Leek and Potato Soup is a thick and creamy classic French Potato Soup that starts with garlic butter in which leeks are slowly sautéed to bring out the sweet flavour.
It’s simple to make, cosy and comforting yet also luxurious and elegant. I love how this Leek Soup can be Couch Food OR an elegant starter for a dinner party. Good food is a universal language!
Leek and Potato Soup
Though France might be the epicentre of Michelin star restaurants (second only to Tokyo!), where sauces come in the form of foam and dishes are given excessively fancy names, the heart and soul of French food is simple food made well. It’s rustic, cosy, and often generous on the butter and cheese.
Hence French food and I are very good friends. (Hello Quiche Lorraine, Gougeres, Potato au Gratin, French Onion Soup…to name a few of my best mates!)
Leek soup is another such example. (Though, shockingly, no cheese!). Few ingredients, prepared well, simple to make, and so enjoyable.
What goes in Leek and Potato Soup
Here what you need:
Leeks – essential for a LEEK soup!! 😂 Leeks are sweeter and have a more subtle flavour than onions. Though if you are desperate to make this an leeks are obscenely expensive / you can’t get your hands on them, substitute for regular onions (brown, white or yellow);
Potatoes – use starchy or all rounders, they fall apart when simmered which means less blending for creamy soup = less risk of gluey soup*. 🇦🇺Australia: Sebago (dirt brushed, most common potatoes), 🇺🇸US: Russet 🇬🇧UK: Maris Piper;
Broth – I choose chicken because it has more depth of flavour than vegetable stock/broth. But vegetable stock is also ideal here!
Creamy is optional. This soup is still thick and creamy even without, it just adds a luxurious mouthfeel.
* Common problem with Potato Leek Soups that call for blitzing to death until completely smooth. Power of blender = activates starch in potatoes = gluey. Same thing that happens if you use a food processor or blender for mashed potato!
How to cut leeks
Trim the root off. Take a peek and if you can see dirt in the layers, then split the leek in half and separate all the layers, wash them well, then slice per below.
If you don’t see dirt (like mine pictured above), cut your leeks as pictured below:
Cut off the dark green reedy top and discard (leftmost on leek above);
White end (and the very pale green part) – finely slice; and
Pale green middle part – peel off reedy outer layers and finely slice the softer middle part.
How to make Leek and Potato Soup
Leek are like onions – they have a pretty harsh raw flavour. So the key to a really great Leek Soup is to slowly sauté them in garlic butter until they transform and become soft and sweet. It’s kind of like caramelising onions for French Onion Soup – except we don’t take it as far.
After that, just plonk the potatoes and stock in, simmer until the potato is literally crumbling (the softer they are, the less blending we have to do = better soup texture, no risk of “gluey soup”).
Blitz, stir in cream and serve!
I like to serve mine with croutons. Just a teeny tiny sprinkle of crunchy buttery bread somehow magically makes any soup so much more fabulous.
And while this is a potato based soup, that still doesn’t stop me from tearing up hunks of crusty warm bread, slathering in butter and dunking into the soup.
Carb on carb fabulousness! – Nagi x
PS Or try one of these Soup Dippers – these existing on my website pretty much solely for the purpose of dunking into soups and stews.
Soup Dippers
Watch how to make it
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Leek and Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp (30g) butter
- 2 garlic cloves , large, finely minced
- 3 leeks , white and pale green parts only sliced thinly (about 2 cups) (Note 1)
- 1 kg / 2lb potatoes (Sebago/Russet/Maris Piper) , peeled a diced into 1"/2.5cm cubes (Note 2)
- 1.5 litre / 1.5 qt chicken or vegetable stock , low sodium (6 cups)
- 3/4 cup cream , heavy/thickened (sub milk)
- 1 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (table salt – reduce by 25%)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Croutons
- 2 thick slices bread , torn into crouton size pieces
- 1 tbsp melted butter, or olive oil spray
- Salt
Garnish
- Chives , finely chopped
- Extra cream , for garnish
Instructions
- Sauté – Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and leek and sauté for 7 minutes until soft and sweet.
- Simmer 25 minutes – Add potatoes and broth. Turn heat up and bring to simmer, then place lid on and lower heat so it's simmering gently. Simmer for 25 minutes or until potato is very soft and almost falling apart.
