Vegan Potato Leek Soup

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!

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, 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

1. 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 (uh, 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 is what I did the second time round and it 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.

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!"

Sabrina

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Recipe

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5 from 24 votes

Vegan Potato Leek Soup

Potato leek soup is a French classic for a reason.  This simple soup is so much more than the sum of it's parts.  Warm and comforting, delicious and fragrant, made creamy from the potatoes it is also healthy and very easy to make.  Naturally vegan and gluten-free.

Course Main, Soup

Cuisine canadian, French

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 198kcal

Author Sabrina Currie

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

*Ensure you have cleaned your leeks well by cutting them in half lengthwise and then rinsing between the layers well to catch any hidden dirt.  

*If you choose to simmer this longer it will get thicker and you may need to add a bit of water to achieve desired consistency. It will not harm the flavor though.

*Do not mash potatoes until they are all cooked as the soup will burn easily once it is creamy.

Nutrition

Calories: 198kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 33mg | Potassium: 786mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1116IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 3mg