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.
I found a few different versions of this recipe and I wanted to mix it up some. This was the main one I used but I did add a couple of things and it turned out really well. 1: before adding the potato’s and stock, I added 1 cup of white wine and let it reduce down with the leeks in it. 2: when adding in the bay leaves and thyme, I also added some fresh basil and parsley. Lastly: I topped it with both the green onions as a garnish and also tablespoon or so of fresh shredded Parmesan.
This was everything I hoped it would a delicious soup easy to make.
As every recipe from Jen we Love it!
It is fool proof and amazing flavor!
Thank you Jen!
Can I use red potatoes?
Hi Scott, I haven’t made this with red potatoes but a number of readers have commented that have successfully. Hope you enjoy!
Really good and very easy!
OMG just made this soup exactly as the recipe and it is to die for! Creamy, rich and super tasty. Thank you.
i’m a father of four and struggle to find something that all the children like! they absolutely loved this and i even made more for lunch the next day! made exactly as it states!
thanks!
I made this soup today and it was wonderful, I loved it. I followed the recipe exactly except I halved it and used dried thyme instead. The one thing I found was that the 2 large leeks I had, measured out to 7 cups….no matter I used them all. This was such a simple and easy recipe to make. I have used many of your recipes and they all have been winners. Thank you.
I couldn’t find leeks, so substituted celery. I also used a little bacon fat with the butter to add flavor, and substituted 3/4 tsp dried thyme for the fresh thyme sprig. It turned out fabulous! Thank you so much for an easy and delicious comfort soup recipe.
I used your recipe to utilize some leftover leeks. I followed the recipe exactly, however, since I didn’t have enough chicken stock on hand, I substituted two cups of Sauvignon Blanc and one cup of water. I also needed to add salt and pepper (including some cayenne), but still found the soup a bit too bland and thin for me. Any suggestions to enhance flavor and thicken? Thanks, it is a good base recipe.
It’s bland because Sauvignon Blanc is not and good substitute to rich tasting chicken broth.
Thickness shouldn’t be a issue add an extra potato or use russet potatoes.
Literally tastes like nothing. So bland. I regret using unsalted butter and low sodium chicken broth. If you make this, get ready to add a lot of salt
Agreed! I’m trying to figure out how to make it taste like something. I followed it except used chicken and bone broth. Blannnnd
Made this today for the second time. First time I actually just used the dark green parts after getting them super soft and the flavor was more intense and delicious. Second time I followed instructions and it’s less intense but still delicious. I decided to make it chunkier by adding softened bite sized pieces of potato. This is the second recipe of yours I made and both were amazing ans delicious. I never ever follow recipes precisely as I always feel they lack good flavor and depth but you nail it! Please keep the flavor coming!
True that. I added cumin and turmeric and lime salt to gain depth in flavor to thus recipe which would otherwise would be bland.