Leek and Potato Soup (No Cream)

This Leek and Potato Soup is a fantastic soup recipe for any time of the year! It’s so creamy and delicious, but wait, there’s NO cream!? That’s right folks! No cream! It gets its silkiness from a secret ingredient…cauliflower.

It’s delicious hot, but you can also enjoy it in the summer months by serving it chilled too. For a heartier soup that serves as a meal try my Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup or my Chicken Tortellini Soup. For a potato soup with a little more protein try my Potato Cheddar Bacon Soup Recipe 

Leek and Potato soup in a bowl with chives and croutons

Recipe Pairing Ideas:

Chives, Potatoes, chicken broth, herbs and seasonings on a counter
This leek and potato soup is creamy and delicious but contains no cream!

 Leek and Potato Soup Video Demo

 

An Easy Weeknight Soup Recipe

  • The best way to make this simple soup is to use the freshest ingredients possible, nothing frozen because you’ll get the best flavor that way.
  • In a large pot, you’ll sauté the leeks, celery, onions and garlic in olive oil.
  • It’s the combination of theses four ingredients that will give your soup great flavor and prevent it from becoming bland. 
  • If you have ever experienced bland potato soup, chances are it was missing the celery and the garlic! These two vegetables can make any bland soup more flavorful. 
  • Then add the potatoes, cauliflower, and chicken broth, cover, and simmer until the vegetables are tender.
  • Then you’ll blend and season and that’s it!
  • If your soup is too thick, thin it out with some more chicken broth. 
  • This soup also reheats beautifully, so you can make a big batch of it on Sunday to last throughout the week!
sliced cauliflower florets on a cutting board
Cauliflower is the secret ingredient to make a creamy soup without cream

How To Make a Creamy Soup without Cream?

  • The secret ingredient to a fantastic creamy soup without cream, is cauliflower. I’m convinced it is a “wonder vegetable”.
  • There’s just so much you can do with it! It’s fantastic in the air fryer too. Try my Air Fryer Cauliflower Recipe as a side dish.
  • And one of my favorite things to do with it is put it in soups as a replacement for cream. It’s the most genius little trick.
  • It’s a trick I also use in my Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup and Creamy Corn Soup to make them extra creamy, without dairy and it works wonders!
a red Dutch oven filled with tender potatoes, leeks and chicken broth
Once the cauliflower is cooked and blended it takes on a creamy, silky texture!

Cauliflower Provides the Creamy Texture

  • Cauliflower has the most incredible texture once cooked, which is why I like to use it. 
  • There isn’t much flavor, which is OK because the leeks, celery, onions, and garlic take care of that.
  • The cauliflower’s real purpose is to deliver the texture.
  • Cauliflower is also the secret ingredient in my Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup.
sliced leeks for a soup recipe
It’s best to cut leeks into thin rounds for this soup

Easiest Way to Cut Leeks For Soup?

  • For this soup, I like to cut the leeks into little wheels and not get any fussier than that.
  • Especially since we are going to blend this soup so it really doesn’t matter all that much.
  • Just be sure to rinse them well, to remove the dirt at the roots and sometimes in between the layers as well. 
  • I only use the white parts for this soup, but you can save the green parts in a Ziploc bag in the freezer, for chicken stock.
  • If you have leftover leeks put them to good use in my Mini Leek and Cheese Quiche Recipe!
Potatoes cut into cubes on a cutting board
Cut potatoes into cubes to help them cook faster

Prepping the Potatoes to Cook Faster

  • The best potatoes to use are russet potatoes, because they are a starchy potato.
  • If you use a waxy potato like a Yukon Gold, or Red New Potato, your soup will become too gluey. 
  • Your potatoes will cook quicker if you dice them into cubes first.
  • It also makes them easier to blend and will produce a creamier, silkier soup too.
  • It takes a bit more prep time to do it this way, but what you’ll save on cook time and the creamy texture you’ll get, makes it work it.

Chicken vs. Vegetable Broth?

