Creamy, velvety smooth Potato Leek Soup is simple and so comforting in winter or any time of the year. Made with Yukon gold potatoes, leek, celery, chicken stock, and cream, this potato soup has the best texture and flavor.
POTATO LEEK SOUP
Potato soup is one of my family’s favorites. If only they loves vegetables soup as much as they love any potato soup, I would be even happier. For now, I am happy that everyone enjoys this comforting soup.
This classic French soup is a favorite for a very good reason. It’s very easy to make with a few simple ingredients. Gold potatoes and leeks complement each other very well and give soup enough flavor, where you don’t need to add any other flavors. It’s simply seasoned with salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf and made creamy with heavy whipping cream.
Yukon gold potatoes are the absolute best to be used in potato leek soup. It gives the soup its creamiest, softest texture and a slight sweetness. I also like to give leeks a little sear first, to bring out it’s natural flavors and infuse the best flavors into the soup.
Chicken stock goes give the soup a richer taste, but if you want to keep this soup vegetarian, use vegetable stock instead.
HOW TO CUT LEEKS
Leeks are wonderful to add to many dishes likes soups, stews, pasta, or simply roasted and served as a side. Leek is in the same family as onions, scallion, chives, and shallots but it has a very mild onion flavor. The mild onion flavor is perfect for many dishes when you don’t want an overpowering onion taste.
Leek looks like a very large scallion with white part on the bottom, by the root, and dark green, thick leaves. The only edible part of a leek is the white and slightly green part. Root and dark green leaves are discarded before cooking.
To clean and cut the leek:
Lay the leeks down on a cutting board and cut off the dark green leaves and the very bottom by the roots. (Discard the dark green leaves or save it for making homemade vegetable stock.)
Cut the white stalks in half, length-wise. Rinse off each half under some cold running water. Make sure to get in between the layers because dirt likes to hide there. Shake the water off very well and the halves are not ready to slice.
HOW TO MAKE POTATO LEEK SOUP
After the leek had been washed, slice each leek half into thin strips width-wise. Wash and slice celery ribs as well.
Gold potatoes have very thin skin, so you can choose to leave it on of peel it off. If you choose to leave the skin on, make sure to wash the potatoes well. Cut potatoes into cubes and set aside with the rest of the vegetables.
Preheat the pot over medium heat and saute leeks in butter until soft. Add celery and saute it until leeks start to get some sear. Stir in potatoes and saute for a couple more minutes.
Add bay leaf and thyme sprigs to the pot and pour in chicken stock. Pour in enough chicken stock just to cover the potatoes. (Too much stock will result in a thin soup.) Season with salt and pepper, stir well, cover the pot with a lid, and cook until potatoes are tender.
Remember to take out the bay leaf and thyme sprigs!
Stir in heavy whipping cream until completely incorporated. You can transfer the soup into a blender or use an immersion blender to blend the soup. Blend it until smooth.
CAN I FREEZE POTATO LEEK SOUP?
Yes! You can definitely freeze this potato soup but do it without cream. Prepare the soup according to the recipe but do not add the cream. Blend it and cool to room temperature before freezing.
It’s best to cool food as quickly as you can before freezing it. After soup is blended, place the pot into a larger container filled with ice and make sure to stir it from time to time as it cools.
Once cooled, transfer it into a large, zip-top freezer bag (it may take more than one bag), let all the air out, and close it well. Remember to label and date.
Lay the bags flat on the cutting board and freeze. You can stack the bags once frozen.
Potato soup can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Thaw the soup in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours. Reheat the soup in a pot, over medium heat, and stir in heavy whipping cream as it’s reheating.
MORE RECIPES TO TRY
Crock Pot Beef and Noodle Soup
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Potato Leek Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 leeks
- 3 celery ribs
- 2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 fresh thyme sprigs
- 4 cups chicken stock
- salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Cleaning Leek:
- Cut off the dark green leaves and the very bottoms by the roots. (Discard the dark green leaves or save it for making homemade stock.)
- Cut the white stalks in half, length-wise. Rinse off each half under some cold running water. Make sure to get in between the layers because dirt likes to hide there. Shake the water off very well and the halves are not ready to slice.
Potato Leek Soup:
- Slice each leek half into thinly, width-wise. Wash and slice celery ribs as well. Peel or wash potatoes and cut them into cubes.
- Preheat the pot over medium heat and melt butter. Saute leeks in butter until soft. Add celery and saute it until leeks start to get some sear.
- Add potatoes and saute for a couple more minutes.
- Add bay leaf and thyme sprigs to the pot and pour in chicken stock. Pour in enough chicken stock just to cover the potatoes. (Too much stock will result in a thin soup.)
- Season with salt and pepper, stir well, cover the pot with a lid, and cook until potatoes are tender.
- Take out the bay leaf and thyme sprigs.
- Stir in heavy whipping cream until completely incorporated.
- You can transfer the soup into a blender or use an immersion blender to blend the soup. Blend it until smooth.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Karen says
Can this be made without adding the heavy cream? Milk products cause problems for someone in my family. We can use the butter. It looks delicious. Thanks
LyubaB says
Hi Karen,
There are a few options they can try. If it’s lactose, there is lactose-free half and half you can use. You can check their store for brands of dairy free half and half or Heavy whipping cream options, I know Silk makes dairy free Heavy whipping cream, country crock makes one too and horizon organic. I don’t recommend milk substitutes like almond milk because it has an odd flavor when heated you may not like and oat milk is sweet.
Hank Berumen says
Found your recipe and made it today- EXCELLENT! Love it!
LyubaB says
So happy you love it, Hank! Thanks for stopping by to let me know! 🙂
Eva Coppersmith says
This looks wonderful. Do you have any recipes that use celery stock besides a celery soup? I have been making my own stocks and have a bunch of celery pieces I thought maybe would make some good stock. Thank you