We love this homemade potato and leek soup recipe with butter, leeks, potatoes, stock, and spices. This soup is so creamy and comforting. It is also made without cream! Jump to the Potato Leek Soup Recipe
How to Make Our Favorite Potato Leek Soup
I love soups with texture, so unless we are talking tomato soup, I’m usually not one for intentionally smooth soups. Most potato and leek soup recipes we’ve seen lately call for blending until it’s silky smooth. They might look pretty, but I’ll almost always take a hearty, rustic soup over silky smooth.
That’s why our potato leek soup isn’t completely blended. Instead, we leave lots of potato chunks and sliced leeks in the pot for texture and heartiness. Adam and I love this soup, and while the whole pot can easily feed four, we’ve been known to down the whole thing ourselves.
You can see from our photo that we blended about half of the soup and then left the rest. This way, the soup is creamy and thickened, but we leave plenty of potato and leek pieces in the pot for texture.
The ingredient list for this easy potato leek soup is pretty short (woohoo!). You’ll need butter or oil, leeks, potatoes, stock, and a few spices.
This soup is quick to prepare and keeps well in the fridge or freezer for another day. We hope you try this one; it’s one of our favorites. See our homemade potato soup for another favorite!
A Little About Leeks
Before we share the recipe, let’s chat about leeks for a minute. Leeks are members of the allium family, so they are related to garlic and onions. Leeks taste like a sweet, mellow onion. Think about a scallion or green onion and make it a bit sweeter.
The entire leek is edible, but the further up into the darker green tops you get, the tougher they are. That’s why most leek recipes (including this one) only use the light green and white parts. We leave the dark green tops for making stocks and broths.
Cleaning and chopping leeks are simple, but it’s helpful to know a few tips. Leeks are grown in sandy soil, so it is common for dirt and sand to get stuck between the layers.
The easiest way to deal with this is to remove the root end, then slice the entire leek in half lengthwise, revealing each layer and allowing you to see and rinse away the dirt and sand. Years ago, we wrote an article about cleaning leeks, so take a look for photos and tips: How to Clean Leeks.
Once you’ve cleaned and chopped your leeks, this soup comes together fast. We hope that you try it!
More of Our Favorite Soup Recipes
- Creamy Potato Soup
- Sausage and Potato Soup
- Our Favorite Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Roasted Cauliflower Soup
- Italian Wedding Soup
Our Favorite Potato and Leek Soup
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
We love this potato leek soup recipe with butter, leeks, potatoes, stock, and spices. This soup is so creamy and comforting. There’s no cream needed, but if you want to make this more decadent, add a little crème fraîche, sour cream, or cream to your bowl before serving.
You Will Need
3 tablespoons butter or olive oil
3 large leeks
6 cups stock or broth, see our chicken stock or vegetable broth
2 medium-to-large russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into ½-inch cubes
Half of a bay leaf
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Pinch freshly ground nutmeg
Crème fraîche, sour cream, or cream for serving, optional
Directions
- Prepare Leeks
1Cut away the stem and dark green parts of the leeks. Discard the stem and save the green tops for stock or broth. We only need the light green and white parts of the leeks for this recipe.
2Slice the leeks into half, lengthwise, and then run cold water over them, using your fingers to release any dirt stuck inside the layers.
3Slice the leeks into 1/4-inch thick half-moons.
- Prepare Soup
1Melt the butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat.
2Stir in the leeks and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring frequently, until very soft but not browned, 10 to 15 minutes. If the leeks begin to brown, lower the heat a bit more.
3Stir in the potatoes, stock, and 1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper. Add half of a bay leaf, and then bring it to a boil. Reduce the soup to a low simmer, and cook uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
4Taste the broth and season with additional salt.
5Blend one-third of the soup, and then stir back into the pot. Stir in a bit more ground pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. Serve.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Store potato leek soup in air-tight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Vegetarian and Vegan Adaptations: Use vegetable broth. Try our homemade veggie broth.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
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Love this soup. Wonderful flavor. I didn’t change a thing.
Wonderful! I’m so glad you found a new favorite. Hopefully, it’ll inspire others to try it out too!