Simple, satisfying and delicious! This Leek and Potato Soup comes together quickly and easily in one pot. The end result is a thick and creamy potato soup without no cream or dairy required!
Everyone should have a good Leek and Potato Soup recipe to lean on in a moments notice.
It’s everything you want out of your comfort food: easy, practical, delicious and nutritious! A worthy winter classic.
Vegan Leek and Potato Soup
Though this recipe does take inspiration from the classic Vichyssoise, this leek and potato soup is totally dairy free.
No heavy cream or milk required. You don’t even need to swap out anything out for a dairy free alternative like almond of coconut milk.
The creamy texture comes almost entirely from the blended potatoes.
More Delicious Leek Recipes
Steps
Altogether this soup is incredibly easy to make! It’s prepped all in one pot with less than 10 basic ingredients.
- Wash and chop the leeks as needed. Use both the white and green parts of the leeks.
- Tip: Leeks tend to hide away quite a bit of dirt in between its leaves, so make sure to wash your leeks well before cooking. I recommend you chop up the leaves, then place them in a colander to rinse out any hidden dirt and debris.
- Sauté the leeks and garlic in oil to soften. Do this over a medium heat or medium-low heat a large soup pot. You want the leeks to soften, but not brown.
- Add the potatoes, herbs, stock and bay leaves. Mix in the remaining ingredients (except added salt) and stir everything together.
- Boil, then simmer until potatoes are tender. Heat up the pot until you get a boil, then reduce to maintain a simmer. Cover with a fitted lid and set a time for about 15 minutes. Simmer until the potatoes are soft and easily pierced with a fork.
- Blend and season. Turn off the heat and use an immersion blender to puree the soup into your preferred texture. Make it totally smooth and creamy or leave a few potato pieces intact for a chunky soup. Once blended, taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Note: How much salt you need to add at this stage largely depends on the saltiness of your chosen stock.
What type of potatoes to use?
When it comes to blended soups, all purpose/ starchy potatoes are your friend!
- Examples: russet potatoes, yukon gold potatoes, baking potatoes, etc.
Unlike waxy potatoes they are high in starch and low in moisture. This means they soak in liquid and loose their shape easily which makes them ideal for blending up into a thick and creamy texture.
If you use a waxy variety (like red potatoes) your soup is more likely to result in a more chunky or gummy texture.
Can I make this without an immersion blender?
Yes!
You can blend this soup using a regular blender if you don’t own a stick blender. There are just a couple key things to keep in mind if using a stand blender here:
- Cool the soup slightly before blending.
- Hot liquids over a fast motor is always cause for caution. I recommend waiting until the soup cools down a bit until it’s cool enough to comfortably handler. You can always warm it back up again on the stove top if needed.
- Blend in batches.
- Don’t fill the blender more than 2/3 of the way full to prevent it from overflowing from the top.
- Secure the lid and open away from your face.
- This is especially important if you don’t cool the soup fully before blending. I can speak from experience when I say that you don’t want to open a hot and steamy container straight into your face!
More Vegetable Soup Recipes
- Leek And Sweet Potato Soup With Sweet & Spicy Roasted Pepitas
- Curried Tomato Lentil Soup
- Curried Butternut Squash Soup
- Broccoli Potato Soup
- Broccoli Leek Soup
- Peanut Carrot & Sweet Potato Soup
- Roasted Acorn Squash Soup (Vegan)
- Asparagus Potato Soup (Vegan Option)
- Roasted Cauliflower And Garlic Soup
Leek and Potato Soup (No Cream)
Simple, satisfying and delicious! This Leek and Potato Soup comes together quickly and easily in one pot.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil (30 ml)
- 2 large leeks
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced
- 2 pounds white potatoes, peeled and diced (about 1kg)
- 6 cups vegetable stock (1.4litres)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- black pepper to taste
- Chopped fresh chives or parsley for serving
Instructions
- Thinly slice the leeks then place in a colander and run under water to remove any dirt hidden between the leaves.
- Warm the oil in a large pot over a medium-low heat. Add the sliced leeks and garlic cook about five minutes to soften the leaves.
- Add the diced potatoes, stock, thyme and bay leaves to the pot. Mix everything together.
- Bring to a boil over a high heat, then reduce heat down to simmer. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are very soft. Fish out the bay leaves from the pot and discard.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until it becomes creamy. Alternatively, you can transfer the soup to a regular blender or food processor if you don't own an immersion blender.
- Taste and season as needed and serve.
- Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge for about 5 days.
Notes
- Feel free to use butter (or vegan butter) in place of olive oil and chicken stock instead of vegetable stock if you don't need this soup to be vegan or vegetarian.
- A Note on Blending: If you blend this in a blender or food processor - blend the soup in batches only filling the blender halfway full at most. You must be careful not to overfill the blender or the heat and pressure force the lid off. Also make sure to open the lid away from your face so the steam doesn't hit you.
