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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Very impressed with this recipe, it’s such a good winter soup. I stuck to the recipe but just added some homemade croutons on top . Absolutely delicious!
Delicious! The perfect cozy winter meal
Can this soup be made with whole milk or half & half instead of heavy cream?
Sure — it won’t be quite as creamy, but will still be delicious.
I often substitute evaporated milk for cream (so my husband can’t claim I’m trying to kill him!) and I’ll probably try it with this soup!
I loved this recipe. I made leek potato soups before using other recipes . This one is the best . Garlic is a must . I grow herbs in the kitchen so I used my own thyme springs .
It doesn’t even need cream
It’s good as it is . Next time I make it I will add watercress
I was wondering about the garlic! I’ve looked through several recipes and I def will make this one but I felt it was missing garlic! I think I will also add!
I made this recipe as printed. It was delicious, and I will definitely make it again!
Why do all leek recipes tell you to throw away half of the leek? I always use the dark green as well and my family has never complained. In fact, the dark part is delicious when cooked soft.
So right. Never understood this.
Harvested our leeks before the freeze and made this soup with them – delicious! Thanks!
I had some leeks, potatoes, and cream left over from Thanksgiving, plus a half pound of Bob Evan’s sausage from the stuffing, so I sautéed the sausage, removed it from the pot and made the rest of the recipe as written. Well, with a little parsley thrown in both before and after pureeing. Then I put the sausage back in with some leftover boiled small potatoes and white beans. It was absolutely to die for, my family of three scarfed it up and licked the bowls! Thank you for this terrific recipe.
DELICIOUS!! Would definitely make again!!
This soup is absolutely delicious! My husband, who’s not a creamy-soup lover, really likes this, which I consider to be very unusual.
Okay, hear me out on this.
After thanksgiving, I had a TON of mashed potatoes left. (Seasoned with butter, salt, little milk.)
I also had a bunch of leeks, (one for the stuffing, but they come in a minimum of 4 at my grocery).
So: I made this soup exactly as written, except adding the mashed potatoes at the last 7 minutes of the simmer instead of at the start of the boil, and I reduced the water by 1/2 cup.
It was awesome. And I can freeze leftovers, something plain taters just don’t seem to survive.
This is what I came here looking for – using up leftover mashed potatoes – so thank you very much for sharing!
This soup was absolutely fantastic. Followed the recipe exactly. My new favorite soup!!! Thank you Once Upon a Chef
Oh my gosh. The smells in my kitchen during prep! And then as it was cooking! Fabulous! And the flavor of the soup is absolutely wonderful! This is a keeper. @onceuponachef Thank you for this recipe!