Chunky Potato Leek Soup Recipe

Are you familiar with the leek? They look like big fat green onions, but they taste more like very mild white onions. Leeks can be eaten on their own as a veggie side dish, and they're also good in a stir fry. Where leeks really shine, however, is in soups such as the Scottish dish cock-a-leekie and the classic French vichyssoise that was Julia Child's favorite.

Vichyssoise typically calls for shallots, onions, and chives as well as leeks, and its other ingredients include white wine, chicken stock, potatoes, milk, and cream. Recipe developer Catherine Brookes' chunky potato leek soup has similar flavors of a vichyssoise, but in a simplified version that omits the wine, shallots, chives, and milk, and adds garlic. She describes the dish as "hearty, warming and nourishing," and says it makes for a good meal on a cold day as the potatoes bulk it up and make it quite filling. The leeks, Brookes says, add their "delicious savory flavor." If you're looking for the perfect soup, give this chunky potato leek soup a spin.

Assemble the ingredients for potato leek soup

To make this soup, you won't need too many ingredients, just an onion, leeks, potatoes, and garlic. You'll also need some olive oil for cooking, plus some vegetable stock and heavy cream. Brookes says there's "no problem swapping the [vegetable] stock" for chicken or beef stock, if you prefer. You may also want to lighten up the soup by using half and half in place of the heavy cream.

Sauté the aromatics

You'll first need to prep the veggies, peeling, slicing, and chopping them as specified in the ingredients list. Once the vegetables are prepped, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet or saucepan and cook the onions and leeks until softened, about five minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Simmer the soup

Add the stock and the diced potatoes (peeled or not) to the aromatics, then turn up the heat to bring the pot to a boil. Once the soup starts boiling, turn the heat down to low, put a lid on the pot, and simmer it for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Blend part of the soup to thicken it

Take the soup off of the heat and pour in the cream. Stir it up, then pour ⅓ to ½ of the soup into a blender. Blend until smooth, then pour the blended soup back into the chunky soup. Depending on how chunky you want your soup, you can puree more or less of the mixture to taste.

Garnish the soup or serve as-is

The soup is ready to serve now, though you can dress it up with extra cream or chopped chives if you like. Brookes says this dish "would be great with some crusty bread or garlic bread." If you don't finish all the soup in one go, Brookes says it should keep for 3 days or so in the fridge, and you can also freeze it.

Chunky Potato Leek Soup Recipe
5 from 42 ratings
This chunky potato leek soup is creamy, hearty, and loaded with savory flavors.
Prep Time
5
minutes
Cook Time
30
minutes
Servings
6
Servings
bowl of potato leek soup
Total time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 onion, peeled and diced
  • 2 leeks, sliced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced or crushed
  • 3 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped into small chunks
  • 4 cups vegetable stock
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • salt, to taste
  • pepper, to taste
Optional Ingredients
  • fresh chopped chives
  • extra cream
Directions
  1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or pot on a medium setting.
  2. Sauté the onions and leeks for about 5 minutes, until softened.
  3. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, stirring constantly.
  4. Stir the stock and diced potatoes into the sautéed vegetables.
  5. Bring the soup to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cover the pot. Simmer the soup for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
  6. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Pour ⅓ to ½ of the soup into a blender.
  8. Blend the soup until smooth, then stir it back into the chunky soup.
  9. Serve the soup with extra cream and/or chopped chives, if desired.
Nutrition
Calories per Serving 231
Total Fat 6.3 g
Saturated Fat 2.7 g
Trans Fat 0.0 g
Cholesterol 13.6 mg
Total Carbohydrates 40.9 g
Dietary Fiber 3.7 g
Total Sugars 3.6 g
Sodium 930.7 mg
Protein 5.0 g
The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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