Creamy Potato Leek Soup is full of comfort food goodness (and bacon too)! I lighten up the classic recipe without sacrificing flavor or that amazing creamy texture.
Potato Leek Soup is the ultimate comfort food soup—creamy, hearty, cheesy, and delicious! What more could you ask for? Leeks can be kind of a high maintenance vegetable to handle, but it’s so worth the little extra fuss for the amazing flavor they add to potato soup. If you’ve never worked with them before, I highly recommend you check out this Creamy Leek Risotto recipe because I show you step by step how to cut and clean the leeks before using them.
What Makes This My Favorite Potato Soup
Go make this potato lek soup and be ready to receive the praise from your family as they are chowing down! Here’s why they’ll love it and you will too.
- Healthier than other recipes. I used 2% milk and Greek yogurt to make the soup creamy instead of the typical heavy cream. It’s also packed with veggies!
- So much flavor. Even though it’s lightened up, you’d never guess it. Starting the recipe with bacon infuses the whole soup with that smoky, bacon-y flavor. And then you’ll stir in cheddar cheese for extra deliciousness!
- Customizable. My kids love being able to top their bowls with any add-ons they like. (Somehow that little step of sprinkling cheese and bacon and crackers on top makes them a lot more excited about dinner!)
What You’ll Need
Here’s what you’ll need to make this creamy potato leek soup! Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- Bacon – The bacon itself adds deliciousness, but then cooking the veggies in the bacon grease left behind in the pot makes the whole soup SO flavorful. I don’t recommend skipping it—it’s the backbone of flavor here.
- Onions, carrots, and garlic – Classic aromatics for making soup.
- Leeks – Leeks have a mild onion flavor with a hint of sweetness. You’ll use only the white parts, not the dark green tops, which are too tough to eat. (You can save those for making vegetable or chicken stock, though.)
- Thyme – Fresh thyme is an awesome pairing with potatoes! You can use dried thyme if you prefer; just use 1/3 of the amount.
- Cornstarch – This helps thicken the soup since we don’t use heavy cream or flour.
- Yukon potatoes – I like using Yukon golds because they are buttery and not as starchy as Russets.
- Low sodium chicken broth – Vegetable broth also works.
- 2% milk – I use lactose-free milk, but regular is fine too.
- Plain Greek yogurt – This makes the soup creamy and also adds a little bit of tanginess.
- Cheddar cheese – Shred this yourself for the smoothest melt!
- Lemon juice – Fresh lemon juice brightens up the flavor.
- Salt & pepper
- Toppings – Shredded cheddar cheese, sliced green onions, crispy bacon, and anything else you like on your potato leek soup!
How to Make Potato Leek Soup
Let’s make some soup! Here’s what you’ll need to do.
- Cook the bacon. Crisp the bacon in a Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Transfer it to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Soften the aromatics. Stir the onions, garlic, and leeks into the pot and cook for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the next 3 ingredients. Stir in the carrots, thyme, and cornstarch and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Simmer. Add the potatoes, broth, milk, salt, and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
- Make it creamy. Stir in the yogurt and cheese, along with the lemon juice and additional salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes more.
- Finish. Stir in half of the bacon, then ladle the soup into bowls. Garnish with the remaining bacon and your desired toppings.
Tips for Perfect Potato Soup
I’ve got a few additional pointers to help you make sure your soup turns out amazing!
- Clean the leeks well. They often have dirt and grit between the layers, so take the time to wash them thoroughly.
- Cut the potatoes to the same size. When they’re the same size, they’ll all get tender at the same time. You don’t want to have some so soft they’re falling apart while others are still hard!
- Puree for extra thickness. If you’d like, you can ladle a cup or two of soup into a blender, puree it, and stir it back in for an even thicker soup.
Serving Suggestions
Pair your potato leek soup with some crusty bread for soaking up all that creamy broth! Or make it a soup and salad situation and serve it with something like my Pear Walnut Salad or Roasted Beet Salad With Goat Cheese. A sandwich would be excellent too, especially something simple like this Avocado Sandwich.