- Freeze: Cool soup completely then store in a freezer-safe, airtight container or bag. Leave room in the bag/container for the soup to expand as it freezes. Let defrost over night in the fridge then reheat fully before serving. If the soup separates after thawing, re-blend to mix it back up.
Darlene says
I used just the darker greens of the leek (Fodmap) I have IBS, sweet potato, bay leaves, store bought campell’s no salt added broth, wanted to try plain and it turned out good. Adding thyme, sage? parsley, etc would make it extradinary i am sure. And i will definitely use this recipe as my base. First attempt and a great success. tyvm
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Darlene! FODMAPs can be so tricky so I’m really glad you were able to enjoy it with the right adaptations! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know how it went – I’m sure future readers with similar IBS issues will appreciate it too 🙂
Mary-Margaret Swofford says
I really appreciated this recipe! I made six quarts of it because it freezes very well) and tweaked it a little (I’m known to do that. Not because the original wasn’t excellent, but I like more herbs in my cooking) by adding 5 diced carrots, 1 Tbsp each of ground savory, ground thyme, marjoram leaves and chervil, and ½ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley. Instead of salt, I used 6 chicken boullion cubes (not vegan) and 2 cups of plain unsweetened oat milk. Then Imogene, my immersion blender, went to work. I reserved 2 cups of the cooked vegetables to add back to the soup after blending. I tasted the original recipe before I doctored it up, and it was fabulous! My Beloved loved both versions, so next time, I will go by the recipe and not change a thing. Thank you for inspiring and delicious recipe!
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Mary, I am SO thrilled to hear how much you enjoyed it! I also really appreciate you sharing your adaptions – I can’t follow a recipe without doing something different and I love it when readers do the same. Everything you did sounds delicious!
I also really love that you’ve named your immersion blender! Given how much work I put some of my appliances through they really do deserve the respect 😄 I don’t know why, but Imogene really in the perfect name for an immersion blender, too.
Darlene says
Thank you very much! Great new ideas for me. 🙂
Gary says
I used this recipe and it was fine. Easy an very good, especially on a cold evening. I made it again and changed it a bit, as I found myself with everything except thyme and bay leaves…so, essentially, just leeks (here in Italy, leeks are more like trees than stems), onion and lots of potatoes….which I didn’t peel as so many vitamins and minerals are in the peel…so just rinsed…I just chopped and added to leek/onion combo after they were softened. Once I added the potatoes, I filled the pot with water and broth, but mostly water, added a bit of butter, and let it rip. Once all was integrated and potatoes were nice and mushy, I used a “mini pimer”, which is a hand held mixer with attachments…from a whisk to a hooded blade (like you’d find in a blender)…all hand held, and whipped it all together and let it cook some more. I noted that it was a little lackluster so I added two Knorr chicken bouillon cubes and it was perfect. No less flavorful but less to have on hand. I also made this once, throwing un cubed pieces of bacon…and it was so, so good but would not do that often given the fat and salt content. So, in the end, all I needed was potatoes, onion, 2 large leeks and bouillon cubes (butter, too, if wanted) and BAM! Potato leek soup. Might not be authentically French but is so good and easy. Cheers!
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Gary – Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to come back sharing your thoughts and changes! I really do love hearing what you think and how you adapted it with what you had on on. All of that sounds absolutely delicious and I provides inspiration to future readers as well 🙂
IVA LOOMIS says
Easy to make and freeze especially for a plant-based diet and the FodMap diet. Absolutely delicious.
Sarah Nevins says
So glad to hear you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know what you thought!
Shelly says
Excellent recipe!
Thank you!
Sarah Nevins says
Thanks, Shelly! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Annette says
Really simple to make. Really tasty. I added grated cheese when serving as I had no fresh herbs and it was yummy. Will definitely make again next time I have leeks.
Sarah Nevins says
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back to leave a review 🙂
Jill Fenn says
Really tasty and great texture. Have frozen some, so will be interesting to see how it thaws.
Sarah Nevins says
Thanks Jill – so glad you enjoyed it!
Chris says
Can this soup be frozen? (Leek and potatoes vegan version
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Chris! Yes – you can absolutely freeze the soup for later. I recommend letting it defrost in the fridge over night when you’re ready to reheat it. Keep in mind that potatoes can develop a grainy texture after freezing. The taste won’t change, but some people don’t like the texture. Soup in general can sometimes separate after defrosting. If this happens, just re-blend the soup and that soup get it back to normal.
Brenda Barrett says
Looks amazing
Is this recipe ok for a crockpot?
Sarah Nevins says
Thanks Brenda! You can absolutely make this in the crockpot though I would recommend you sauté the garlic and leeks on the stovetop first then add everything to cook in the crockpot. Cooking those first really does have a huge impact on the overall flavor. From there you can cook on high for about 5 hours or low for 8 hours then blend.
Terry says
Great
Sarah Nevins says
Thanks Terry!