Classic Leek and Potato Soup

Leek and potato soup on a wooden table in a black bowl

Leek and potato soup is one of the classics. It’s creamy, filling, comforting and delicious – and extremely economical to make too!

For me, leek and potato is a winter soup. It’s exactly what I crave when the temperature plummets. It’s naturally thickened by the potatoes, making it satisfying enough to be a meal in its own right.

This version contains butter and cream for a truly enjoyable soup that everyone will enjoy. Leek and potato is a classic and will guarantee bowls licked clean. It’s a lovely colour and could easily be prettified for a dinner party.

Classic Leek and Potato Soup – The Ingredients

  • Butter – butter is a beautifully enriching fat to cook the potato and leeks in. Butter goes so well with both vegetables, which makes it perfect for cooking this soup. If you like, you can switch for vegetable oil – but you won’t get the same taste.
  • Onion – the onion brings out even more of the leek flavour. Use a brown or yellow one.
  • Potatoes – use classic white potatoes. The ones that you would make roast potatoes or mash with will work perfectly (maris piper here in the U.K.). Wonderfully, you don’t need to peel them to make this soup.
  • Leeks – the best leeks for this soup are large ones – they contain the most flavour. However, any leeks will do.
  • Vegetable stock – or a litre of water and a good vegetable stock cube.
  • Double cream – for that creamy finish! You can use single cream if you wish.

Top Tips

  1. Soup consistency

    When you blend your soup, it will be fairly thick and should get to the perfect consistency when you add the cream. If it’s too thick, just add a splash more vegetable stock or water.

  2. Get ahead

    Leek and potato soup freezes perfectly. Let it cool, then transfer
    to a freezable container and freeze for up to three months.

  3. To serve

    Leek and potato soup is beautiful when topped with chives, more double cream, chilli oil or crispy bacon. Serve with a thick slice of Homemade White Sourdough Loaf.

Get the cook books:

Leek and potato soup on a wooden table in a black bowl

Classic Leek and Potato Soup

Harriet Young
October 16, 2024
The classic, creamy leek and potato soup.
5
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine British
Servings 4 People

Ingredients
  

  • 50 g butter
  • 1 onion
  • 450 g white potatoes
  • 450 g leeks
  • 1 litre vegetable stock
  • 140 ml double cream

Instructions
 

  • Chop your potatoes into 1 inch chunks (no need to peel). Trim the ends off the leeks and slice them roughly. Peel your onion and chop into 1 inch chunks.
  • Melt the butter in a large saucepan or casserole dish over a medium heat. When it starts to bubble, add the potatoes, leeks and onion. Turn down the heat and put a lid on. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring fairly often so that the vegetables don’t stick or colour.
  • Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Put the lid back on and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.
  • Whizz your soup up with a blender until smooth then put back on the heat. Add the cream and bring to a simmer, then season to taste with salt and plenty of black pepper.
  • Serve large bowls or mugs with thick wedges of warm bread. Delicious!
Keyword leeks, potatoes, soup
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!


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14 responses to “Classic Leek and Potato Soup”

  1. 5 stars
    Delicious creamy soup, thanks!

  2. It looks absolutely delicious! I really like to give it a try and see if I can give a healthier twist to it neverthless I’m sure it will not taste equally as delicious then 🙁

    Sincerely,
    LiuLiveEat Lifestyle Writer

    1. Thanks! You could easily halve the amount of butter and cream without affecting the taste too much 🙂

      1. I will do that then 🙂

  3. Looks utterly delicious and I second the need for nice creamy treats in this weather 🙂
    Janie x

  4. inkvirgintravel

    Might need some of this to stay warm in NY this winter until my trip to Dominican Republic! Great post! 🙂

  5. 5 stars
    Looks so good and perfect for this weather

  6. Nice soup! A little bit of butter is healthy in my opinion – just not a whole stick of it! Going to make this up tomorrow!

    1. I agree Debbie! Hope you like it 🙂

  7. Wow, we are on the same page today, check out my recipe I put up this morning! Haha, I like the idea of putting cream into the mix, though I try not to to avoid the calories.
    https://bunnybaubles.wordpress.com/2015/01/13/soup-er-simple-potato-leek-soup/
    – Bunny Baubles <3

    1. Debbie Engelmann

      I keep ALL scraps from veggies and throw them into a freezer bag as I collect them. Then I dump them in my stock making whether it is beef or chicken. Just now I put an entire gallon size bag full of celery bottoms, parsley stems, carrots ends; not the kitchen sink though. In went my whole chicken, some vinegar, and more onions. Now it gets to simmer for hours. So, when a recipe calls for stock, I always have it and I KNOW it doesn’t contain MSG!

      Thanks for sharing your recipes!

    2. Haha! Great minds think alike. Your soup looks delicious

5 from 2 votes

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Hi there!

I’m Harriet, writer and cook, and I’m so pleased to have you here! I love nothing more than cooking delicious food and sharing it with the world. You can find out more about me here.