Creamy Potato Leek Soup Recipe

When the weather starts dipping down into lower temperatures, it's time to reach for comfort food. And soups are definitely at the tops of our minds. But let's face it, not just any soup will do. On a chilly fall or winter night, it's all about stews, creamy chowders, and hearty soups. And this creamy potato leek soup falls perfectly into that category. 

Potatoes serve as the hearty base for this soup, but it's dressed up with plenty of flavorful vegetables. Of course, garlic, onion, and shallot play a part, but it's their cousin, the leeks, that are truly the star of the show. 

This soup is made up of simple, easy ingredients and only takes a few minutes of prep. However, don't let the easy steps fool you. The results are delicious. "It's an incredibly flavorful soup to enjoy on its own," says recipe developer and food photographer Petar Marshall. "But it's just asking to be piled high with toppings as well including sour cream, cheese, and scallions to make it that much better." 

The first step to making this comforting soup is to grab all of the ingredients and put them out on the counter. For this creamy potato leek soup recipe, you'll need cooking oil, six small red potatoes, three cloves of garlic, one shallot, half of an onion, three small leeks, two bouillon cubes, one (13.5-ounce) can of full-fat coconut milk, and salt and pepper to taste.

"The coconut milk doesn't really add any coconut flavor to the soup," says Marshall. "However, you could swap it out for half-and-half or heavy cream, if desired."

To garnish the soup, you'll need sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and chopped scallions.

To get started on making this creamy potato leek soup, prep all of the vegetables first. The potatoes should be cut into chunks so they can cook easily. Mince the garlic, chop the onion into small pieces, and dice the shallot.

For the leeks, remove the root end first. Then, chop the leeks into small pieces.

Next up, it's time to sauté all of the vegetables. You can do this directly in your Dutch oven or use a large saucepan.

Heat up your cooking oil in a saucepan on medium heat. Add in the garlic, shallot, onion, and leeks. Sauté and cook the vegetables until tender and caramelized, about 3 to 5 minutes. "This serves as the base of flavor for the soup," says Marshall. Get ready — your house is about to smell delicious! 

Once the vegetables have been cooking for a few minutes, add in the chunks of potatoes to allow them to brown slightly for about 2 minutes.

With the vegetables on their way to being cooked, it's time to put the soup on the stove. If you sautéed the vegetables in a saucepan, add a bit of water to the pan to release the flavorful vegetables from the pan and transfer them to a Dutch oven or soup pot. Once all of the vegetables are added, dissolve the bouillon cubes in 1 cup of water, and add it to the pot. Next up, add in additional water so you fill the pot just to the top of the vegetables. With everything in the pot, allow the soup to simmer for at least 30 minutes. This will give the potatoes times to break down and become tender.

Once the soup has simmered for 30 minutes, pour the can of coconut milk into the soup. As you stir in the coconut milk, use a large spoon to break apart the potatoes along the way, and it'll become nice and creamy. "You can use an immersion blender if desired, but I find that the potatoes break down enough on their own with this method, so there's no need," says Marshall. After adding the coconut milk, allow the soup to set for another 10 minutes on medium-low heat before serving it.

Dish the soup up into bowls and top each bowl with sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and chopped scallions.