Last Updated on October 28, 2021 by Sabrina Currie
The ultimate in simple elegance, vegan potato leek soup is creamy, comforting, healthy and easy. A pretty winning combination if you ask me. With just 5 ingredients and 10 minutes of prep, this soup will simmer away into a magically wonderful nourishing meal.
Want an awesome side dish for this soup? Check out What To Serve With Potato Soup!
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Vegan Soup Inspiration
I love a good soup on a cold day. Rich with flavor, warmth seeping into my hands as I hold my bowl, nothing beats a good soup and this vegan potato leek soup is no exception. I was inspired by one of my hero's, the great Julia Child. I have just a few of her cookbooks 😉
If you like soups too, try my vegan Roasted Red Pepper Soup, vegan Carrot Pumpkin Soup, Gluten Free Broccoli Cheddar Soup or my favorite fall Wild Mushroom Soup. The last 2 are easily made vegetarian and the first is of course vegan. And for a really hearty vegan dish, easy vegan Italian White Beans are a cold weather staple.
Ingredients
Leeks and potatoes are really the star ingredients. Salt and pepper are required to accentuate the vegetables and I like the touch of olive oil to enrich the soup. An extra swirl of good quality olive oil as a garnish on the individual bowls is lovely too. This is really one of the most simple, iconic dishes you can make and it truly doesn't need anything else.
"An excellent lunch or light supper need be no more that a good soup, a salad, cheese and fruit. "
Julia Child
Step by Step Instructions
- Choose a heavy bottomed soup pot, heat your olive oil on medium-low and sauté your leeks until fragrant but not browned.
2. Add in potatoes, water and some salt and pepper. Simmer until soft enough to mash to a creamy consistency with fork or potato masher.
3. Season at the end with salt and pepper to taste, garnish as you like and serve.
Variations
Try this soup as is and have fun making it again and use it as a jumping off point for your creativity.
- Add some watercress leaves, diced carrot, turnip or scallions for a little texture and color.
- Enjoy adding various herbs, greens and some rosemary flowers like I did from these photos. I foraged through my garden for fragrant and colorful edibles to fancy up the presentation.
- Serve this potato leek soup cold! With the addition of some rich unsweetened nut milk you have an (almost) traditional vegan vichyssoise, perfect for a light summer lunch.
Why A 5 Ingredient Vegan Soup Works
The original recipe is simply equal parts leeks and potatoes, water and salt and simmered so feel free to be completely hands off if you wish. I enjoy the process of cooking and the fun of building flavours so I sauteed my leeks gently in a small bit of olive oil first and used a bay leaf from my garden. Many people choose to use stock, garlic, other herbs etc but I purposely chose to keep this simple in the spirit of Julia Child's recipe to enjoy the beauty, simplicity and pure flavour of the leeks. I urge you to try it first this way to see how amazing a few simple ingredients really can be and then adapt it to your preference as you make it again and again.
Expert Tip
The first batch I used my hand blender but realized Julia was right (the potatoes will get gluey if blended, I should have known). Use a potato masher or simply simmer until it becomes creamy from stirring at the end which works perfectly. This is a low tech soup!
I hope you find this soup a comforting reminder that sometimes all we need are the most basic of ingredients and a moment of peace in front of a warm stove.
More Great Soup Recipes
PS. Anyone else love Julia??? So inspiring and I love her sense of humor. Comment below if you have a favourite recipe or TV episode! And if you'd like to learn more about Julia Child, check out "The Julia Child Foundation" to learn about her and the initiatives dedicated to supporting the culinary arts.
As Julia used to say, "Bon appetit my friends!"
If you have any questions or comments, you can find me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. I try to answer any recipe related questions quickly as I know you might be in the middle of making it.
Also check out my FREE PRINTABLE meal planner to make menu planning and grocery shopping a breeze and my shopping guide. And if you like this recipe, I would love it if you give it a star rating in the recipe card.
Cheers and happy cooking, Friends! Sabrina
📖 Recipe
Vegan Potato Leek Soup
Ingredients
- 3 Large Leeks, Cleaned And Sliced Thinly
- 3 Russet Potatoes, Peeled And Diced ½"
- 4 c Water Or vegetable stock
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- Salt And Pepper To Taste
Instructions
- In a medium heavy bottomed pot, heat olive oil on medium-low and then add leeks. Saute gently until translucent but not browned.
- Add potatoes, water and bay leaf and simmer, stirring occasionally, approximately 30-40 minutes or until potatoes are soft enough to mash easily.
- With potato masher, ricer or the back of your large spoon, mash the soup until it is creamy and fairly smooth. This should be fast and easy once the potatoes are cooked properly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. ( I used 2 teaspoon salt) Serve in bowls and garnish as desired with chopped chives, parsley or other fine herbs from the garden or a swirl of cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Bernice says
Your photography is absolutely stunning! Isn't it amazing how a few simple ingredients can turn into something so beautiful and nourishing?
SabCurrie says
Thank you Bernice! Yes it is amazing and the perfect soup to show how simple and economical good cooking can be.
Laura says
I love simple soups like this that are just so warm, comforting and have so much flavour from only a few ingredients. Your photos are stunning!
SabCurrie says
Thank you Laura! This was such a fun and comforting soup to make 💚
Chef Sous Chef says
Loving the colour you got on the soup and the styling is absolutely gorgeous.
SabCurrie says
Thank you so much!
Leanne | Crumb Top Baking says
This soup looks delicious Sabrina, and the photos are absolutely stunning! Love the dark tones with the pop of colour from the soup! Pinned!
SabCurrie says
Thank you so much Leanne! I was inspired by my photo challenge with @thelittleplantation 💚
Melanei @ Bon Appet'Eat says
Almost too pretty to eat! 🙂
SabCurrie says
Thanks Melanei! Almost lol!
Terri says
I love the photos - you really stepped up to the challenge and I really need to make this soup. I have never actually made potato soup! On my bucket list now 🙂
Denise@urbnspice says
Oh! So very French! I love this soup, Sabrina and j'adore Julia Child. She was and is an awesome culinary mentor. Your photographs are so wonderful! You inspire me to make this my favourite potage again. Many thanks for sharing such a beautiful rendition of this classic recipe.
SabCurrie says
Thank you so much Denise! I truly love how this soup is so much more than the sum of its simple parts 🙂
Jo Vanderwolf says
Those photos are art! Just beautiful.
Also... I need to make this soup ASAP. I'm drooling over here!
SabCurrie says
Thanks Jo! It’s such a simple soup to make but so rich in flavour:-)
Terri says
That is one gorgeous soup and my mouth is watering too!
SabCurrie says
Thank you so much Terri 🙂
William Zander says
So much for keeping it simple. Bay leaf is unnecessary as is cooking the vegetables in oil.
SabCurrie says
Hi William, thanks for weighing in. True you can omit the bay leaf and oil but I felt that sautéing the leeks first and using the bay leaf in the simmering step added a little depth to this soup. These two steps/ingredients are still pretty easy for a beginner cook but can be omitted if you don't have them on hand.
Jules says
First of all, I LOVE potato soup. It's been my favorite since I was a kid, but these days I am gluten, dairy, and egg-free so I thought I'd never see potato soup again! Until now so thank you so much for putting this on the internet!
Sabrina Currie says
That’s so awesome! I love finding a recipe that ticks all those boxes without having to compromise anything. Cheers!