This vegan potato leek soup is incredibly cozy and delicious. Sweet and savory leeks are cooked down with vegan butter, onion, garlic, carrot, potato and celery to make an insanely flavorful soup. Then it's all pureed until smooth and finished with creamy coconut milk for a silky finish. Optionally add chives and vegan bacon for garnish to knock this veganized classic soup recipe out of the park.
What is Potato Leek Soup?
Potato Leek Soup is a French classic made with leeks, potatoes and cream. Traditionally the leeks are cooked down with butter until tender and fragrant. Then broth and potatoes are added and cooked until fork tender. Then the soup is pureed with cream for a silky smooth finish. It's incredibly rich, sweet and savory and comforting.
My potato leek soup recipe is vegan. I have used vegan butter and coconut milk to mimic the smooth and creamy texture of the traditional soup. Don't worry, you won't taste the coconut milk at all. It just gives the soup the silky finish that is expected with potato leek.
Why you'll love this Potato Leek Soup Recipe
- Easy to make, beginner friendly recipe without special techniques
- Dairy free, Gluten Free and vegan recipe
- Super savory and infused with herbs, garlic and vegetables like carrots, celery and onions
- Comforting and decadent, creamy and dreamy texture
- Satisfying and filling without being heavy
- Comes together fairly quickly for a soup
- Makes great leftovers for the next day or two
Leek Cleaning Tip:
Leeks are notoriously dirty! They often have sand and debris deep inside. I recommend splitting them lengthwise and submerging them in water completely, separating the layers underwater. Doing this will dislodge the dirt and it will sink to the bottom of the pot. Then lift them out and put them in a colander and dump the dirty water. Do this 2-3 times until there is no more dirt.
Creamy Vegan Potato Leek Soup Ingredients
This cozy vegan recipe has humble and basic ingredients. The only seasonal ingredient that may be hard to find are the leeks.
- Leeks: These mild and sweet flavored vegetables are the star here
- Baby Gold Potatoes: These are tender and not waxy or gummy in soup
- Onion and garlic: These two aromatics help build flavor
- Carrots and Celery: Since we are not using broth or bouillon these infuse the broth with more flavor
- Bay Leaves and Fresh Thyme- These are so savory!
- Vegan butter and Extra Virgin Olive Oil: For sauteeing and bringing out that sweetness from the leeks
- Light Unsweetened Coconut Milk- For a silky, creamy texture
- Salt- Brings out the flavors
- Optional: Chives and Vegan Bacon for garnish
Important Potato tip: Always be sure to remove any "eyes" from the potatoes. Those are tiny root tips that grow from potatoes when they hang around for too long. When these roots start to grow, there is a concentration of toxic substances that are not good for you. If the roots are small, it's generally considered safe to eat the potato as long as you remove the roots and any green parts. But if the potato is soft, the roots are very long, or there is a lot of green or black parts in the potato, don't eat them.
How to make Vegan Potato Leek Soup
Like most of my cozy vegan recipes, this one is super easy to make. There's some chopping, a little sauté and a whole lot of simmering. This is a pureed soup so that makes it extra simple, there is no need to stress over the chopping being pretty of uniform since it will all be smooth anyway!
- First start by browning the garlic and onions to magnify their flavor.
- Then add the leeks, celery and carrots with vegan butter and cook until translucent and super fragrant.
- Then in goes the water, potatoes, thyme and seasoning and the soup is cooked until they are fork tender.
- Lastly the soup is pureed with unsweetened light coconut milk.
Tips for Making the Best Potato Leek Soup Recipe
- Use new potatoes if you can since they puree nicely without gumminess or mealiness
- Add protein to the soup by pureeing a can of white beans or a block of silken tofu into the broth
- Make it extra flavorful by using your favorite broth instead of water
- Make your own vegetable broth using the discarded green parts of the leeks. These make an incredible sweet addition to stocks
FAQs
Yes! You do need a high speed blender if you do not have an immersion blender. But be very careful with transferring hot soup to a blender to puree. Do it in small batches and always put your hand holding a clean kitchen towel on the cover when blending to prevent the cover blowing off from the steam.
No absolutely not, you can use any milk or cream you like. For me coconut milk has the best texture out of the plant milks for creamy presentations. It lends a soft, silky finish that is similar to heavy cream. But you can use whatever you like.
I will be honest, I don't think there is enough difference between vegan butter brands to matter in the recipe. If you have any allergies, just read the labels as some are nut based. But for me, I buy whichever brand is on sale that week. Choose Violife, Myokos, Melt, Earth Balance, Country Crock, Trader Joes brand it won't change the soup much at all.
This is such a great question! The oil prevents the butter from burning! In restaurants, we always use a combo to prevent sticking and burning but still get that delicious buttery flavor.
This vegan soup is not a full meal. It's low in protein and high in carbs, so it will probably burn pretty quickly leaving you feeling hungry. It's a starter recipe. For me this is a perfect soup and salad or soup and sandwich combo. What could be more classic than that?
Other Delicious and Cozy Soup Recipes
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Vegan Potato Leek Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp vegan butter
- 1 tbsp extra virgin Olive Oil
- 3 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 onion peeled and quartered
- 1 rib celery roughly chopped
- 2 large leeks whites and light green parts washed and chopped about 4 cups leeks
- 2 small carrots peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 pound baby gold potatoes cut in halves or quarters
- 3 bay leaves
- 8-10 sticks fresh thyme
- 8 cups water
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 15- oz can unsweetened light coconut milk
- Optional: chopped vegan bacon and chopped chives for garnish
Instructions
- Into a large soup pot over medium heat add the extra virgin olive oil. Once hot, put the garlic and onion into the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
- Next add the vegan butter, celery, carrots, leeks and season with salt. Cook for about 15 minutes until the leeks are translucent and smell incredible, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking or burning.
- Next add the water, potatoes, thyme and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are fork tender, about 20 minutes.
- Next take the soup off the stove and carefully remove the thyme sticks and bay leaves with tongs. With an immersion blender, blend until the soup is smooth and creamy. Finish with coconut milk for that silky smooth creaminess. Add salt to taste and blend until perfectly pureed.
- Garnish with vegan bacon and chives if desired and serve.
Jenny
Yum Yum
Super easy, throw in the veggies, blend and donzo! I used a can of unsweetened coconut milk, next time I may play with other ways to get it creamy. It is SO good the next day. Super comforting and great way to warm up from the inside out! Another great recipe!
Thank you!
Sara Tercero
Thank you Jenny! So happy you liked it!