This creamy leek and potato soup is simple, comforting, and one we return to almost all year round. Made with sweet, slow-softened leeks and tender potatoes, it’s the soup my adult children come home for. A bowl that feels like home. Perfect for chilly winter evenings, a quick lunch with family and friends, or even served cold in the summer garden with a gentle swirl of vegan cream.
Ingredients for a Simple, Comforting Soup
Leeks, onion, and garlic form the base of this soup, gently softened before adding diced potatoes and a good vegetable stock.
It is seasoned simply with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and finished with fresh flat leaved parsley if you have it.
A few chopped chives or a swirl of vegan cream is lovely to serve.
How to Make Silky Smooth Leek and Potato Soup
- Start by gently sweating the leeks, both the white and green parts, with the onion in olive oil or vegan butter. Keep the heat low, cover the pan with a lid and give them time while they soften. You are not browning them, just allowing them to become sweet and fragrant. This simple step is what gives the soup its depth of flavour.
- Once tender, stir in the garlic, then add the diced potatoes and vegetable stock. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until the potatoes are completely soft.
- Blend the soup until silky smooth, season well with salt and pepper, and taste, adjusting as needed.
Serving Suggestions
Serve hot with rustic bread for a cozy winter lunch or with slices of crusty baguette on a summer’s evening.
Easy, Seasonal Topping Suggestions
This soup works beautifully all year round, simple, satisfying, and always welcome at my table. Here are some ideas to bring out the best flavours each season:
Spring – Chives and Lemon Zest
A simple topping of chopped chives and grated lemon zest brightens up the soup and gives a fresh, zesty lift as we step into spring.
Summer – Chives and Chive Flowers
Enjoy it cold with a swirl of vegan cream and scatter some chopped chives and delicate purple chive flowers on top for a fresh, beautiful finish.
Autumn – Roasted Pumpkin Seeds and Sage
Add a sprinkle of toasted pumpkin seeds and a few finely chopped sage leaves for a nutty, earthy touch that feels perfect for autumn.
Winter – Olive Oil and Thyme
Drizzle a little olive oil over the soup and scatter on fresh chopped thyme leaves. Fragrant, warming, and deeply comforting for the colder months.
Storing Leek and Potato Soup
- FRIDGE: This soup will store well in a sealed container for 3-4 days.
- FREEZER: Decant into a suitable container and freeze for up to 3 months.
- BATCH COOKING: It is easy to make a big batch of potato leek soup. Click the Servings number in the recipe card below to magically adjust all the ingredient quantities. Freeze in portions in suitable containers.
Seasonal Notes
Leeks are one of the quiet heroes of the winter garden, standing steady when little else is growing. Using your own homegrown leeks makes this soup taste even sweeter and more comforting. I love sending someone out with a knife to collect them and then standing and chatting while I peel and chop them before adding them to the pan. Happily, they grow from August through to about April in the UK, so I have them in the garden for a large percentage of the year, and they appear most often in soup form. When they coincide with our own homegrown potatoes and chopped herbs, it is just perfection!
If you have a glut of leeks you might also be interested in my Leek and Mushroom Pie and my Vegan Leek Tart recipes.
More Soups To Try
- Hearty Bean Soup – Perfect for batch cooking and a super satisfying bowl at any time.
- Creamy Onion Soup – with no cream!
- Curried Parsnip Soup – comfort in a bowl.
- Roast Aubergine Soup – a glorious celebration of the long balmy days of summer.
Leek and Potato Soup
Equipment
- 1 Stick blender
- 1 Large heavy bottomed pan
Ingredients
- 250 g leeks about 2 medium leeks
- 250 g potatoes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 500 ml good vegetable stock + extra if needed/water
- handful of flat leaf parsley optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Optional Toppings
- a swirl of olive oil
- chopped seasonal fresh herbs
- lemon zest
- a swirl of oat cream
Instructions
- Wash and chop the leeks, white and green parts.
- Wash and roughly chop the potatoes.
- Add olive oil to a large heavy bottomed saucepan and warm over a medium heat gently.
- Add the chopped leeks to the pan, sizzle and stir. Cover, lower the heat and sweat gently for 10 minutes until soft but not browned.
- Add the potatoes and stir.
- Add 500ml vegetable stock, bring to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
- Blend until smooth. Add more stock/water if needed.
- Add salt and pepper to taste and chopped parsley if wanted and stir or blend to combine.
Notes
Nutrition
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Cannot use recipe because you do not give USA measurements. Too bad – I am vegan and would have pinned this recipe
There is a toggle on the recipe card to choose US measurements https://thinlyspread.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-09-at-14.32.52.png I hope that helps.