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This Vegan Potato Leek Soup is comfort in a bowl. It’s cozy, naturally dairy-free, and a recipe to look forward to every time the seasons change. Gluten-free, Grain-Free.
This Vegan Potato Leek Soup is made from simple and wholesome ingredients, then pureed until silky smooth. It’s the perfect creamy, soul-nourishing soup to enjoy as a light lunch or healthy dinner side.
Table of Contents
Back to the Origins
Potato leek soup can be dated back to 19th century France, where it is known as Vichyssoise or Potage à la Parmentier. It is traditionally served cold, but most Potato Leek soup in the US is served warm – making it extra cozy 🙂
Traditional Potato Leek Soup is also made using cream and chicken stock, making it neither vegetarian or vegan-friendly. With a few simple ingredient swaps, I’ve made a potato leek soup that’s not only equally creamy, but packed with plant-based goodness.
Ingredients for Potato Leek Soup
This vegan potato leek soup requires just 8 affordable ingredients. Here are a few key flavor notes:
- Leeks: An obvious necessity! Leeks have a sweet and onion-y flavor reminiscent of mild green onion. I find that adding celery to the soup helps the flavor pop.
- Potatoes: For the best rich and creamy soup, opt for Yukon gold potatoes. They blend like a dream and are naturally higher in starch, making them the perfect potato for a thick soup.
- Coconut milk: I don’t always cook with full-fat coconut milk, but when I do it’s because its richness makes a huge difference! Traditional potato leek soups are often made with heavy cream and coconut milk fits the bill as the best plant-based substitute.
- Broth: I find vegan “chicken” flavored broth to be the most flavorful, but any good vegetable broth will do.
How to Make Vegan Potato Leek Soup
- Sauté the leeks, celery, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, and additional salt and pepper until soft and fragrant.
- Stir in the potatoes, broth, coconut milk and water until well combined and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Blend the potato leek soup using an immersion blender or a high-speed blender until desired consistency is reached.
- Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve warm with chopped chives, parsley, celery leaves, or croutons.
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- How to safely blend soup in a blender: Hot foods like soup expand immensely when blended and can build up significant pressure inside the blender canister. If you do not vent the lid when blending, the lid can quite literally blow off the top of the blender! To be safe, allow the steam to vent and blend on a low setting until smooth.
- How to pick the best leeks: While the dark green portion of leeks looks attractive, it’s actually too fibrous and dense to eat. Try to pick leeks that have long white and light green stems – these parts are tender, and you’ll get the most bang for your buck!
- Thoroughly clean the leeks! Leeks are notoriously dirty – so make sure you clean them well. I recommend chopping off the root and the green parts, then cutting the remaining “stem” in half. Run the leek under water, making sure to open up each layer of the leek to check for any hidden dirt. If you are a visual learner, check out this simple tutorial from the Food Network: How to Clean Leeks for Beginners.
Serving Suggestions
This soup is both light and creamy at the same time, making it a perfect lunch or dinner side! I like to serve mine with a side of crusty bread. If you’d like to make it a whole meal, I suggest serving it with some crispy tofu or some roasted chickpeas to make it a more filling meal.
If you’re looking for more light vegan soup recipes, you’ll also love this Vegan Tomato Soup, Creamy Parsnip Soup with Roasted Garlic, Butternut Squash and Apple Soup and this Feel Good Red Lentil Soup!
How to Store Vegan Potato Leek Soup
Leftover potato leek soup will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (and become even more flavorful overtime!), or can be stored in the freezer in jars or an airtight container for up to 2 months.
When freezing in glass jars, take note of your particular jar’s freezer line. Filling the jar above this line can cause the jar to crack under pressure because soups expand as they freeze.
Reheat leftover soup in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stovetop. If frozen, allow the potato leek soup to thaw in the fridge for 1-2 days, then reheat as usual.
Substitutions and Variations
- Potato options: I prefer to use gold potatoes in this recipe as they have a smoother texture once blended. Russet will work in a pinch though! Their texture is a little more dry, but if you blend it the soup should still be smooth.
- Leek substitutions: There is no good substitute for leeks here, but if leeks aren’t in season near you, frozen is a good option. Add the leeks to the pot of melted butter directly from the freezer, and sauté for an extra 3 to 5 minutes, until all of their liquid has evaporated
- Coconut milk substitution: Use equal parts full-fat oat milk, or an unsweetened vegan creamer. You can also make your own homemade cashew cream by blending 3/4 cup soaked cashews with 1 cup water.