- Minimal blitz – Turn the stove off and puree with a stick blender until JUST smooth. Do not over puree (Note 3).
- Season – Add salt and pepper, then stir through cream.
- Serve, drizzled with cream and sprinkled with chives and croutons.
Croutons
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced). Drizzle bread with melted butter (or spray with oil). Bake for 5 minutes or until golden and crunchy. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt while hot!
Recipe Notes:
- Australia – Sebago (dirty brushed / common washed potatoes you can get at any supermarket. Do not use red potatoes or new potatoes i.e. the ones that you use for potato salad because they are low in starch so will not break down as much when boiling to create a creamy soup)
- US – Russet
- UK – Maris Piper
- I use vegetable or chicken stock instead of water;
- Leeks are sautéed in garlic butter instead of just simmered in water
- I added garlic. Because in my world, where there is butter, there is garlic!
- I added croutons. Because buttery crunch + creamy leek soup = match made in heaven
Nutrition Information:
Originally published October 2015. Spiffed up March 2020 – most importantly, new Life of Dozer section added!
Life of Dozer
Cactus and Dozer is like me and chilli – I know it’s gonna hurt, but I just can’t resist.
Oh yes ! Made this before I got married, made this bringing up two children, did not stop when all the grandchildren arrived . . . oops, great-grand ones due : well, they have to be taught also 🙂 !! I like your recipe of Potage Parmentier by prefer this cold as Vichyssoise – my very, very favourite soup at home and restaurants ! Must make as soon as I am fulltime cooking again . . . ! Dozer is a big and bright boy . . . .his choice 🙂 !
Love to know how this stacks up to your recipe Eha! And I love the thought of passing recipes down – I hope you do! N x
Made this last night. We tasted before adding the cream. We decided not to add it as it tasted so amazing. Perfect raining day soup!
Wahoo, that’s great Colleen!!
Hi Nagi – LOVING YOUR DELICIOUS RECIPES! Just one question…does your Mom have a recipe for sweet tofu rice bags?
She doesn’t! One to add to the list 🙂
I make a very similar soup to this (a hybrid of Julia Childs and martha stewarts recipes) for my grandfather but he likes to add worcestershire sauce It really does wonders for it.
Sounds interesting, I’ll have to try it DW!
Hello Nagi! My name is Josh, and I wanted to say thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Since I started working with the elderly in activities 5 years ago, every year I dress up as Julia (wig and all) on or around her birthday and cook one of her recipes for my residents! This recipe is perfect because it’s simple, I can do a lot of the prep at home to save myself aggravation when doing the activity, and I can make a lot so all my residents can taste it. My mom is happily sipping on a bowl full as I type this (the fam always expects me to make some for them), and it is delicious!! Thanks again, Nagi!!!
That’s so great to hear Josh, thanks so so SO much!
Hi Nagi, Does the nutrition count include the croutons and extra cream for the garnish?
Hi Nagi. I am super keen to make this, however I need it to be vegetarian and I need to make it en masse. Would it be OK to sub the chicken stock/broth for a vegetable stock or do you think it will end up too salty? Should I revert back to the original recipe and just use water? I might just halve the recipe and try both but I thought I would get our opinion.
Thank you so much.
HI Bec, just use vegetable stock – I hope you love it 🙂
Can this soup be served cold?
You could Lisa, but it’s slightly thicker when cool – N x
I only have vegetable and beef broth, would it dramatically change the taste? I’ve made this before with chicken broth and it’s great, but I’d love to try and change it up. What do you recommend?
Hi Stephanie, definitely vegetable broth, beef would be too overpowering – N x
absolutely loved it! We had an early valentines before I go into the hospital Thursday. This was the first course meal. We loved the creaminess, the leeks and flavor of all of it together. I did use my blender and garnished it with thinly sliced leeks. Will definitely make it again.
I’m so happy you loved it Kathy!
A great recipe. Quick and delicious!
Used 2% milk instead of cream and margerine instead if butter.
Awesome Bill!
Have you tried some white wine in this? It’s usually great with butter and garlic.
Oooh. I will!
