Potato Leek Soup
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
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
You May Also Like
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
Powered by 
- 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.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Made this exactly as per recipe, topped with crispy bacon. This, with a baguette, was a Friday night success!
My shortcut to the leeks was a bag of frozen chopped leeks from Trader Joe’s – 5 cups, and no hassle!
I made the recipe almost exactly as is. I added 3 chopped celery stalks with the leeks because I had them laying around and I wanted to use them up. When the soup was almost finished I tasted it and was pretty disappointed. It was VERY bland. But, after adding what felt like a pound of salt (more like a tablespoon, but I didn’t measure), and the heavy cream, I found that it actually tastes pretty amazing.
I’m eating it right now with a little dill for the garnish, because I love some dill. It reminds me of my grandmother. I’m also thinking about all the things I can do with this recipe. It’s perfect as is, but would make a great base for other things. So, anyone who thinks the recipe is bland – season to taste! Don’t be shy with the salt and pepper or whatever other seasonings you like. They make all the difference in the world.
I’m a long-term fan and have been making your recipes for several years now. I would love to make this soup for a holiday potluck. If I make it the night before, what is he best way to heat it up the next day (my office only has microwaves and not a stovetop)? I do have a crock pot though… Thanks!
Hi Nina, A crockpot sounds perfect. 🙂
I made this 3 days ago but left out the cream. Yesterday I heated it in a crockpot for a gathering and once hog a bed the cream. It was perfect!!
Made this today and loved it!!! Creamy and flavourful! Thanks so much for the suggestion about freezing .. I removed half the soup before the cream was added for freezing. This will be perfect for the holidays!
Hello Jenn, I love cooking with your recipes! This weekend I want to make Leek Soup, do you think the soup would still be very good if I don’t blend the vegetables and they remain in the soup since my dad likes his soup with a bit of chunks! Love this recipe already,, thnx Jenn!!!
Sure, Nora – but you may want to increase the amount of vegetables a bit so you have enough to thicken the soup.
I’m guessing, perhaps, that the reviewer below is a new cook and that is the reason she in unaware as to why unsalted butter is recommended. Since manufacturers routinely add salt to their products, it is difficult for the home cook to judge just how much additional salt to add. Did they add 1 teaspoon? 2 teaspoons? Who knows. We all have different preferences as to how much salt we want in our foods and by having unsalted butter it is really the only way the home cook can control the amount of salt in the final product. I hope this helps. I’m just sorry Angela had such poor results with what is, to my family, a terrific soup.
Making exactly as per recipe including weighing potatoes at store, simmering to maybe get some flavour before adding cream. I used Western Family chicken broth, no salt added. Why would you specify unsalted butter and then add salt? It’s as thick as cream, still very bland. I’m not impressed, guessing you delete the bad reviews, going by the salt content in canned food I imagine you flavour with salt. Very disappointed.
I always wonder why people have to write such nasty comments. Why not just express your disappointment about the recipe without adding such a malicious comment that bad reviews were probably deleted? Guessing you’re a VERY unhappy person.
Unfortunately I had the same experience – this soup is very bland. Salt won’t salvage it; it needs something else for flavour.
By using unsalted butter, you can control the amount if salt you use. That’s why in baking, recipes always call for unsalted butter, then add what seems like a huge amount.
This is a large recipe, so it can take on a lot of salt. Most of the flavour in a broth comes from salt so I have little doubt your soup was as bland as you say.
I used salted butter and regular broth, and it hardly needed salt at all. I love thyme, so I used dry, and I hate bay leaves, so I omitted those.
Everyone’s tastes are different, but this is an excellent base soup. But don’t make the mistake if thinking you can add all ingredients with no salt and still have the flavour you’re looking for.
This came out so well, I’ve made a few times. My family loves it and now request it for family events. This year, I’m bringing it for Thanksgiving. You are absolutely right! It is the perfect base soup to enhance and create more varieties. To spice things up, I added red pepper flakes and a few more garlic cloves. For Thanksgiving dinner, I’m adding Italian sausage and kale for our own version of Zuppa Toscana! 😉 Yum!
Have made this three or four times now and have always received rave reviews. I love the flavour and texture, can’t say enough about it, I really appreciate the recipe Thank You.
Excellent and so simple to make!