- Oil-free option: Saute the aromatics in a splash of water or broth instead.
Recipe FAQs
It was blended for too long! Potatoes are delicate in that they can be over mashed and over blended. This causes their starches to be released and turn into a gluey, gummy mess. Blend until just smooth, then stop!
The white and light green portions of the leek are edible. The dark green stocks however are too tough and should be discarded.
Sauté them for the full 6 to 8 minutes. This helps them release their flavor and completely changes the soup.
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
Comforting Vegan Potato Leek Soup
Ingredients
- 3-4 leeks see instructions for cleaning
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegan butter
- 2 stalks of celery chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes chopped
- 4 cups vegan “chicken” flavored or vegetable broth
- 1 cup water
- 1 13.5- ounce can full-fat coconut milk (see notes for substitutions)
- Serving suggestions: chives or green onions croutons, chopped parsley, etc.
Instructions
- Prep the Leeks: Cut the root ends and dark green parts off of the leeks, leaving only the tender white and light green parts. Cut each leek in half lengthwise, then run under water until clean, making sure to check the outer few layers of the leek for hidden dirt. Chop into ¼” pieces. Prepare the remaining ingredients, if you haven’t already
- Sauté Aromatics: Melt the butter in a dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped leeks along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté for 6 to 8 minutes, until the leeks are translucent and their volume has reduced by half. Add the celery, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, and additional salt and pepper (I used ½ teaspoon of each) to the pot and sauté for an additional 2 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant.
- Simmer: Add the potatoes, broth, coconut milk, and water to the pot and stir well. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to medium and maintain a simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- Blend: Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth, or carefully transfer the soup to a blender with a venting lid and blend until smooth. I prefer my soup to be smooth, but you can leave a portion of it unblended for a chunkier texture, if you wish. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste if necessary. If the soup is too thick for your liking, thin it out with more water or broth.
- Serve: Serve warm, topped with chopped chives, parsley, celery leaves, or croutons. Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or can be stored in the freezer in jars or airtight containers for up to 2 months.
Recipe Notes
- Coconut Milk: I don’t find that there is a big coconut taste in this recipe after simmering. That being said, you can also use equal parts full-fat oat milk, or an unsweetened vegan creamer. You can also make your own homemade cashew cream by blending 3/4 cup soaked cashews with 1 cup water.
Just amazing all around!!
Thank you, Lorena!
I just made this! Besides prep cutting up the ingredients it was really easy and tasty! I was a little bit worried the coconut milk coconut flavor would come out in the soup but I cannot taste it at all! This was really great thank you Caitlin!
Glad you loved it, Morgan!
I made this soup tonight and it was really good. My husband even approved and he’d like a piece of meat now and then. I’ll definitely be making this one again.
I meant to give it 5 stars!
Can I use dry thyme instead of a fresh thyme. I couldn’t find the fresh thyme at the grocery store. If yes, how much. Planning on making this tomorrow.
A good rule of thumb is 1 tablespoon fresh herbs = 1 teaspoon dried herbs
Absolutely love this soup. The combination of the different flavours is just perfect!
Glad you love it, Ulli! Thank you for the review.
Topped this with your smoky tempeh! It was perfect for a cold day.
Glad you liked it, Sarah!
I made this for lunch today. Perfect for a gray drizzly day; warm, delicious and very comforting. This is going on my favorites list.
Thanks so much!
You’re welcome, Susan!
This recipe is delicious. My son’s girlfriend who is a lifelong Vegan loved it and my no -Vegan family loved it , as well! It tastes like a combination of baked potatoes with gravy and my daughter said it reminded her of clam chowder without the clams! Lol! Keep those yummy recipes coming!
So happy everyone loved it, Caren!
Hi there! Love your recipes! I’ve tried quite a few! Have you tried the potato leek soup in the instant pot? Just curious?! Thanks!
Thank you, Vidya! We have yet to try it in an instant pot.
This is exactly what I needed on a cold day! Definitely going to be a winter staple for me. Thanks, Caitlin!
You’re very welcome 🙂
I very rarely eat soup, let alone make it myself, but this recipe really stood out to me and it made me crave something warm and comforting. I picked up the ingredients almost immediately and made it last night and it was AMAZING!! I used coconut milk and a little bit of coconut cream and it didn’t clash with the vegetable flavors at all. Can’t wait to make this again. 🙂
So happy to hear that!
This looks so easy! Going to the store and making this today for dinner, thanks Caitlin!
Hope you enjoyed!