Hearty Potato Leek Soup
Looking for a hearty potato leek soup recipe to help preserve your potato and leek harvest for winter? Well, here you have it. This potato leek soup is sure to fill hungry bellies and stock your freezer full of garden goodness all winter long.
Once your potatoes have been dug up and you have an abundance waiting to be preserved, conveniently the leeks are ready to be harvested shortly after! Leeks are cold tolerant and will do well if left in the ground under a row cover, but once harvested you have about a week of shelf life in the refrigerator. So as I was uprooting those lovely leeks from the ground, I was thinking to myself, “What am I going to do with all these leeks?” Make potato leek soup of course!
What Are Leeks?
Leeks are part of the allium family alongside onions, shallots, garlic and scallions. They have a very mild and slightly sweeter flavor when compared to onions. You want to use the white and light green parts for cooking. You can compost the dark green tops or you can use them to make green leek powder. Leeks are known for having a lot of dirt built up in the layers, which can make some extra work of prepping them for cooking. To learn how to wash, trim, and slice leeks properly click HERE.
Is It Safe To Can This Recipe?
NO. This recipe is not safe to can, but this is a great soup to stock your freezer with. I made this soup to be on the thicker side so I can add a little more broth to it when I go to cook it. When I make this I’m usually doing a large bulk recipe therefore this helps save on freezer space a bit.
However, I do love having shelf stable, ready to go meals on hand, so I did do a batch of pressure canned potato leek soup this year. Click HERE for a safe and tested recipe.
Tools You May Need
An immersion blender is an affordable and useful tool to have in the kitchen. It will make blending this soup much easier and take way less time than a regular blender. However, if you don’t have one that is okay! You can use a regular blender working in batches. Just make sure to let your soup cool down for about 10 minutes before adding to your blender. Only fill it half way to avoid it overflowing while it’s running.
I highly recommend keeping kitchen twine on hand in the the homestead kitchen. It is a useful tool to help you simmer fresh herbs in your soup with easy removal. Just bunch the herbs together, tie them up, place them in your soup, and easily pull out when done. If you don’t have any on hand, you can still use fresh herbs, but will have to try to fish out each sprig. Kitchen twine is specifically make for this use so it is food grade, so keep that in mind if you are trying to find some other twine in your house to use instead.
Hearty Potato Leek Soup
Equipment
- Immersion blender or regular blender
- kitchen twine
Ingredients
- 2 lbs sliced leeks see note 1 below
- 5lbs lbs peeled diced potatoes Yukon Gold gives a nice creamy texture, but any variety will work. See note 2 and 3 below
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 6 stalks celery sliced
- 1 bunch fresh thyme or sub 1 TBLS dried thyme
- 1 bunch fresh sage or sub 1 TBLS dried sage
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 quarts chicken bone broth this is an extra thick recipe to save on freezer space. You can add more broth if you like a thinner consistency.
- 1 TBLS salt you can add more later to adjust to personal taste
- 1 tsp black pepper or add to taste
- 1/4 cup olive oil extra virgin or use butter if you prefer
- parsley for garnish optional
- heavy cream or coconut milk to taste optional see note 4 below
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat olive oil and sauté leeks and celery for 10 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Then, add minced garlic and stir for an additional 30 seconds.
- Add chicken broth and diced potatoes to pot and give it a good stir. Then, turn up heat and bring to a boil. Bundle fresh herbs together and tie with kitchen twine.
- Add bay leaves, bundled fresh herbs, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 20-30 mins or until potatoes are tender.
- Remove bay leaves, and herb bundle. Add heavy cream or coconut milk to your liking if using, then puree until smooth and creamy using an immersion blender.
- Garnish will fresh herbs and enjoy!
Notes
- To learn how to properly wash, cut, and trim leeks click HERE
- Peeling your potatoes will give a smoother look to your soup. Sometimes I opt to keep the peels on to save myself some time. However, you will see the bits of peel in your soup.
- I find it helpful to add my diced potatoes to a bowl of cold water as I’m prepping to prevent browning.
- Adding heavy cream or coconut milk (for dairy free) will add a nice rich, creamy consistency to your soup. However this is optional and still delicious without it. If you are freezing this recipe, I would opt to add the heavy cream or coconut milk later when you go to cook it.
I’m convinced potatoes and leeks are a combination that were just meant to be together and this recipe is a great way to help preserve your harvest. This potato leek soup recipe is not only delicious, but sure to bring warmth and comfort to you during the cold winter months. Thanks for stopping by the homestead, God bless!
