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.
This soup needs to sit overnight for the flavors to develop. If you find it too bland, don’t be shy with salt, full fat cream, pepper, or perhaps cayenne pepper, and use broth that actually has some flavor to it. I have cooked potage parmentier for years, usually just eyeballing the ingredients. This time around I decided to follow Jenn’s recipe to see if it would be any different from mine. It wasn’t. I used 6 instead of 7 cups of broth just because the pot would have overflowed otherwise – the consistency was perfect. Potage parmentier is great comfort food, always welcome at a time of illness. PS I freeze it with cream already incorporated and it isn’t any worse for it.
What would you recommend if I wanted to add ham hocks to this recipe. Boil separately how should I go about adding it?
Hi Terri, I’d add them when you’re simmering the soup for 15 minutes. You can then remove any meat from the bones and stir them into the soup before serving. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
My first time having this soup. I have wanted to try it for years. It is delicious. I am looking forward to trying it chilled as well.
Wowza!
Made a make a couple of small subs just due to our personal tastes and this was one of the Best soups I’ve ever made (and I have to admit, soup is my specialty).
I didn’t have fresh thyme so I used a quarter teaspoon of dried herbs de Provence, and I threw in a diced carrot before blending everything with my immersion blender. I then also also added some sauted smoked Portuguese back bacon when the soup was done and my goodness, this was restaurant quality!
Thanks so much for this fab recipe, it’s a keeper for sure!
Its been so long since I’ve had chilled potato leek soup. Making it tomorrow
Too much leek, not enough spices, too watery
I made this and it turned out great. Very tasty
I made this tonight to take to a sick friend. It is absolutely delicious and so easy. I only had 2 big fat leeks, but that was enough to flavor the soup beautifully. I will definitely make this again.
I’m 72 years old and have been making soups for years, just as my mom and grandma did. I’ve made Potato Leek soup before but this is the best recipe ever. My adult son came over tonight and said it was the best soup I’ve made which says a lot! We love potatoes so I added one extra leek and two extra potatoes. I used my immersion blender and left a few pieces of potato and it was perfect. Next time I’m going to leave a few more potato pieces in the soup. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I’m now going to try your other recipes!
DAIRY FREE VERSION: I followed the recipe ratios exactly, but used mostly the dark green part of the leeks left over from a previous recipe. I cut the leeks into strips of 1/4” or less, then sliced them crossways as thin possible. I also substituted oat milk for cream.
DELICIOUS!
Correction: When I printed the recipe to keep, I noticed the print version said one cup cream. For the oat milk amount, I followed the recipe picture description which said, “……just add it little by little until the soup tastes good to you”. I may have used close to 2 cups.
Thanks for this, I’m also dairy free and plan to make using a can of coconut milk. Fingers crossed!
Excellent soup!