Potato Leek Soup
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Cozy up with this comforting potato leek soup, a classic French dish that’s easy to make and endlessly customizable.
Potato leek soup, or potage parmentier, is a French classic. It’s one of the first dishes I learned to make in culinary school, right after a proper omelette and basic vinaigrette, because it’s an essential base soup in French cuisine. You can add watercress to make potage au cresson, serve it chilled as Vichyssoise, or top it with bacon, fried leeks, fresh herbs, or diced vegetables. There are endless variations—just use your imagination (or whatever you have in the kitchen) to make it your own. This potato leek soup recipe is simple to whip up and can be served as an appetizer, paired with a Reuben sandwich or wedge salad, or enjoyed as a satisfying lunch on its own.
What You’ll Need To Make Potato Leek Soup
Step-by-Step Instructions
Potato leek soup is simple to make, but first you have to deal with the leeks. They’re notoriously sandy and dirty, and very good at hiding it, so be sure to wash them well. Start by cutting off and discarding the root ends and thick dark green parts. Cut the leeks in half lengthwise and rinse each half under cold water, pulling apart the layers to remove any grit that’s tucked inside.
Once the leeks are clean, roughly chop them — you should get about five cups of chopped leeks from four large leeks.
To make the soup, melt the butter in a Dutch oven or large soup pot, then add the chopped leeks and garlic.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and wilted.
Next, add the potatoes, chicken broth, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil.
Then cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
Fish out the bay leaves and thyme sprigs.
Purée the soup with a hand-held immersion blender (or in a regular blender) until smooth. (If using a standard blender, be sure not to fill the jar more than halfway; leave the hole in the lid open and cover loosely with a dishtowel to allow the heat to escape.)
Finally, add the heavy cream. You can reduce the amount if you’d like but I wouldn’t leave it out entirely. Cream makes the soup deliciously silky, rich, and smooth—just add it little by little until the soup tastes good to you.
Bring to a simmer, then taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve hot, garnished with fresh thyme, chives, or anything you like.
Video Tutorial
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Potato Leek Soup
Cozy up with this comforting potato leek soup, a classic French dish that’s easy to make and endlessly customizable.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 large leeks, white and light green parts only, roughly chopped (about 5 cups)
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped into ½-inch pieces
- 7 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Chives, finely chopped, for serving
Instructions
- Melt the butter over medium heat in a large soup pot. Add the leeks and garlic and cook, stirring regularly, until soft and wilted, about 10 minutes. Adjust the heat as necessary so as not to brown.
- Add the potatoes, broth, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper to pot and bring to a boil. Cover and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are very soft.
- Fish out the thyme sprig and bay leaves, then purée the soup with a hand-held immersion blender until smooth. (Alternatively, use a standard blender to purée the soup in batches; see note.) Add the heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. If soup is too thin, simmer until thickened. If it's too thick, add water or stock to thin it out. Garnish with fresh herbs if desired.
- Note: If using a standard blender to purée the soup: be sure not to fill the jar more than halfway; leave the hole in the lid open and cover loosely with a dishtowel to allow the heat to escape; and pour blended soup into a clean pot.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The soup can be frozen, without the cream, for up to 3 months. Defrost the soup in the refrigerator for 12 hours and then reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat until hot. Once heated through, add the cream and bring to a simmer before serving.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Serving size: about 1-1/2 cups
- Calories: 454
- Fat: 24 g
- Saturated fat: 14 g
- Carbohydrates: 49 g
- Sugar: 10 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 12 g
- Sodium: 828 mg
- Cholesterol: 78 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Comments
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Hi Jenn, the soup is fabulous!!! Bought the immersion blender by Braun you recommended. Worked well.
Could I add sautéed ham steak for substance?
Thank you, Rose
So glad you liked both the soup and the blender! Sure, feel free to add the diced ham steak. 🙂
I love this soup as written, but todays modification is the addition of Dungeness crab, fresh corn, some crispy bacon and topped with fried shallots-super delightful!
I can not follow a recipe to the letter despite my best efforts – the good news is that more often than not, is that I nail it. Today I NAILED it!
I fried up bacon pieces, and reserved a tablespoon of the drippings to add to the butter for the leeks and garlic.
I also chopped a few carrots and celery stalks and did not blend the soup and added the cooked bacon back in to the pot.
This is probably my favorite soup!
So easy and delicious! My housemate said it is the best he has ever had. I will definitely be making this again.
10-24-2023: This soup is awesome! Consistency was excellent! I used broth I had (32 oz low-sodium vegetable and 32 oz low-sodium chicken). I added 2 T of Better Than Boullion low-sodium Chicken. I used russet potatoes. I used 1/2 tsp of pepper, 1 shake of red pepper flakes. followed the recipe all the way with few tweaks above. I emulsified, leaving slight tiny chunks of potato. I never made leeks before. Got them picked fresh day before (24″long and 2″ diameter white end.) So damn good! My family loved it! Will make again for sure!
Absolutely delicious. I added 3 chcicken stock cubes as didn’t have broth.
I can’t even get over how good this is! Can’t wait to make it again!
I made this soup recently because I mistakenly bought two bundles of leeks and it was easy to make and delicious. The only thing I would do differently (if you want a thicker texture), only add 6 cups of broth instead of 7.
Hi Jenn,
Can you recommend an imersion blender?
Your soups look amazing!!!!!
Never worked with leeks before.
Thank you,
Rose
Hi Rose, I really like this one. Hope you enjoy the soup if you make it!
Made as directed, although I did leave peels on my potatoes. Turned out incredible! I enjoyed this a lot, especially with bacon added as a garnish. Will be making again!
I’ve been making Potato Leek Soup for more than 50 years. This recipe is not only a keeper, it inspired me to go through my recipe collection and toss all the rest. Pure perfection doesn’t come along very often, but when it does, oh my! Also, your suggestion of fried leeks and bacon as soup toppings added mouthwatering levels of flavor. From here on out, the bacon will be cooked in the oven. Who knew…. Thank you!