How to Store & Reheat Leftovers
- Refrigerator: Transfer leftover potato leek soup to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. I don’t recommend freezing this recipe because the potatoes will be mealy.
- To reheat: Warm the soup in a pan on the stovetop over medium heat or reheat individual bowls in the microwave.
More Soup Recipes
Potato Leek Soup
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 10–12 cups 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
This easy Creamy Potato Leek Soup is a lightened up version of the classic that’s still packed with flavor thanks to bacon and cheese!
Ingredients
- 5 strips of bacon, diced
- 1 cups of diced onions
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 cups of sliced leeks
- 1 cup of diced carrots
- 2 tablespoons of fresh thyme, diced
- 2 tablespoons of cornstarch
- 3 lbs. of yukon potoates, diced – the smaller you dice the faster they will cook (I left skin on)
- 3 cups of low sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups of lactose free 2% milk
- 1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt
- 1 cup of cheddar cheese
- 1 tablepoon of lemon juice
- salt & pepper to season
- {optional toppings: shredded cheddar cheese, sliced green onions, crispy bacon)
Instructions
- Heat a dutch oven to medium high heat, add diced bacon and cook until slightly cripsy. About 4-5 minutes.
- Remove bacon from pan and place on a plate with paper towel.
- Immediately add onions, garlic, and leeks to the bacon grease and start to saute until onions are translucent and leeks have wilted. About 4-5 minutes.
- Add in carrots, fresh thyme, and cornstarch. Stir for 2-3 minutes to incorporate cornstarch.
- Next add in potatoes, chicken broth, and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to incorporate.
- Cover and bring to a boil, turn down to a low simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Until potatoes are fork tender.
- Add in yogurt, cheddar cheese, lemon juice, and season again with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring throughout so the cheese in melted and incorporated into the soup.
- Lastly, add half the bacon to the soup and stir it in.
- Serve. Garnish with cheddar cheese, reserved crispy bacon and green onion slices.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 265
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 191 mg
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 11 g
- Cholesterol: 14 mg
54 comments on “Creamy Potato Leek Soup”
Where do I use the oil? It’s in the ingredient list but not in the steps.
Whoops. It should not be in the ingredient list. I’m so sorry. Just removed it.
Had a taste for potatoe leek soup and looked up and saw your recipe and made it.It’s amazing,my whole family loves its definitely a keeper.I will b making it a lot.thank you.I would send a pic of it but I’m not sure how to..next time,I’ll have one of my kids show me…pitch perfect is a really good movie.
awesome, so glad you liked it just as much as us! And yes for pitch perfect!!!
This looks amazing – hoping to try it out at my son’s birthday party. Can you tell me what the yield is? I’ve been looking for that on a couple of your recipes and am not seeing it – thanks!
Also, is this recipe compatible using the crock pot?
Yes definitely! I would just add everything in up to milk and set on high for 3-4 hours. After that I’d add in the rest of the ingredients and cook an additional 30 minutes.
Hey Ondria, yes, each serving is about 1 1/2 cups. Hope that helps!
I love potato soup. It is so warm and comforting and creamy. Plus the leeks are a nice touch!
Thanks Shelby, the leeks in this rock! 🙂
LOVE the look of this soup. That totally loaded topping is delicious as well…yum!
Thanks girl! Loaded is the only way to go! 🙂
Confession…I have never seen Pitch Perfect. But seems like I need to! And I want a big ol bowl of this soup to go right along with it!
WHAT!? I am in utter shocked! Ok, so for chopped con this year we are watching this movie at least one time! 🙂 With this bowl of soup! hehe
Pitch Perfect is a great movie! And this soup looks equally wonderful!!
Thanks Kathleen!
LOVE Pitch perfect! I was just quoting it the other day. haha! Great recipe too!
haha… I knew I liked you for a reason. 🙂 Thanks Kelley!
This looks so hearty and comforting especially with the cold weather here in the East Coast. I think I need to whip a soup recipe sometime this week!
This is totally the perfect soup for you then!
