This Potato Leek Soup is rich, flavorful, and packed with nutrition. Healthy soups should never be bland, and this recipe doesn’t disappoint! Aromatic vegetables, creamy Yukon Gold potatoes, spices, and parmesan cheese create a soup that will boost your health and warm your soul.
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Soup is one of my favorite cold-weather foods. I love it when I’ve been running around or walking the dogs on a cold day. Hanging up my coat, taking off my boots, and enjoying a hearty hot bowl of soup is my kind of happy.
While I will always love a rich and creamy soup, I want it to do more than taste great. I want a soup that’s good for my body! And this potato leek soup delivers, friends!
This potato leek soup recipe is wholesome, nutritious, and still delivers on flavor. It’s loaded with disease-fighting nutrients like vitamin C, collagen, and sulfur, which helps boost your immune system and helps promote cell recovery. Not too shabby for a bowl of soup!
Why is This Potato Leek Soup So Good for You?
Soup is an often underrated food. But I love it, especially when temperatures start to drop. A big pot of soup makes weeknight dinner a breeze, and there are usually some leftovers for a couple of lunches.
If I make soup, it has to taste great; that’s my baseline expectation. But beyond the flavor, I want my healthy soup recipes to give me a big bang for my buck when it comes to nutrition.
Here are some of the reasons this potato leek soup is so good for you:
- Chicken Broth Provides Collagen. You can use any kind of chicken broth, but my Chicken Bone Broth would be especially good in this soup.
- Leeks are a Great Source of Sulfur. Sulfur can help protect your cells against damage.
- Potatoes are a Source of Vitamin C. Vitamin C helps protect your cells against the effects of free radicals.
- Celery is an Antioxidant and a Source of Fiber.
What You’ll Need
This creamy potato leek soup only uses a few ingredients and comes together quickly. Jump down to the recipe for actual measurements.
For the Soup
- Unsalted Butter
- Olive Oil
- Leeks: Leeks are notorious for hiding dirt and sand between the layers. Make sure you wash these thoroughly.
- Celery
- Yukon Gold Potatoes: Yukon Golds are my favorite potato for this soup because of their starch content and natural creaminess.
- Water
- Chicken Stock Base: If you opt to use chicken stock or my Chicken Bone Broth, omit the water and use the same amount of stock (e.g. 3 cups of water plus chicken stock base becomes 3 cups of stock)
- Whole Milk
- Heavy Cream: You can substitute the whole milk & heavy cream with 1 cup greek yogurt and 1/4 cup of milk, blended
- Seasoning: Salt, pepper, and dried Italian seasoning.
The Toppings (optional)
- Parmesan Cheese
- Olive Oil
- Croutons
- Chives
How to Make My Potato Leek Soup
To Make the Soup
- Wash the Veggies. You’ll need to wash the potatoes and leeks before you can cook with them. Leeks grow in sand and can be tricky to clean. Trim the leeks, leaving only the light green and white parts behind. Cut it length-wise and lay the cut sides on a cutting board. Chop the leeks into half-moon shapes. Place the cut leeks in a bowl filled with water and use your fingers to remove any remaining sand. Drain the leeks and pat them dry with a paper towel. Set aside until ready to use.
- Cut the Potatoes. After scrubbing the potatoes, cut them into bite-sized pieces. You’ll be leaving some portion of this soup un-pureed, and you don’t want potatoes that are too big to eat!
- Saute the Leeks. Melt butter with olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped leeks and cook them until they’re softened. This should take about 5-8 minutes.
- Saute the Celery. Add the chopped celery to the pan and continue to cook, stirring often, until they’re tender. This should take another 8 minutes.
- Add the Potatoes. Add the potatoes to the pan, stirring to coat them in butter and oil. When you add the potatoes to the vegetables, cook them until they start to release their starch. They’ll start to look coated in a shiny, milky starch that you can’t miss. This should take about 5 minutes, but be patient if it takes a few minutes longer.
- Add the Chicken Stock Base and Water. Once the potatoes are shiny, add the chicken base and stir to coat everything in the pan. Add the water. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender. This should take about 15 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat.
- Remove Some Chicken Stock. Using a ladle, remove 2 cups of the cooking stock (just the liquid) and set it aside in a small bowl. Removing the stock will allow you to add milk and cream later without curdling the dairy. Let the remaining soup stand for 30 minutes to cool slightly.
- Add the Dairy and Spices. Stir in the milk, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning into the bowl of reserved stock. Pour it back into the soup a little bit at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
- Blend the Soup. It’s 100% up to you how much you want to puree. You can leave as little or as much pureed as you like. I prefer to leave some chunks of potatoes, so I wrote the recipe to reflect that. I pureed 3/4 of the soup and left the other 1/4 chunky.
- Serve and Garnish. Spoon the soup into bowls and top with your choice of garnishes. I made this with homemade croutons, chives, parmesan, and good olive oil. But you can also top it with your favorite cracker, toast, and tons of fresh herbs.
Serving Suggestions
This creamy potato leek soup is an excellent and filling meal on its own. But it also makes a great side dish as part of a larger meal. I’d love to see this healthy soup paired with Pan Roasted Pork Chops with Fig Sauce or Gluten-Free Oven Fried Chicken. If you’re looking for a lighter meal or hearty lunch, try pairing a small bowl with a piece of crusty bread and my Roasted Pumpkin Salad with Goat Cheese. And for a treat, finish off your meal with a cool Black Cherry Seltzer.
Storage Instructions
Potato leek soup can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days. Plan to freeze any leftovers that won’t be eaten in that time.
Can I Freeze Potato Leek Soup?
Yes! Most healthy soups freeze really well and this one is no different. Store the soup in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag in the freezer for 3-6 months. Don’t let it sit in the freezer any longer or your potatoes will turn to mush!
Cell Recovery Potato Leek Soup
Equipment
- Stock Pot
- Blender or Immersion Blender
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 large leeks white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, halves cut into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons (about 8 cups)
- 4 large celery stalks chopped (about 2 cups), plus small, tender leaves for garnish
- 6 large Yukon Gold potatoes peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 9 cups)
- 7 cups water
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon jarred chicken stock base such as Better Than Bouillon
- 1 cup whole milk substitution in notes
- 1/4 cup heavy cream substitution in notes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian Seasoning
- Topping:
- ¼ shredded parmesan cheese
- Olive oil
- Croutons
- 2 Chives Diced
Instructions
- Melt butter with olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium.
- Add leeks; cook, stirring often, until softened, 5 to 8 minutes.
- Add celery; cook, stirring often, until tender and deeply saturated in color, about 8 minutes.
- Add potatoes; stir to coat potatoes in butter and oil. Reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring often, until potatoes are coated in a shiny, milky starch, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in 7 cups water and chicken stock base; bring to a boil over high. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are just tender and vegetables are softened, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Using a ladle, remove 2 cups of cooking stock (liquid only), and reserve in a small bowl. Let the remaining soup stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Stir milk, cream, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning into reserved stock. Stir in reserved stock, a little at a time, to reach desired consistency.
- Place ¾ of the soup in a blend and puree, Add back into the reserved ¼ cup. If you are using an immersion blender to puree, remove ¼ of soup. Puree remaining soup in the pan. Add ¼ reserve back into pureed soup.
- Spoon into bowls, top with parmesan cheese, drizzle of olive oil, chives and a few croutons.
Notes
Other Healthy Soup Recipes
- Immune Boosting Super Green Mushroom Orzo Soup
- Immune Boosting Lemon Chicken Rice Soup
- Immune Boosting Pumpkin Ginger Coconut Soup