  • I like to use chicken broth for this soup because I think it creates a richer flavor, but to make a vegan leek and potato soup you can use vegetable broth.
  • If I’m out of both, I’ve also made this soup with water too! You may just have to add a bit more salt if using water.
  • Once the vegetables are tender transfer the soup to a blender. Puree the soup in batches until smooth and creamy.
  • At this stage, if your soup is too thick you can add some more chicken or vegetable stock.  After your soup is blended transfer the soup into a cleaned-out stockpot.
Bread cubes in a bowl with olive oil and garlic
Garlicky croutons are easily made with just a few ingredients and baked

Seasoning and Garnishing

  • Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste and then ladle it into your soup bowls. 
  • I like to garnish this soup with freshly snipped chives and garlic croutons.
  • Some freshly cracked black pepper, or a little white pepper is also great too!

Can you freeze this soup?

  • Yes! This soup freezes beautifully. It will last for at least 2 months in the freezer. It’s best to freeze individual portions and then microwave to reheat.
  • This soup is a fantastic first course for a dinner party but also makes a terrific weeknight meal or lunch too.
a white soup bowl filled with potato leek soup
Top the soup with freshly sniped chives and toasty garlicky croutons

You May Also Enjoy These Soup Recipes:

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a tight shot of a leek and potato soup with chives and croutons

Leek and Potato Soup (No Cream)

Yield: serves 8
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

A Leek and Potato Soup (no cream). This decadent soup gets its creaminess from cauliflower!

Ingredients

for soup

  • 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 4 leeks, white parts only
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 2 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • ½ cup (75 g) of cauliflower
  • 4 cups (950 ml) of chicken broth
  • 1 tsp (6 g) salt
  • ¼ tsp (1.5 g) pepper
  • 2 tbsp (30 ml) chives, minced

for croutons:

  • 1 small baguette, sliced and chopped (about 2 cups)
  • 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. In a large stock pot sauté the onion, celery, leeks, and garlic until soft and fragrant. Add potatoes, cauliflower and chicken broth. Simmer until fork tender about 10 mins.
  2. Puree soup in batches until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with fresh chives and croutons.
  3. For the croutons:
  4. Slice baguette in round slices and then slice in bite sized chunks. Toss with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Bake at 375F (190 C) for 5-10 mins until golden brown.
  5. Top soup with freshly snipped chives and croutons.

Notes

This soup freezes beautifully too! Just separate out into single serving freezer-safe containers and store in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Anytime you have left over baguettes or rustic bread. Cut them into cubes and place in a resealable plastic bag and store in your freezer.  That way you'll always have bread for croutons "at-the-ready"!

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 258Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 769mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 4gSugar: 6gProtein: 8g
Brownie cake scooped into a mug with ice cream

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11 Comments

  1. Sprinkled this with bacon rather than croutons for 4 veggie-adverse grandkids and one of my adult kids who also hates any veg. Called it french fry bacon soup and the bowls were literally licked clean! I do need to find a broth with a deeper color as it otherwise is 100% white ingredients! One of the best cream soups I’ve ever eaten and I plan on serving it for a spring luncheon. (In fact, 90% of the menu comes from your site!)

  2. Made this tasty and light potato leek soup for lunch! DELICIOUS!
    Thanks for sharing! It’s a keeper!

  3. Thank you soooo much for posting this. It is the best potato and leek soup I’ve ever had . I love that it’s not full of fatty cream/creme fraiche that reduces storage too.
    I’ve made it 3 times so far, and shared the recipe by popular demand.
    I also add some dried basil, oregano amd thyme

      1. This soup recipe reminded me of one my Grand mother did and I loved!!!! The one spice she used was Nutmeg….. I will try it with it! 🙂 thank you Beth for all your great recipes!!!

        1. I usually keep it in the fridge for 3 days and then freeze it in glass individual portions after that and then microwave as needed. It freezes and reheats really well! Thin with broth if needed after reheating 🙂