My potato leek soup is thick and creamy without the addition of cream. It's simple to prepare using a handful of ingredients. Perfect as a first course, lunch, or dinner, this soup will be one of your favorites.
This potato leek soup is simply delicious. I know I've already said that but it needs to be said again and again.
Let me state right from the start that a food processor makes for easy preparation. If you have one use it. If you don't, get one because it will make your cooking life much, much easier.
NO CHICKEN STOCK ADDED?
No chicken stock is used to make this soup. For me, the flavor of the leeks and potatoes are lost by the overpowering taste of chicken stock. Save the chicken stock for chicken soup.
I use water. Here me out. I know some may be disagreeing with me and feel stock should be used. If you prepare this soup correctly, you will have the flavor and texture solely from the leeks and potatoes.
I'm so confident of that statement, I'll happily put it against any other potato leek soup. Let's gooooooooo.
THIS POTATO LEEK SOUP IS A 5 INGREDIENTS OR LESS RECIPE
I know, I know. You're looking at the ingredients and you count more than five. The rule of thumb is that water, salt, and pepper don't count as ingredients. OK? OK.
You'll be surprised that the only seasonings required for this soup are fresh garlic, salt and pepper. When I tell you this is a potato leek soup, I'm not kidding.
It’s important that you use thick firm leeks - both the white and light green parts are used to get the best flavor. Please don’t throw away those dark green parts of the leeks! Those are perfect for stock. Discard any wilted or discolored leaves, wash the rest, then place in a zip top freezer bag and freeze for later use.
I used to chop the leeks and garlic by hand then realized I have a food processor for a reason. After rinsing the leeks, chop in chunks and pulse in the processor until you have a nice dice. When prep is easy, it encourages you to cook.
If you're going to chop by hand, chop the leeks thin and smash and mince the garlic. You're going to blend this soup anyways to get that velvety texture but it's still import to slice those leeks thin to get them soft quickly to release all of their flavor.
Cooking the leeks in butter for about 10 minutes brings out the sweetness of the leeks. You want them soft and tender.
Don't put that processor away just yet. Process the garlic cloves too. That's what it's there for - to make cooking easier.
After adding the garlic to the leeks, use some of the water used for the soup to rinse out the food processor bowl to grab every bit of minced garlic and leftover leeks. Then add that to the pot.
Russet potatoes are used because they break down beautifully. Waxy potatoes are not welcome here. We don't want hard chunks of undercooked potatoes to interfere with the smooth creamy texture. This is the time when overboiling your potatoes is desired. For all those other times, read how to fix overboiled potatoes - especially when making mashed potatoes.
Add the water, potatoes, and salt to the pot. The salt is very important because salt brings all that wonderful flavor from the leeks and potatoes. I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt and you may cringe that I use 4 teaspoons. Remember, kosher salt isn’t as salty as fine salt or Mortons brand of salt. Of course, you can salt to your taste, but you do need to add some salt here.
After 20 minutes, the potatoes break down into smaller chunks. After 30 minutes, they will be soft enough to puree.
NO CREAM IS USED TO MAKE THIS POTATO LEEK SOUP
No cream? Nope. Instead, I use evaporated milk. Use full fat please. The evaporated milk gives a nice flavor and all the creaminess you need. It's what I also use to make my incredible Peruvian Shrimp Soup and Corn Chowder.
When I serve this potato leek soup, people actually moan after every bite and smile. What soup can do that? This recipe was a secret I've kept for far too long. Now I'm finally sharing my secret with you. Enjoy.
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Potato Leek Soup
PRINT PINThis makes 6 - 8 servings.
Equipment Used
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons butter
- 3 large leeks white and light green parts
- 4 medium cloves garlic
- 4 cups water
- 4 russet potatoes (2 pounds), peeled, and chopped
- 4 teaspoons kosher salt or to taste (recommended: Diamond Crystal)
- ½ teaspoon pepper freshly ground is best
- 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
- Additional pepper for serving
Instructions
- Slice the ends off of the leeks. Rinse them to remove any debris. Slice off the dark green parts and save for stock. Finely chop the white and light green parts of the leeks.ORPlace the white and green parts into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
- Heat butter in a large stockpot over medium heat until melted.
- Add leeks and cook, stirring frequently, until softened but not browned - about 7 to 10 minutes.
- Mince the garlic either by hand or add into the processor and pulse until finely chopped. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 -2 minutes.
- Add water, potatoes, and salt.
- Simmer partially covered for 30 minutes.
- Using an immersion blender, blend the soup in the pot until velvety smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, blend soup in batches using a blender then return soup into pot.
- Stir in evaporated milk. Continue cooking until heated through. Taste and adjust salt, if needed.
- Serve topped with additional freshly ground pepper. Garnish with sliced green onions or chives, if desired.
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