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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I just made this soup, very delicious., my husband loved it. Thank you for sharing. I will make this again.
Our family loved this soup! No changes. Perfect as is. Thank you Jenn 🙂
Jen don’t listen to those negative comments. Everyone’s a critic. I made this soup for supper tonight. Had to make some substitutions because I didn’t have fresh thyme so 1 tsp dried was used. Used white pepper so the pepper haters don’t see it but other than that this was OMG delicious. Had two bowls. Hubby is super picky so added bacon to his and bowl was cleaned out. Everything is better with bacon. Have been using your site for years and get the weekly email. Keep helping us be at home chefs and making people happy with good food and I like to think good company 😉
Absolutely delicious! I didn’t make any changes to the recipe, it was perfect!
Extremely bland. Leek and potato soup is supposed to be rich and warming, this was not. I fixed the recipe by doubling the butter, adding an onion, an extra garlic clove, and a small amount of paprika and cayenne to bring up that warmth without spice. It really didn’t need the cream after blending so I omitted it, but I did serve with a dollop of creme fraiche to add that richness. Then it was a 5 star soup.
This is a delicious soup! Made about 6 servings for us, I substituted with Idaho potatoes and almond milk because I’m dairy free and they’re what I had on hand. I also didn’t puree all of the potato and leek pieces because I like a little texture, and instead of butter I cooked 2 slices of bacon first and used the grease to cook the leeks (topped the soup with the bacon bits) really glad to have found this recipe! Make sure you wash your leeks well so you don’t get a lil bit of dirt like me though lol
This is a perfect soup and suited my super picky eater! She had 2 big bowls. Thanks for a winner of a recipe Jenn! I’m so grateful for your expertise and tested recipes. Your website is a favorite go to!
Quick question- would you put any meat like sausage or ham in the soup?
Glad this was a hit! I think it would be delicious with ham.
Absolutely delicious! I used new-potatoes and russets. I also added dried dill, white mushrooms, two stalks of celery, and two medium taro roots. I eliminated the cream because the soup didn’t need it. Delicious!
Excellent recipe. I follow it exactly and use my vitamix to purée it. Soooo good!
What a yummy soup. I didn’t have veggie or chicken stock so I used beef. It wasn’t as pretty but the results were super. Thanks. 🙂