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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Have always wanted to be successful at making leek potato soup and it eluded me until now. This soup is excellently tasty, easy to make, nutritious and you can freeze it without the cream. See recipe instructions.
This was delicious!! Like a few others suggested, I added crumbled bacon as well as green onion. Instead of adding extra salt I opted for grating fresh parm in at the end. Can’t wait to make this again
Easy and delicious everyone loves it❤️
I can’t believe that I made this–this is an amazing soup. Very gourmet tasting. I am impressed and will make this for guests. It has inspired me to try many more recipes on this site. It is relatively foolproof, and the flavor is just so wonderful. Many thanks!!
This is a flavorful dish. I substituted some turnips for most of the potatoes. It was delicious. I also, like others, started by sautéing the leeks and garlic then adding everything to the slow cooker. Delicious.
This is the BEST soup I have ever had of any kind of soup any where. I sautéed the leeks and garlic as called for and put it all in the slow cooker on high for 2 1/2 hours …. them followed the direction. I did not have any fresh chives so tossed in a palm of the hand full of good dried chives …. let it simmer in the slow cooker on low for about 2 hours and 20 minutes …. fantastastic recipe.
This is the simplest, most delicious soup recipe! I’ve made it probably a dozen times since and the best part is you can tweak it to your liking! So cozy and easy on a cold night and I think it tastes even better when reheating.
For my taste, I’ve started adding some diced bacon strips at the start and cook everything using the fat. I also add a diced onion and celery. I usually end up adding a considerable amount of salt and pepper (using low sodium broth), as well as extra garlic, rhyme, onion powder and smoked paprika. I leave the skins on the potatoes and usually add extra of them and/or some cornstarch or arrowroot as this is a bit of a thinner soup and we prefer thicker. I’ll also blend most of it with an immersion blender but also mash some of the potato to leave it a bit chunky. Enjoy!!
Great recipe, as always, but leek and potato soup is an English classic through and through, almost as much as a cup of tea 😉
loved it!!!!!
This soup was perfect for my Fall CSA share. We got leeks and potatoes this week and everything else we had on hand. I substituted the butter with olive oil and the cream with oat milk. It was delicious and fun to make!
I have made this soup several times and it’s wonderful! I like to make croutons out of croissants and put them on top of my soup with some chopped chives and a drizzle of chili oil–out of this world! Thanks so much for sharing!