Creamy Potato Leek Soup made with only six basic ingredients and a whole lot of flavor! This easy creamy soup recipe is ideal for those who enjoy a smooth texture and rich flavor.
I recently learned there are two kinds of people: Those who are well-informed about the existence of potato leek soup and cherish it, and those who have never heard of it.
Up until making this recipe, my husband was unaware of its magnanimous nature, so don’t worry if you fall into the latter category too.
This post will catch you up to speed, because, my friend: potato leek soup is a thing.
With creamy texture and rich flavor with a hint of onion thanks to the combination of potatoes, cream, and leeks, it makes that perfect side soup to any main dish.
Leeks have a subtle onion flavor with a hint of creaminess to them. They could be compared to an onion with the volume turned down in the sense that they don’t have that onion bite.
Depending on how potato leek soup is made, the flavor can be a little one note. With that in mind, adding extra flavor to the soup via cheese or bacon ensures your taste buds enjoy the adventure.
My trick to adding complex flavor to potato leek soup is to use bacon drippings for cooking and to serve the soup with crispy bacon on top.
Let’s chat about the simple ingredients for potato leek soup, as each one serves an important purpose.
Potato Leek Soup Ingredients:
Potatoes: One of the star ingredients in potato leek soup recipes is (you guessed it) potatoes.
I like using yukon gold potatoes but russet potatoes work great too. I don’t peel the potatoes, but you can if you prefer it!
While I leave some of the soup chunky, you can also make creamy potato soup by blending the whole batch.
Leeks: Grab a bunch of leeks from the produce section of the grocery store and give them a good wash!
While the whole leek can be safely eaten, many people skip the dark green part because it takes a bit longer than the white parts to cook. Nevertheless, the dark green section contains a great deal of flavor, so there is no need to shy away from it.
Bacon: We get the ball rolling by first cooking up a batch of bacon to render bacon drippings for cooking. The bacon is set aside to get mixed into the soup later upon serving.
Most potato leek soup recipes don’t include bacon, but I think it makes a world of difference!
Fresh Garlic: Fresh cloves of garlic add to the flavor for that creamy garlicky delight.
Chicken Broth: We need some form of liquid to bring this potato and leek soup all together, and I like chicken stock or chicken bone broth for this task. Vegetable broth or vegetable stock works too.
Half & Half: The creamy element. We add half & half for that creamy richness. You can use 1 cup of heavy cream instead of the half and half if you prefer.
Sea Salt & Black Pepper: Season the soup with salt and pepper to your personal taste.
Want to customize the recipe? Here are some options.
Recipe Adaptations:
- For thicker soup, similar to chowder, you can either make a cornstarch slurry or a roux to thicken the soup.
- Skip the bacon and cook using butter, avocado oil, or olive oil.
- Add fresh or dried herbs such as fresh thyme or fresh parsley.
- Mix in some grated parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese, or gruyere cheese for extra flavor and creaminess.
- Add 1/3 cup of dry white wine such as sauvignon blanc if you enjoy cooking with wine.
- Make it dairy-free by substituting one can of full-fat coconut milk for the cream.
- Prefer completely creamy soups? Blend the whole batch of soup instead of leaving some of it chunky.
- If you have bay leaves on hand, add one bay leaf.
- If you don’t own a regular blender, use a potato masher to mash up the tender potatoes into a creamier consistency.
- For a little lemon essence, add lemon zest from one to two lemons.
Now that we’ve covered the basic ingredients for potato leek soup, let’s make it!
How to Make Potato Leek Soup:
Thoroughly clean the leeks with lukewarm water to remove any dirt between the leaves. Chop the white part and light green parts to use them in the soup. If you’d like to use the darker green leaves, you may do so. The dark green parts just require a little extra cooking time.
Heat a large thick-bottomed pot (such as a large Dutch oven) over medium-high heat on the stove top and add the strips of bacon. Cook bacon, flipping every 2-3 minutes, until it reaches your desired level of crisp.
Use tongs to remove the cooked bacon and place it on a plate. Set aside until ready to use. Leave the bacon drippings in the pot to be used as oil for cooking.
Add the chopped leeks and chopped potatoes to the pot of bacon drippings and cook over medium heat until the veggies begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 3 minutes.
Pour the chicken broth into the pot and bring soup to a full boil, uncovered. Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are very tender when poked with a fork.
Transfer ⅔ of the soup to a high-powered blender and blend until smooth. Note: you can blend all of the soup if you want the whole batch to be completely creamy. You can also use a hand-held immersion blender.
Pour the blended soup back into the pot with the chunky soup and stir well. Add the half and half and sea salt and black pepper to your personal taste and heat over medium-low heat just until the soup is the temperature you like for serving.
Chop the cooked bacon and serve soup with chopped bacon and a sprinkle of pepper on top. Chopped green onions or fresh chives are great for serving too.
I love the idea of serving this soup with grilled cheese sandwiches or homemade croutons on top. A slice of crusty bread with a little butter works too.
Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze soup for up to 3 months.
The next time you’re craving a creamy soup, knock this one off your bucket list!
This creamy potato leek soup recipe makes a great light meal, or is a perfect side dish to any main entree.
I like the idea of using this easy recipe for meal prep for weekday lunches.
If you love healthy soup recipes, get a load of these gems!
More Healthy Soup Recipes:
- Crock Pot Chicken and Cauliflower Rice Soup
- Creamy Chicken Soup
- Hungarian Goulash
- Ground Turkey Soup with Rice
Be an early adopter of this timeless classic!
Potato Leek Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 strips thick-cut bacon
- 3 leeks chopped*
- 4 medium-sized Yukon gold potatoes or russet potatoes (about 2 lbs)
- 3 large cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups half & half **
- 1.5 tsp sea salt to taste
- ½ tsp black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Thoroughly clean the leeks with lukewarm water to remove any dirt between the leaves. Chop the white part and light green parts to use in the soup. If you’d like to use the darker green leaves, you may do so. The dark green parts just require a little extra cooking time. Similarly, chop the potatoes and garlic.
- Heat a large thick-bottomed pot (such as a large Dutch oven) over medium-high heat on the stove top and add the strips of bacon. Cook bacon, flipping every 2-3 minutes, until it reaches your desired level of crisp.
- Use tongs to remove the cooked bacon and place it on a plate. Set aside until ready to use. Leave the bacon drippings in the pot to be used as oil for cooking.
- Add the chopped leeks and chopped potatoes to the pot of bacon drippings and cook over medium heat until the veggies begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for another 3 minutes.
- Pour the chicken broth into the pot and bring soup to a full boil, uncovered. Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are very tender when poked with a fork.
- Transfer ⅔ of the soup to a high-powered blender and blend until smooth. Note: you can blend all of the soup if you want the whole batch to be completely creamy. You can also use a hand-held immersion blender. Pour the blended soup back into the pot with the chunky soup and stir well. Add the half and half and sea salt and black pepper to your personal taste and heat over medium-low heat just until the soup is the temperature you like for serving.
- Chop the cooked bacon and serve soup with chopped bacon and a sprinkle of pepper on top. Chopped green onions or fresh chives are great for serving too.
- I love the idea of serving this soup with grilled cheese sandwiches or homemade croutons on top. A slice of crusty bread with a little butter works too.
- Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze soup for up to 3 months.
Notes
Nutrition
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