• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Living The Gourmet logo

  • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Featured
    • Writings
  • Recipes
  • Wines
  • Interviews
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

Potato Leek Soup

Nov 27, 2018 · 19 Comments

Potatoes and Leeks are simmered together for a creamy, soul-comforting soup that will melt away all your winter blues.

Today’s recipe is focused squarely on those pleasantly chilled, blissfully dreary late November and early December days sandwiched between the end of Thanksgiving and the start of the dreaded Christmas rush.

During those few precious days, you slow down and try to catch your breath from the previous holiday, and try to savor the quiet of the wintry season that so often gets lost within the superficial rush of the holidays.

That’s more or less where my mind was when I prepared this soup the day after Thanksgiving. While we had a mountain of leftovers, I really just wanted something a little more ‘down to earth’ than an encore of the previous night’s feast. I really didn’t feel like starting all over again with pots, pans, foil, and mountains of utensils. The day was calm and quiet, oddly resembling the calm after a storm…and I didn’t want that to change.

And to do that, I threw together this no fuss wintry soup that’s a meal unto itself, but that could perfectly compliment all of the quintessential flavors of a meal whipped up from Thanksgiving leftovers.

To start things off, we boil red potatoes until they’re fork tender, then drain them and set them aside. After that, heat a large soup pot with olive oil and butter, add in sliced leeks, carrots, celery, and garlic, and let that sauté until the leeks have cooked down a fair bit. Then add in the potatoes and gentle mash them down with a potato masher. Then add in the water, some all-purpose seasoning, I prefer Vegeta, along with salt, black pepper, and dried oregano, and let that simmer for about twenty to twenty-five minutes. Then add in milk and chopped parsley, and let that simmer for another ten to twelve minutes, and you’re done.

Alterations

You can conjure up this soup in a variety of ways, but here are a few of my favorite alterations.

1) Spice things up. If you’re anything like my son, your life philosophy is basically “The hotter the better.” To add a bit of heat, you can grill up either a jalapeno or a habanero, or both if you’re feeling brave. After the pepper has received a nice, light char, dice it up, leaving the seeds in, and stir that into the soup along with the chopped parsley at the end.

2) Extra Creamy. To make the soup extra creamy, reduce the amount of water used by about one cup, and add half a cup of heavy cream to the two cups of milk.

3) Non-Meatless. While today’s recipe is without meat, this recipe would go great with either with some bacon or Italian sausage cooked in. For the sausage, simply cook the sausage through on its own in a separate cast iron pan and set aside. Then, after the step in the recipe where you’ve cooked the soup for about twenty-five minutes, chop up the sausage, and add it in along with the milk and the parsley, and let that simmer on low for another ten to twelve minutes as directed. The process is the same for the bacon, or you could crisp the bacon and simply sprinkle it on top crumbled.

Serving Tips

To get the most out of this recipe, here are a few tips on serving it.

1) Go Gourmet. Nothing adds ‘gourmet’ to a soup like fresh croutons – and they are surprisingly easy to prepare. To prepare your own, refer to the crouton recipe I included in my Pumpkin Soup.

2) The Bread. As with burgers, panini, or crostini, I find the key to a really delicious soup is actually the bread you’re enjoying along with it. For today’s soup, you want something crusty and hardy. Think quality baguette, Italian bread, or even homemade flatbreads, especially if you took the alteration above to turn this into the base for a chili. Sandwich bread, or ‘artisan’ cut sliced bread, will just fall apart with this.

3) Cheese on Cheese. While most of you will be grating cheese onto this soup before eating, consider, also, frying up some Parmesan crisps and plating those over the soup for added delight – they’re super easy to make, and are about as addictive as potato chips, you can never just stop at one. For a Parmesan crisp recipe, see the one I included in my Roasted Tomato and Pepper Gazpacho.

Living the Gourmet

Serves 4-6

274

Potato Leek Soup

10 minPrep Time

30 minCook Time

40 minTotal Time

Save RecipeSave Recipe
Print Recipe

5 based on 12 review(s)

Recipe Image
My Recipes My Lists My Calendar

Ingredients

  • 4 – 5 large red potatoes – with skin
  • 3 leeks – cleaned - dark ends removed and sliced thin
  • 4 – 5 cloves of garlic – chopped
  • 1 bunch of fresh Italian parsley – stems removed and chopped
  • ½ stick of butter (4 tbs.)
  • 2 carrots – diced
  • 4 stalks celery – sliced thin
  • 2 ½ tbs. Vegeta All purpose seasoning and soup mix
  • 2 ½ tbs. salt
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 ½ tsp. dried oregano
  • 2 tbs. olive oil
  • 5 – 6 cups of water
  • 2 cups milk
  • Crostini or Homemade Croutons for serving

Instructions

  1. Boil the potatoes until fork tender; drain and set aside.
  2. Heat a large soup pot with the olive oil and butter. Add the sliced leeks, carrots, celery and garlic and gently sauté until the leeks cook down a bit.
  3. Add the potatoes and gently mash down with a potato masher.
  4. Add the water and the Vegeta seasoning, salt, black pepper and dried oregano and gently simmer on a low heat for about 20 – 25 minutes or so.
  5. Add the milk and the chopped parsley and simmer on a low heat for another 10 – 12 minutes or so.
  6. Taste for seasoning to see if you need more salt or not.
  7. Serve with fresh Croutons or Crostini.
7.8.1.2
801
https://livingthegourmet.com/2018/11/potato-leek-soup-2.html

And that’s a wrap. Enjoy!

