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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We loved this soup. So delicious I regret I used low sodium chicken broth and had to doctor it with a lot of kosher salt. This recipe is too much for 2 people. Can I freeze some ?
Hi Judi, So glad you liked it! It’s best to freeze the soup without the cream, but if you already have the cream in it, it may separate a little when you reheat it. Just give it a few stirs to recombine and it should be fine.
I’m terribly sorry but usually making online recipes turn out great, this did not. Perhaps it is my own doing I did use salt free broth as my major change but I had to google “how to fix tasteless soup” afterwards. Lets hope some acid rectifies the situation!
Hi Jenn: I’m sure this will be delicious but could I ask about how many pounds (or grams) of leeks you use. I got 5 cups and more from two large leeks–I guess large is relative!
Hi Susanna, You need about 450 grams. 🙂
Great Recipe. I left it half chunky. Subtly rich and flavourful. I added some dried thyme and a small bunch of fresh thyme as I like lots of herbs as well as a few extra garlic cloves. It is totally creamy without the heavy cream if you prefer to leave this out. If you’re using salted store bought broth go very easy on added salt until you test it. I used a few bouillon cubes with water and hardly needed any added salt. Thank you will definitely make this again!
I’ve made it twice now with minor substitutions for ingredients I didn’t have — oregano and basil for bay leaf, some random potatoes for Yukon Gold, half and half for cream. Delicious both times. This is now my go to recipe when I get leeks in my farm share.
Can I use some leftover Yukon gold mashed potatoes to supplement ?
Hi Deidree, I’ve never tried it, but I suspect it should work.
This recipe is absolutely delicious! I didn’t have gold potatoes on hand, so I used red. We never had blended potato soup, so I wasn’t sure how we’d like that. But, it was perfect.
I had a bunch of fresh leeks from my garden and decided to make this recipe. The hardest part was chopping all the ingredients. After that easy peasy!
It has a fabulous flavor, but be sure to taste along the way as I added salt 3x and pepper x2.
I also added a dash of hot sauce as I find in cream based soups it bring the flavors together and it is unperceivable in the soup. This is a keeper recipe!
I don’t have any leeks but wondered if shallots and some chives would suffice in this recipe?
Thanks,
Hi Cathy, I think that will work — just keep in mind that you’ll need a lot. Hope you enjoy!
Excellent recipe! I’ve made this soup many times and I always come back to this particular recipe as my go to. Good balance of flavors and straightforward technique. 5 stars.
The leek and potato soup looks delicious. Can it be made in a soup maker?
Hi Sarah, I’m familiar with a soup maker so I couldn’t say for sure — sorry!
Next time I’ll let the broth reduce a bit more or just use less broth. I like more of a bisque consistency, this is tasty but a little on the watery side for me.