do = better soup texture, no risk of “gluey soup”).
Blitz, stir in cream and serve!
I like to serve mine with croutons. Just a teeny tiny sprinkle of crunchy buttery bread somehow magically makes any soup so much more fabulous.
And while this is a potato based soup, that still doesn’t stop me from tearing up hunks of crusty warm bread, slathering in butter and dunking into the soup.
Carb on carb fabulousness!– Nagi x
PS Or try one of these Soup Dippers – these existing on my website pretty much solely for the purpose of dunking into soups and stews.
Soup Dippers
Watch how to make it
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Leek and Potato Soup
Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 35 minutes mins
Total: 40 minutes mins
Soup
French
4.99 from 104 votes
Servings5 - 8 people
Tap or hover to scale
Thick and creamy Leek and Potato Soup!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp (30g) butter
- 2 garlic cloves , large, finely minced
- 3 leeks , white and pale green parts only sliced thinly (about 2 cups) (Note 1)
- 1 kg / 2lb potatoes (Sebago/Russet/Maris Piper) , peeled a diced into 1"/2.5cm cubes (Note 2)
- 1.5 litre / 1.5 qt chicken or vegetable stock , low sodium (6 cups)
- 3/4 cup (185 ml) cream , heavy/thickened (sub milk)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Croutons
- 2 thick slices bread , torn into crouton size pieces
- 1 tbsp melted butter, or olive oil spray
- Salt
Garnish
- Chives , finely chopped
- Extra cream , for garnish
Instructions
Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and leek and sauté for 7 minutes until soft and sweet.
Add potatoes and broth. Turn heat up and bring to simmer, then place lid on and lower heat so it's simmering gently.
Simmer for 25 minutes or until potato is very soft and almost falling apart. Turn the stove off and puree with a stick blender until JUST smooth. Do not over puree (Note 3).
Add salt and pepper, then stir through cream.
Serve, drizzled with cream and sprinkled with chives and croutons.
Croutons
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Drizzle bread with melted butter (or spray with oil). Bake for 5 minutes or until golden and crunchy. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt while hot!
Recipe Notes:
1. Leeks - see in post for how to cut onions.
You can substitute with onions if you prefer - chop and sauté on low for 10 to 12 minutes until soft and sweet. Don't let them caramelise.
2. Potato types:
- Australia - Sebago (dirty brushed / common washed potatoes you can get at any supermarket. Do not use red potatoes or new potatoes i.e. the ones that you use for potato salad because they are low in starch so will not break down as much when boiling to create a creamy soup)
- US - Russet
- UK -Maris Piper
3. Pureeing - do not puree it for too long! Only puree it until it is just smooth. The reason is that excessive churning of potato can cause it to turn gluey. That's why I never make mashed potatoes in a food processor - it becomes sticky! It's also the reason why using a stick blender is better than using a blender for this recipe - you can control the pureeing better.
If you only have a blender, I strongly urge you to mash the potato in the liquid with a potato masher first, then transfer to blender and pulse until just smooth. 🙂
4. Source -The first time I made Leek and Potato Soup I used a Julia Child recipe. While it was decent, I felt it could be brought into the 21st century with a flavour boost *she ducks and millions of people around the world throw rotten tomatoes at her* so here are the changes I've made to her original recipe:
- I use vegetable or chicken stock instead of water;
- Leeks are sautéed in garlic butter instead of just simmered in water
- I added garlic. Because in my world, where there is butter, there is garlic!
- I added croutons. Because buttery crunch + creamy leek soup = match made in heaven
(There is also the possibility that leeks and potatoes in France have superpower flavour so she didn't need all those flavour boosting steps).
5.Nutrition per serving assuming 5 servings which is meal size. This will easily serve 8 people as a starter - Leek Soup is a classic, elegant starter at fine dining restaurants!
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 393gCalories: 311cal (16%)Carbohydrates: 32g (11%)Protein: 6g (12%)Fat: 19g (29%)Saturated Fat: 12g (75%)Cholesterol: 64mg (21%)Sodium: 551mg (24%)Potassium: 873mg (25%)Fiber: 6g (25%)Sugar: 2g (2%)Vitamin A: 1586IU (32%)Vitamin C: 28mg (34%)Calcium: 112mg (11%)Iron: 7mg (39%)
Keywords: leek soup, potato leek soup
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.
Originally published October 2015. Spiffed up March 2020 – most importantly, new Life of Dozer section added!
