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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How about adding grated green cabbage to thicken it instead of cream?
Hi Pat- I don’t think that would work here–sorry!
The soup turned out very well. Extremely tasty. I followed your seasoning recommendations (what I was really researching for) but… I did something a bit different with the “large” ingredients. I used three Yukon Gold potatoes, a lesser amount of leeks, a mix of onions (1/2 large yellow, 1 large red, and 2 shallots), and fresh cut brown button mushrooms. I also left out the cream. In addition, I only blended the potatoes and an appropriate amount of broth. Hence, we had a soup that wasn’t too thin or too thick for our tastes and had some recognizable ingredients in it.
I want to thank you for your presentation of this recipe. Outstanding!
Easy to follow instructions. Mine tasted just like the one in the picture. Beautiful creamy color, wide gamut of flavor.
Hello Jenn! I can not adequately express how happy I am with this recipe. I recently visited Scotland and we were served this soup a couple of times…. I fell in love. I am one of those pesky picky eaters when it comes to veggies, so this soup was a must as soon as I tried it. Your recipe was the first I tried and it’ll be the last because it was perfect. It transported me right back to Scotland and the fun I had. Very well put together cooking instructions and great photos to clarify. My friends ate seconds, so I know I wasn’t the only one in love. Thank you for sharing your passion with us.
Amazing! I used oil, rather than butter, fat free 1/2 & 1/2 and left out salt. Made it gluten free, low sodium, low fat and large flavour! Will make this again, for sure!
can i use sour cream instead of heavy cream in the Potato Leek soup recipe? I would think so, but just wanted your thoughts. Great website but kill the music video!
Hi Lynn, I think you could get away with sour cream here. Hope you enjoy!
This is one of my favorite soups (my family’s too)! For a little twist, I start my soup by cooking diced bacon until crispy (reserve some to top the soup before serving), drain most of the grease and then add the leeks. So delicious! Thanks for sharing your tasty recipes! 🙂
That’s what I did too with bacon! So good!
Thanks Jennifer, this guaranteed to please! I used frozen leeks from the garden and red potatoes, because that’s what I had on hand. No cream either, just a drizzle of half and half. I used white pepper and cut the recipe in half since I’m alone today and it’s raining! This is a great rainy day soup and I think tomorrow, when the sun is out, I can enjoy the leftover as a cool dish of vichyssoise!
Serving this as a starter for a New Year’s Eve dinner party in a couple days. I made it this evening and, dear lord, it’s delicious. It’s really clean and not overly hearty, so it should set off the meal nicely. Will serve with chives, parmesan crisps, and prosciutto (I have some from another recipe). Thank you thank you. Also, made with veggie stock (vegetarians) at dinner and it’s naturally gluten-free for me (celiac). Lovely starter for a somewhat challenging group of diners.
This is by far the best and easiest recipe available! I had to substitute half and half for the cream and use 2-3 quick shakes of powdered Thyme and it was still fantastic!