The whole family will love this creamy & comforting leek and potato soup! It’s made with 7 plant-based ingredients, takes only 30 minutes to cook, and is rich in flavor.
You’ll love every spoonful of this creamy soup! It’s made with sweet leeks, hearty potatoes, and lots of aromatics for deep flavor. I have found myself making this soup again and again because of how easy and tasty it is!
This recipe is filled with nourishing plant-based ingredients, requires no cream or dairy, and takes 30 minutes to make!
Ingredients – What You Need
You’ll need 7 ingredients to make this creamy soup happen (minus salt & black pepper). See below for the full list.
Leeks: these onion-like vegetables add a lot of flavors and are sweet in taste!
Potatoes: these will add creaminess to the soup when blended! I recommend using Yukon gold potatoes.
Yellow onion: for flavor!
Garlic: fresh garlic is a must for a flavor-filled soup.
Vegetable broth: for the base of the soup! I like using low sodium vegetable broth and adjusting the salt as needed.
Oil: for sauteing the vegetables. You can use olive, avocado oil, or butter/vegan butter.
Thyme: to infuse the soup with fresh flavor while it simmers.
How to Develop the Most Flavor
Ensuring your soup has tons of flavor is always most important. When making leek soup I love to use ingredients that develop strong flavor with little effort. I recommend using yellow onion, fresh garlic, black pepper, and thyme sprigs for a sweet aroma.
Those four ingredients alone develop layers of flavor to this simple soup. Make sure to top with chives for an extra zing! And as always, salt your soup to taste until the flavor is just right before serving.
How to Make Leek and Potato Soup – Step by Step
- (1) Chop up your leeks and rinse thoroughly in a bowl of water.
- (2) Peel and prepare potatoes. Dice and then soak in cold water to remove extra starch.
- (3) In a large pot with oil sauté the leeks, onion, and garlic until soft. Then add broth, thyme sprigs, and potatoes – add pinch of salt and pepper. Simmer until potatoes are soft when tested with fork (about 15 minutes).
- (4) Either use a hand immersion blender or transfer soup to a blender and in batches.
- (5) Blend on high until creamy and smooth (no more than 20 seconds). Adjust taste with salt and pepper and enjoy!
Tips for Success
- Soak potatoes in water before using: make sure you do not skip this step. Soaking the potato pieces in cold water will remove extra starches from the potatoes which can cause an unpleasant consistency in the soup if not removed.
Tips for changing consistency: if the soup consistency is too thick after blending, add more broth a little bit at a time until desired consistency. And be sure to adjust the salt to taste whenever adding additional liquid. - How to cut leeks: Leeks can be a bit confusing if you’ve never worked with them before. I love this video Ali from Gimme Some Oven created showing how to properly cut and wash leeks.
- How to make it creamy: Either use a hand immersion blender to cream the soup or a high-powered blender – I used a Vitamix.
How to Freeze Soup & Keep Leftovers Fresh
Keep leftover soup fresh: let the soup cool and store in an airtight container, chill in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Freeze soup: make sure soup has cooled to room temperature, then add to a ziplock freezer bag to lay flat and save room, or store in an airtight container. Freeze for up to 1-3 months. When ready to serve thaw at room temperature, or in the fridge overnight, then reheat in a pot.
What to Serve it With
We love serving this soup with pizza like our naan pizza or cast iron skillet pizza! For a healthier option, we pair it with an abundant salad like our lentil salad or Tuscan artichoke salad with a side of sourdough bread.
More Delicious Recipes For Soup Lovers
Do you love vegetable soups as much as I do? If so, you may also be a fan of these other cozy soups we have available on the blog!
- Creamy Cauliflower Soup
- Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup
- Healthy Tomato Basil Soup
- Copycat Panera Autumn Squash Soup
- Healthy Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
30-Minute Leek and Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 4 medium-sized leeks, chopped and cleaned (see notes)
- 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
- 4 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 small yellow onion, diced (or half a large onion)
- 1-2 Tablespoons oil, vegan butter, or butter
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- salt & black pepper
- fresh thyme sprigs
- chives, chopped
Instructions
- Rinse and drain leeks: in a small bowl add chopped leeks and rinse thoroughly before draining.
- Soak potatoes: place diced potatoes in a bowl with cold water and set aside.
- Saute arromatics: In a large pot on medium heat saute garlic, leeks, and onion together with oil and pinch of salt until soft – about 5-7 minutes.
- Add additional ingredients: Drain water from potatoes and add to pot along with vegetable broth, thyme sprigs, and salt & pepper – cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Potatoes should be soft when tested with a fork.
- Blend soup: Use a fork to remove the thyme sprigs. Then using a hand-blender or high-powered blender, puree ingredients until the consistency is creamy and smooth (about 20-30 seconds). Note: if using a blender you may need to blend the soup in batches.
- Season and serve: season soup to taste with salt & a good amount of black pepper. Taste, and adjust flavor as needed. Serve with chopped chives and enjoy!
Notes
- Soak potatoes in water before using: make sure you do not skip this step. Soaking the potato pieces in cold water will remove extra starches from the potatoes which can cause an unpleasant consistency in the soup if not removed.
If soup is too thick: if the soup consistency is too thick after blending, add more broth a little bit at a time until desired consistency. Adjust salt to taste whenever adding additional liquid. - How to cut leeks: Leeks can be a bit confusing if you’ve never worked with them before. I love this video Ali from Gimme Some Oven created showing how to properly cut and wash leeks.
- Blending Soup: Either use a hand immersion blender to cream the soup or a high-powered blender – I used a Vitamix.
I’m vegan & have all the ingredients for this wonderful sounding soup. Can I do this recipe in a crock pot?
Hi Barbara! Yes, this can be done in a crockpot. I would recommend saute the onions and leeks first before adding everything to the crockpot to cook. 🙂 Hope you enjoy the soup!
Excellent soup, might add some red pepper flakes to spice it up. Easy to make!!
Really lovely soup, had with homemade bread. The thyme sprigs added to the flavour . Will definitely make again, perfect on a cold day like today!😊
Very happy to hear it! the homemade bread sounds like a deeelicious addition 🙂
How did you make your homemade breaD?
I always make soup in the winter season and try different types of soup. So I followed your leek and potato soup recipe and it was very delicious everyone loved it. Thank you so much for sharing.
So thrilled to hear it! Thank you, Albertina! 🙂
I am by no means an experienced cooker, but this recipe was very simple and easy to follow. The soup was hearty and flavourful and my friends loved it… great on a cold day. Will definitely be making it again!
ahhh that’s great! So glad to hear it. Thank you, Monika 🙂
My first time using an immersion blender for soup and this one is super easy and delicious!
Aren’t they the best? I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup!
Wowww. So good. It turned out really creamy and perfect with good bread. We added a little more pepper for extra spice.
Really happy to hear! Extra pepper is always a good thing. 🙂