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299 Comments
Robyn says
Spilt the cream so used sour cream worked great it was delicious thank you NagiReply
- Shari says
I made this yesterday and look forward to seconds for dinner tonight!! Nagi, once again you’ve got the flavors perfectly!! I have a stick blender, gift from a relative years ago, but don’t use it very often. It worked perfectly for this!! Wasn’t gummy or off-putting. Can’t wait for seconds!! Yummm!!!!
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- Shari says
This was so freaking good!! At the end I did add bacon, parsley and capers. So so good!
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- Brittany says
This soup is delicious! Smooth and creamy, with the perfect balance of flavors. I did add a splash of my chive blossom vinegar to top it off.Reply
- Cathy says
This is my 6 year olds favourite soup so it’s on regular rotation at our house. Easy to make and delicious.Reply
- Michelle A Tanis says
Can I use cashew milk in place of cream or milk. Having to avoid dairy for a time. I hate messing with it like this, but I need a dairy free alternative. Thoughts?
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- Caroline says
This is very tasty 😋….. I used full fat milk instead of cream and it’s still really creamy! I puréed 90% and left the rest a little lumpy. And I always add Stilton to my Leek & Potato Soup to give it a tang!Reply
- Vanessa Courage says
Love this recipe! Super easy to make and tasty!Reply
- Sharon says
Hi does anyone know if this dish is freezable? Thanks
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- Kris says
Yes, all good to freeze, Sharon. We’ve been doing this through winter months and taking to work for lunches!
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- Sharon says
Perfect! Thanks Kris! Exactly what I want to do too!!
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- Naomi says
I’ve tried a few times to make leek and potato soup over the years and it always turns out yuck. Leeks were cheap recently, so thought I’d have another go. Nagi, you’re my go to if I ever want to try something and actually have it taste yum every time… Sure enough, tonight was a winner!! Thanks so much for your no fail recipes, they’ve got me out of a bind more than just a few times! My kids love it, (esp my 5 year old who wants me to make it again tomorrow!)
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- Nicole says
Delicious! I omitted the garlic but added bacon and an onion at the leek sautee-ing stage and it turned out well!Reply
- Karen ELLEM says
Hi Nagi! Im going to make this (double) for visitors for a lunch starter next week. Im making it a day or so ahead. So should I leave the cream out and add when Im reheating it? Or can I add the cream when I make it and will it reheat OK with cream added?? HELP. LOVE YOUR RECIPES!( Im also making your smoked salmon quiche for the lunch 🙂 Kindness,Karen
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- Sam says
As a few people have said, the addition of bacon is nice – I like to make bacon bits now and then everyone gets to add as much or as little as they would like when it is served. The crunch they provide is a good texture contrast. Flaking up some smoked cod and adding that (after you have blended the soup) is also a worthy experiment.Reply
- Julie says
Every recipe is saying blending potatoes ever thought to grate potato into the stock first and let it break down ? I’ve never had an issue with gluey potato’s in any soup I make because I also grate it .
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- Jill says
The most delicious leek and potato soup I have ever made! I didn’t “mess” with your recipe, there’s no need to, although I took my eyes off the leeks cooking, and burnt them slightly. However they were fine and if anything, gave the soup an even greater depth of flavour!!Reply
- Brian says
Great recipe for your leek and potato soup but I added 5 rashers of bacon (chopped) in with the leeks and garlic.
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- Jacob says
Yo I’m from a area where leeks are not commonly used. I saw some in the local grocery stiore and though i would try something new. This recipe is dope. TYVM.Reply
- Kate says
Another winner, Nagi! Leeks are in season right now, and abundant in the stores. Russets not so much – a 5 lb bag only yielded about 2 pounds of usable spuds. No cream on hand so used Sour Cream – soooo good. After Lent I will try using chicken stock, veg stock is OK but I think ckn will taste better. Served this piping hot with leftover homemade Irish Soda Bread. Thank you so very much for this fast and tasty recipe – a new family favorite!Reply
- jodie says
I love this, I always cook up some diced bacon and shallots and take them out and then add them back in at the end.It makes it next level and if you don’t have cream, a can of evaporated milk works so well.
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- Eleanor says
I have literally never ever commented on a recipe comments section but this was the sh*t. My sister could not stop saying how good it was. Hot damn this is a good soupReply
- Rosie says
Hey Nagi, when substituting with onion, are we still using about 2 cups worth? Not ready to re-mortgage just to buy leeks 😅Reply