More from my site

  • Pumpkin SoupPumpkin Soup
  • Yam and Tomato SoupYam and Tomato Soup
  • Stovetop Chicken StewStovetop Chicken Stew
  • Split Pea SoupSplit Pea Soup
  • Spicy Cream of Potato SoupSpicy Cream of Potato Soup
  • Gnocchi and Chicken SoupGnocchi and Chicken Soup
0

Soups/Stews/Legumes comfort food, leeks, potato soup, seasonal, soup

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gloria Roa Baker says

    27/11/2018 at 9:05 pm

    Love soups! and this looks wonderful!! hugs!
    ★★★★★
    Reply
  2. DAVID J MYERS says

    27/11/2018 at 9:46 pm

    Catherine, The soup looks delicious. My only question is what would it be like without leeks? I like everything else it this recipe but I just don't care for leeks...much to my wife's disgust. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
    Reply
    • Catherine says

      28/11/2018 at 2:52 pm

      Dear Dave, You can always use onions in place of leeks or mushrooms and it would be like a creamy mushroom soup . Have a wonderful day. Take care, Catherine
      Reply
  3. angiesrecipes says

    28/11/2018 at 4:10 am

    The soup looks so warming and comforting! Perfect for the season, Catherine.
    Reply
  4. Nicoletta De Angelis Nardelli says

    28/11/2018 at 4:30 pm

    So comforting on a cold winter day! A delicious classic that is always appreciated -meatless like that- at our table.
    ★★★★★
    Reply
  5. Veena Azmanov says

    28/11/2018 at 9:46 pm

    This is such a classic and so perfect for this weather. We love potato soup and we love leeks so this would be such a favorite.
    ★★★★★
    Reply
  6. allie says

    29/11/2018 at 4:43 pm

    Hi Catherine, what a lovely, simple soup for a cold day. I too am in that limbo after Thanksgiving and before Christmas...inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. My sister brought me a bunch of leeks at Thanksgiving, along with her bourbon pecan pie.... so I am in good pantry shape to make this soup. The wind is whistling and I look forward to cozying up by the fire with a bowl of this creamy soup. Cheers my friend, wishing you a beautiful Christmas season ahead with your beautiful family! XO
    Reply
  7. Kelly Anthony says

    30/11/2018 at 12:06 pm

    Leeks don't get enough love in the kitchen. So glad you brought them into this soup! It's a perfect combination of flavors!
    ★★★★★
    Reply
  8. lauren says

    01/12/2018 at 3:25 pm

    I'm feeling cozy just looking at all these photos! Potato and leek soup is so creamy and comforting for the colder weather months. Especially with those homemade crostini to dip and scoop up all the goodness in that bowl.
    ★★★★★
    Reply
  9. Karyl Henry says

    02/12/2018 at 12:26 am

    I've never cooked with leeks before, but I know they have a very nice flavor, and this soup looks wonderful. I really like that you can enjoy it meatless, or with bacon/sausage. Great way to add versatilty to the dish
    ★★★★★
    Reply
  10. Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness says

    02/12/2018 at 5:06 pm

    Potato leak soup is one of my favourite things! But somehow I have never made it before. Definitely on my to-do list!
    ★★★★★
    Reply
  11. Sri Mallya says

    02/12/2018 at 10:28 pm

    Perfect for the cold weather here. Looks so delicious. I will try this soon. Pinned!
    ★★★★★
    Reply
  12. Jessica (Swanky Recipes) says

    03/12/2018 at 2:09 am

    The hubs and I have been on a streak trying new soup recipes. This week we made chicken tortilla soup and beef stew. I want to try this potato leek soup with all the leftover potatoes we have from the stew.
    ★★★★★
    Reply
  13. Holly says

    03/12/2018 at 4:41 am

    This does look so creamy and comforting! Its perfect for this time of year when you just want something warm and delicious!
    ★★★★★
    Reply
  14. Sam | Ahead of Thyme says

    03/12/2018 at 5:05 am

    Potato and leek soup is one of my favourites this time of year! Yours looks so creamy and rich. Can't wait to give it a try very soon!
    Reply
  15. Jagruti Dhanecha says

    03/12/2018 at 8:44 am

    I am always on a hunt for delicious, easy and comforting soup recipes and your sounds so delicious. It's creamy and rich! Bookmarking
    ★★★★★
    Reply
  16. Jacque Hastert says

    03/12/2018 at 1:40 pm

    I love this soup! I will be making it for dinner tonight and I am already drooling, just thinking about it.
    ★★★★★
    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Family Style Meatloaf - Living The Gourmet says:
    21/01/2019 at 7:22 pm
    […] Potato Leek Soup – A standard side to meatloaf, this hardy soup adds an extra layer of warmth and comfort to […]
    Reply
  2. Braised Rib Stew - Living The Gourmet says:
    16/12/2019 at 8:15 pm
    […] Potato Leek Soup. This super simply potato soup is great for week nights, or as a starter to Sunday dinners, and […]
    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe: ☆☆☆☆☆

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to LTG

The heart of our home lies within the kitchen. For us, it is so much more than a place where meals are created; it is where memories are made over meals that are meant to be shared. It was from this belief that Living the Gourmet was born. Read More...

Looking for Something?

Subscribe to the LTG Newsletter

Find Your Influence

Copyright © 2021 · Cravings Pro

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Living The Gourmet
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.