Potato Leek Soup
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A French classic, this creamy potato leek soup is quick, easy, and comforting.
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. Add watercress to make potage au cresson, serve it chilled to make Vichyssoise, or top it with oven-fried 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. Potato leek soup is simple to make and can be served as an appetizer, a side dish alongside a Reuben sandwich or wedge salad, or as a stand-alone lunch.
What You’ll Need To Make Potato Leek Soup
How To Make Potato Leek Soup
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.
Then 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 completely. 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
A French classic, this creamy potato leek soup is quick, easy, and comforting.
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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Just made leeks and potato soup using your recipe and I can just inhale the soup! It’s delicious!
I used chicken broth cubes instead (of liquid broth), and dried thyme (last year’s harvest from our garden =) ).
Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Excellent!, thank you for sharing.
Couldn’t take a pic as the family ate it up quickly. Wouldn’t change a thing.
Having been craving this soup, and having been a bit disappointed with other recipes I’ve used in the past, I found your recipe on this chilly, rainy day, and made it exactly as written, except that I only had one 6-cup carton of chicken broth onhand (and I added a little extra Thyme because I love it so). FANTASTIC! I served with crusty French bread and a glass of Pinot Gris. Many thanks for this wonderful recipe, it’s a keeper!! ?
I followed this recipe pretty loosely – I used a little less broth and didn’t measure the cream – but it came out FANTASTIC. I am thrilled with the flavor and the texture. It exceeded my expectations; I would definitely make this again. It’s the perfect stick-to-your-ribs soup for a chilly winter day.
Delicious ?
I read all the great reviews and decided to try the soup. I don’t know what I did wrong but, I had to throw it out. It was so starchy. Maybe I cooked the potatoes too long? Sorry I tried some of your other recipes and they were great!
I have made this a couple of times and it is always wonderful. Tonight I fried some thinly sliced celery root for garnish with chives which was a nice addition.
Just made a half batch tonight and it was delicious. Perfect for the weather tonight in New England.
This soup is silky and luxurious. Next time, I may add some garlic. I plan on serving with a little shredded parm on the side. Delish!
Yummy! So easy to make. I skipped the cream this time, it was still delicious and hearty!
I made this today with a couple of tweaks. I only had three leeks so I added two shallots, I threw the garlic in at the very end of the sauté (although it makes your kitchen smell delicious, it loses potency when cooked too long), and I used rosemary instead of thyme because I like that flavor profile. Absolutely delicious! Definitely recommend using Yukon gold potatoes as they make a super silky texture.
This soup is so easy to make and so delicious!
Delicious!
Depending on potatoes, the simmering may take twice as long for them to be nice and soft. Enough to puree with immersion blender. A couple of bowls of this with nice French bread and you’re set for dinner.
BTW this website has great recipes!
Delicious! I would double the garlic next time. Fantastic recipe!
Easy to use veggie broth of any type instead of chicken. I used milk instead of cream, and a few dollops of creme fraiche, since that is what I had. I skipped the bay leaf because I ran out. Was very tasty!
Made this for husband and I tonight after a week of wanting – delayed by getting sick! Now I have the energy to cook and had the ingredients so I dove in. I usually approach recipes in a way Southern Cooks call “at.” As in, “I followed at the recipe” which I did with this wonderful starting point and enjoyed the seasonings and the technique along the way. Thyme was the winner in this potato-leek concoction.
Very nice, I am sorry they drown your page with adverts, one gets lost at times.
Regards Patti
Simple fix to rid the screen of ads when reading the recipe..click print recipe button! It won’t print out at that point and gets rid of the annoying ads. Sometimes I do this and screen shot so the recipe is on my photos. I HATE the ads.
Fabulous and easy to make! Highly recommended. My family indicated it tasted a bit like clam chowder without the clam flavor, but in reality I think they were tasting the potatoes. This will definitely go into my recipe box and is a winner for any dinner! Formal or casual.
trying to be faithful of my New Year’s resolution of “waste not, want not” and using leftover food in my fridge before it goes bad (not to mention reducing my grocery bill in these economic times …), I tweeked this recipe a bit and it was very forgiving and turned out luscious. First, i used salted butter that i had instead of buying unsalted butter. Second, my store sells leeks only in groups of three, so I supplemented the veggie content with 3 stalks of chopped celery I had on hand. I didn’t have quite enough leftover potatoes but I did have a turnip so I added that with the potatoes.. Since I had to buy a new packet of fresh thyme, I used 6 sprigs instead of 3 since it usually goes bad before I get back to it, plus, I love the herb. Due to the lack of that one leek (remember that?), I topped the bowl with a bit of chopped scallion ( cheaper than chives) and left over dried French Onions (from the holiday green bean casserole) for some texture, which I crisped up a bit in a dry skillet. Despite all these changes, everyone loved the soup! Thank you so much for the basic recipe !!
