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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Outstanding. Classic. Perfection. (And the recipe makes a generous amount of soup.)
It is simply THE BEST! My 20 year old son can’t get enough of it. I serve with crusty bread which I rub with EVOO, sliced garlic & cover w/ whatever cheese I have on hand & broil until bubbly. Yum. Now, I have to double the recipe so there are leftovers for him & friends!
This recipe is amazing!! It cannot be easier. And the flavor is really spot on.
This soup is a great one for people who live alone and don’t want to make too much. It has a great flavor and it sits well in the fridge for a few days.
Once I followed the recipe and it was delicious and gone that meal.
Once I only had certain items available and I was leaving town soon so I didn’t want to go grocery shopping before I left. While different it still turned out great. I ate the whole thing myself for 5 days and never tired of it. I had chopped frozen leek from Trader Joes’s which was under the amount of leek needed so I added a couple chopped sweet onions and sauteed together. I only had red potatoes and put them in skins and all. I didn’t have any heavy whipping cream – I wish I did as it is delicious, but I added some milk and it made for a lighter soup. Jenn’s recipes are amazing and already perfected and I feel bad stretching this one as much as I did, but it turned out really great.
Wow! This soup is super easy to make and tastes amazing! Cut no corners. Less then hour from start to finish. Will make this again and again!
Hi, tried and liked it! Question: leeks come in various sizes especially in different regions. For 4 leeks in the recipes, roughly how many cups when chopped please? Thank you.
Hi Irene, One leek is approx. 2 cups. Hope that helps!
Hey Jenn –
Just wanted to clarify, did you mean that FOUR leeks is two cups? I’ve never yielded 2 entire cups from one individual leek. Maybe the leeks you are getting are much much bigger than mine (but just picked up my CSA share and some more from my market and about 6 leeks are just under 2 cups). Was hoping to clarify how many for this particular recipe. Did you mean 8 cups of chopped leeks for this?
Hi Cynthea, Where are you seeing 2 cups? 4 standard leeks will work just fine.
I don’t eat dairy , can I use almond milk , as I can’t use the cream ?
Hi Nicci, Yes but I would taste it first before adding it; you may find that you’re happy with it as is.
I made this soup a few weeks back but didn’t have thyme so used a madras curry powder, it was wonderful, my youngest grandson just kept eating it!!! I am making again and wondered if I could add mushrooms, if yes then how would I do it.
Thanks
Lin
Glad you all enjoyed it, Lin. You can sauté the mushrooms and add them at the very end.
Loved this soup! Love the original and wanted to see if there was a way to get the smoky bacon taste without adding the bacon itself. A touch of smoked paprika to the bowl when served was heavenly.
Coldest day of the winter was no match for this yummy comfort food.
This soup is absolutely wonderful. I give it a five stars for sure…worth the try! Yummy!