OH MY GOSH! I think we just became BFFS because I love Pitch Perfect! I am making sure I can see Pitch Perfect 2 on opening day!
haha… hurray! Maybe a skype call with pitch perfect needs to happen! 🙂
I hear ya about this crazy Texas weather, sandals one day and boots the next. This soup looks so hearty and delicious, I love how chunky it is.
Right! Its crazy!
We can take solace in this soup!
I love leeks! Can’t wait to try this soup, we have snow on the way in ATLANTA and this will warm everybody up at the end of the day!
Hurray! Hope you love it Valerie, I’m sure you will if your a leek lover!
Absolutely stunning photos! Makes me want to dive right in!
Thanks Kimberly Ann! You are too sweet!
Has anyone made this with yams or sweet potatoes instead of white?
I have not, I’d imagine it would be alot sweeter. But you could totally give it a try. 🙂
Oh this sounds so perfect today! It is frigid here and I am craving soup!
Awesome! Well hope this warms you up Stephanie! 🙂
YUM! This looks fantastic, and I love how you lightened it up. I definitely want to try your Leek Risotto recipe as well. Love!
Thanks Steph… kinda obsessed with leeks right now. They are sooo good! 🙂 Hope you get a chance to try this!
Oooh I love Pitch Perfect – such a great movie. And I love this soup! It looks seriously comforting, but I love that you healthified it! Also, where did you get those soup crocks? They are so perfect for serving (and photographing!) soup!
thanks Cate!
I got them at world market… kinda sort love that place for props!
Pitch Perfect is SO funny — and they’re coming out with a second one! Can’t wait to see that too! Potato soup is one of my all-time favorites — love this healthier version! Pinned 🙂
I know I can’t wait! 🙂
Thanks for the pin chica! Have a great monday!
Yes I love pitch perfect!! And number 2 is coming out, yay!! I love fat amy (hate calling her that though). She cracks me up. I also will have a favorite movie playing in the back ground. Love the noise. This soup is a total warm you up soup. Looks really yummy! I need to try this asap! I just hope we can get some cold weather here in CA. 😉 Pinned!
Hurray for pitch perfect lovers. 🙂 She’s my favorite too, seriously so funny!
Thanks for the pin girl, hope you get a chance to try the soup!
I LOVE LOVE Pitch Perfect and I can’t wait until the next one comes out. Hilarious! This soup looks so comforting and delish!
I know I can’t either! And GB Packers defensive line has a cameo in it too.. yippe!
This soup looks so inviting, and perfect with our crazy temperatures, too (today we have ANOTHER cold alert.) Cannot wait to make this for my husband!
Hurray!! We are in the cold alert right now too.. boo. Spring needs to come already. But until then I’ll keep eating my soup!
I don’t want a bowl of this, I NEED a bowl of it! And I’d love to eat it while watching Pitch Perfect again (yup, total guilty pleasure here, too).
haha.. yes you do! 🙂 And hurray for another pitch perfect fan!
Oh I am on such a soup kick lately! Must be this COLD Chicago weather. 🙂 This recipe looks delicious – and I love that you made it a healthy swap!
Oh.. chicago winters are a beast, been there done that. Go make this soup! 🙂
Krista, I’ve never seen Pitch Perfect before. . but I love musical type movies or movies where they sing a lot . . love this potato leek soup. . I make leek and potato soup like once a week here in the winter. . it’s sooo cold here in WI and this soup is my oldest daughter’s fave. love the arrowroot and 2% milk! great idea!!!
Oh my goodness.. the next time we are together that is what we are watching… instead of scandal hehe. 🙂
My heart goes out to you with the cold weather, I’ve experience WI winter and its no bueno.. go make this soup. It will make you feel better. 🙂
My husband was just requesting this type of soup!! YUM!
well I do have mind reading skills. 🙂
Yes! Pitch Perfect is a really good film. This soup looks so good. It;s still pretty cold here in the UK, so I definitely need a warming meal like this
Steph
I hope you get a chance to make this to warm you up. 🙂 Sending warm weather vibes to the UK!