Delicious. I substituted the cream with a Silk Heavy Whipping Cream alternative in order to make it dairy-free. Can’t tell the difference.
I made this per the instructions on 12/31/22. Indeed, the leeks harbor lots of grit and I found it best to deconstruct them and carefully wash each layer separately after cutting the leeks in half per the instructions. I added about a 1/2 cup of Honey Baked Ham – I used lean meat from close to the bone without any of the glazing (would be too sweet and cloves would alter the subtlety of the soup). Any smoked ham would work. All other ingredients and instructions were follower to the letter. The Soup was absolutely delicious and perfect. I used an immersion blender which quickly pureed and mixed the soup. The soup appears to be an emulsion that is favored by use of the immersion blender. I warmed the heavy cream in the microwave for 45 seconds before adding it to the soup. This decreased the likelihood of “breaking” the emulsion as is possible with cold cream into hot soup. The recipe makes closer to 10 or 12 servings of soup. This soup is delicious hot or cold and will become part of my repertoire. This is an excellent recipe and I encourage others to try it.
Absolutely delicious! The best potato soup I’ve ever made. I actually started the soup in a slow cooker after sautéing the leeks and garlic. Added a handful of chopped fresh parsley, a 1/2 tsp of tarragon and rosemary, a tsp of thyme in with the other ingredients and broth. Let the broth cook on low for 4-5 hours. I then transferred to a Dutch oven pot, added the potatoes, simmered for 15-20 minutes and puréed. So good!
Tried this recipe today and it turned out great, despite having to adjust the amounts for a smaller batch. Family loved it too. Bravo!
Made this delicious soup for Christmas dinner however beings it’s 20 degrees here in Texas today, just had to sample it. Very tasty and easy to make. Thanks for the recipe.
Ray C
My whole family is in a soup coma after eating multiple bowls! Perfect for a cold Vermont night. Thank you.!
Not much flavour had to add a lot of spices .
That’s most likely because you missed something.
Made this recipe twice and love it! It becomes quicker to make the second time but still super delicious and amazing!
wanted to add that i didnt need to adjust the salt, pepper or cream at all ! it was absolutely perfect just as is 🙂
Excellent recipe!
I made it using pinto potatoes, which are also yellow and my homemade yogurt to replace the cream. Very yummy. I had hoped for two meals out of the batch (I made about 2/3 of the amount, based on the leeks I had available) and we ate most of it at one sitting. Thank you for the clear instructions and a delicious dinner.
Peace and blessings from on high! I made this soup on a humbug and didn’t have any bay leaf or heavy cream. I alternated the heavy cream for a jar of classic style alfredo sauce; the second ingredient is heavy cream (go me). It came out delicious! What a simple delicious recipe to follow. Thanks! Keep them coming!!!
Love Love Love this recipe. When I make it for dinner for me and my boys I also add some crumbled up bacon on top. But, my favorite is to make a little extra and enjoy it cold the next morning.
So good
This was delicious! Perfect on a cold evening. I wrapped the bay leaves and thyme in a piece of cheesecloth tied with string so that it was easier to remove.
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!
This was restaurant quality perfect!
Excellent recipe. I made 1/2 the recipe and it served 4-6 people. Very yummy!
Made this recipe to a tee except I added 6 strips of well cooked bacon. I cooked them in the oven, added them after the heavy cream and chopped them into little bits. I saved some of the rendered bacon fat to add the tiniest (and I mean small) dash when presenting the soup. Place fresh chives on top, few cracks of pepper and the bacon render… my friends thought this was Michelin star. Thank you so much for this amazing cooking experience!
The best potato and leek soup I’ve had! Added a parmesan rind I had in the freezer whilst simmering. I didn’t have any thyme but didn’t miss it
How long does it keep in the fridge
Hi Marilyn, it should keep nicely for 3 to 4 days.
I didn’t have leeks or Yukon gold potatoes on hand, so I subbed with lots of sweet yellow onion and russet potatoes. Still delicious!
I made this and cut it in half. My family is dairy free other than me, so it had to be oat milk, but the recipe was delicious even with the slight alterations I had to make. The pointer on how to clean the leeks was useful for me, as I have always had some grit when I make things with leeks.
I did make this soup using your recipe. It was fantastic. I have used it as a base to make all different kinds of “creamed” vegetable soups, all to rave reviews from those that sampled them. Thank you so much !!
This was just as she said, super easy and really good. My only caveat was it took me longer to get the potatoes cooked “very well” so I needed to up heat from simmer to a higher setting.
WOW! That was excellent. Quick, easy and really good!