I’ve never made this soup before, but my best girlfriend always cooked with leeks, so I decided to pick some up and potatoes at the store, two ingredients I don’t normally buy. So I searched for recipes using leeks, and landed on this. I have to say, I am dying to eat it. It is on the stove top right now, and the scent is insane. I also added some herbes de provence. I wish I had bacon to put on top. I have some turkey bacon, so I will try that with crusty french bread. Thanks you. I can’t wait to eat it soon!!!
I hope you loved it Lisa!!! It’s soooo good……
I want to also say that this soup is delicious & so easy to prepare. The chicken broth makes a huge difference. The recipe I had been using called for almost all the liquid to be the heavy cream. It was good, but a bit too rich for me (and I’m no calorie-counter). Using tasty broth (in this case, I used Swanson’s Organic Chicken Broth, which is my favorite if I don’t have home-made stock – to which nothing really compares IMHO). Putting in just enough of the cream to make it creamy is perfect. I might play with the ratios next time, a bit more cream and a bit less broth/stock – just for experimentation’s sake. In the meantime, I’m loving that there’s a couple bowls in the fridge for dinner tonight. 🙂 Thank you for the recipe. I’m new to this site, so look forward to trying out other recipes. And, thanks for using weight in your ingredient list. I’ve started to really prefer using my kitchen scale to measuring.
P.S. For cream soups, I love drizzling olive oil over the top. Using a top shelf EVOO (and be careful, since there’s a lot of fraud in this industry!) adds a complexity of flavor. I have a truffle oil that I use sparingly, but added to my bowl of this soup and it was great.
I love this soup. I make it from Julia’s original (I have an early edition (1961) of Mastering the Art of French Cooking) but have modified it in some of the same ways you have. I saute the leeks prior to adding the potatoes. I use chicken stock now. I origially used just water as in the recipe but a few years ago I saw an episode or Emeril Live on Food Network and he used chicken stock in his recipe for Leek and Potato soup. I used that with my Julia version and really loved the result.
I like to combine a bit of Boursin cheese and a sprinkle of Herbs de Provence with the cream and drizzle with that rather than the plain cream
Potatoes… I get mine from the Farmers Market from a local organic farmer. So much better than the ones shipped from God knows where or when. I used to live where I could have a big garden but my current home doesn’t have an open sunny spot for veggie groweing
I’m so pleased you enjoyed this too Linda! N xx
No leeks available; wife used them all in her broccoli soup last week. And rather than butter, I cut bacon into lardons and sautéed onions and garlic with it. I then removed that, leaving the oil, and sautéed the potatoe cubes. A splash of red wine to loosen and then the chicken broth. One potatoes softened, I smoothed with stick blender, added milk (daughter used all the cream in her baking) and then mixed the bacon and onions back in. YUM!
That’s so great to hear Glenn! Thanks for letting me know! N xx
On the other side of the world with winter fast approaching my mind turned to soup. As the first cold spell hit and the fire was lit and l was nursing my husband with Man flu, that strain is far worse then Womens flu. I decided to make soup with what l had on hand. This was the perfect treat he needed. Nagi l have to tell you that the Leeks were French as were all of the ingredients. I friend from OZ had bought them from the market whilst visiting with intention to make a special dish before she left. I think you may be right about them being tastier. I will have to let you know when l return to OZ as l grow them in the veggie garden and am now interested in doing a taste test. I didn’t have cream on hand but used milk and a lovely mascarpone l had on hand. Wonderful with fresh baguette. Slowly working my way through your recipes, thanks Nagi xxMel
Man Flu!!! 😂 It’s the end of the world!!!
“. …Or it may be that generally, people’s palettes have evolved in the 50 years since it was first published.”
Nagi, the word you may be seeking is “palate”, although taste palette is a creative descriptive for taste preferences.
Dr. Silbermann
Oops! Thanks! 🙂
Hi Nagi,
What a wonderful recipe! Simple and yet yummy! I used onion instead of leek and it was perfect.
You always have great ideas. Keep up the good work!
Your big fan from Thailand
I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this Natcha, thanks for letting me know! N x ❤️
We had this today for lunch. Another win recipe from you! We used Irish butter and I think it added more lusciousness to it. Thank you!
I’m so pleased to hear that Holly, thank you for letting me know! N xx