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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After just one bite was I hooked. This has been my favorite potato leek soup recipe. I have make it several times and it has never disappointed.
Delicious!!!
I made your potato leek soup and it was fantastic! We both loved it! I used dried thyme and 2% milk instead of cream because that’s what I had on hand. It was delicious! I will make this often. Thank you!
Hello good morning! 🌞 This is the second time cooking this, the first time my amounts were off and it was very leeky, my mom ended up eating all of it. I’ve been thinking about it alot lately because my youngest loves soup. I followed the receipe and it’s soo amazing! I would like to comment that gold potatoes take less time to cook and they taste amazing and buttery in the finished product and that’s without the cream! Thank you for this great recipe, it’s my go to good for you soup!
Even the 10-year old had three bowls. We had a huge number of leeks from our local CSA box and this was an excellent, thick warming way to use them. As always, excellent.
Can this soup be prepared ahead and frozen?
Sure, Rosemary, but I’d wait until reheating to add the cream. Hope you enjoy!
This was delicious! I did only a half recipe and accidentally did the full amount of garlic, but it was still delicious! It was also easy (and I have never cooked with leeks)
Thank you!
Hi Jenn
I followed your recipe and did Leeks and Potato soup for the family and it came up so well!!
My kids and friends love it ! You know i added fried Ham/ Bacon as well and bit of spicy green chillie,s as we love hot food.
Thanks for your sharing of the recipes and will love to try your other ones as well as I am a person enjoy cooking and trying other experts recipes :))
Love and regards.
Nilanthi
😊
My boyfriend loves whatever I cook him, but I slipped up and told him we were having a vegetarian (this soup) dinner coming up, and well, he was less than thrilled. Any suggestions for adding a protein to the mix?
This would be delicious with some cooked crumbled bacon on top! 🙂
I had some round steak I wanted to use, so I cut it into cubes and browned it in butter before adding the other ingredients. Because of the steak, I didn’t purée the soup but, oh my gosh, it was so good. What a great recipe!
I think the finished product was too one-dimensional. I added crab and drizzled each bowl with sherry. The LAST thing I would ever do to this recipe would be to top with chives. Not necessary at all.
I followed the recipe to a T and was disappointed not to be able to taste the leek at all. The thyme was far too overpowering and I think the ratio of potatoes to leeks means that the leeks aren’t going to shine.
I add leeks right at the end to boost some fresh leek flavor back into the soup