The delicious comfort food of potato leek soup is enhanced with roasted garlic and creamy starchy potatoes. This soup is perfect for a cool fall evening.
What potatoes are starchy?
I use high-starch potatoes in this potato leek soup. The most common would be Russets, the oblong-shaped potatoes you use for baking. These make the best baked or mashed potatoes because they are so fluffy when cooked.
These potatoes are dry so they soak up the flavor of the soup leaving them moist and delicious.
How do you roast garlic?
One of the secrets to making this recipe go from good to amazing is the roasted garlic. Yes, it takes a few extra steps and time, but it’s worth it for the deep rich flavor it produces. Garlic goes into the oven crunchy, with biting flavor and emerges soft and almost sweet.
Learn how to roast garlic now and you will be adding this secret ingredient to everything. Plus, you can store it in the refrigerator for three to four days.
- Peel off the outer layer on the garlic bulb but leave all the cloves attached to each other.
- Slice the top off the garlic so that the interior cloves are exposed
- Drizzle olive oil inside each clove
- Put the bulbs in a cocotte (Dutch oven) or wrap them in foil
- Cook for 40-50 minutes in an oven at 400 degrees.
- The cloves will pop right out of the skin after being roasted
How do you blend this soup?
This soup should be creamy. Using starchy potatoes will help with this. Russet potatoes are the kind that make smooth creamy mashed potatoes. Your soup will have this texture as well.
You will want to blend it all together after you have cooked it. You have two options to do this.
- The easiest way is to use an immersion blender. Even while the soup is still hot, you can put your immersion blender right into the pot and puree it.
- Use a regular kitchen blender. You will have to do this in two or three batches. Only fill the blender about half way each time and cover it with a towel rather than the plastic lid. That way the hot soup will not build up as much pressure and explode the top off the blender.
How long does potato leek soup last in the refrigerator?
You can keep leftover potato leek soup in the refrigerator for three to four days. The flavor gets even better after it sits for awhile!
Can you freeze potato leek soup?
Potato leek soup freezes very well. It will keep in the freezer for two to three months and is an easy way to store leftover soup.
You can also make this ahead of time and divide it into individual portions. Meal prepping in this way will provide you with several servings of potato leek soup with no prep time the day you want to eat it.
To reheat, let it thaw in the refrigerator then reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Creamy Potato Leek Soup
Ingredients
- 1 bulb garlic
- 1 large leek
- 2 lbs white starchy potatoes - the ones used for mashed potatoes
- 6 cups flavorful chicken broth
- sea salt
- pepper
- 6 strips bacon
- parsley
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400 F (200°C).
- Peel off the paper-like outer layer of the garlic bulb, leaving intact the skins of the individual cloves and being careful to keep the bulb as a whole.
- Cut the top part of the garlic in order to expose the upper part of every clove (see video).
- Drizzle a few drops of oil onto each clove.
- Place garlic bulb in cocotte and cover (or lack thereof wrap in aluminum foil).
- Put garlic in the preheated oven for about 40-50 minutes or until cloves are soft and golden and caramelized. They should pop right out of their skins (see video).
- Crisp bacon on a baking sheet for 20-25 minutes at the same time.
- Wash and slice leek.
- Preheat a big pot over medium heat.
- Once hot, add a splash of avocado oil and add sliced leek. Reduce heat to medium-low.
- Caramelize leek on medium-low heat by stirring often. This takes about 15 minutes.
- While leek is caramelizing and in-between stirring peel and dice potatoes into about 1" (2.5cm) cubes.
- Once leek is caramelized, add broth and peeled diced potatoes. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low again, cover and let simmer until potatoes are cooked through.
- Once garlic is out of the oven and soft and tender and cold enough to handle, remove cloves from peel and add to bubbling soup.
- Transfer into a blender in 2-3 batches, or use an immersion blender to blend and season with more sea salt and pepper if necessary.
- Serve hot with crumbled up crispy bacon and freshly chopped parsley.
Kathy says
This recipe was so fantastic! I think the roasted garlic made the dish. I used more leeks too. Very easy. Can’t wait to make it again.
Kathy
Gabrielle says
This soup is delicious, light, and tastes even better as leftovers! The second time I made it, I doubled the leek as a preference. It was creamier and had a sharper flavour. It was a hit with my family and so inexpensive. Thanks for such a simple, yummy recipe. I plan to make it regularly now that fall is coming. 😌🍂
Ichi Tokyo says
Thanks for a simple, tasty recipe!
Karen C says
This looks delicious! Can it be done in the Instant Pot?
Lorena says
Hi Karen, I definitely think so, unfortunately I haven’t tried it yet so I can’t tell you how long it’ll need :S
Monika says
Delicious!!!
Lorena says
So glad to read you made it Monika :D
Lindsey | Lou Lou Biscuit says
Lorena, I like the way you described this soup as “kissing your belly from the inside out.” If your son is anything like you, I’m sure he’s great with words! What a great story about how much he has overcome. Very inspiring!
Also, those cocottes are ridiculously cute.
Lorena says
THank you so much for your thoughtful comment Lindsey :D Makes me so happy to know people don’t only come for the recipe but to read a little as well *joy* I LOVE those cocottes. I wish I had the money to buy them in ALL colors!!!
Leslie @ Bessie Bakes says
This soup sounds so delicious! There really is nothing better than the smell of roasted garlic wafting through the house. I could whip this up in a snap for dinner. What an awesome story about your son, I know you must be so proud! I wish I could have learned FOUR languages by the time I started school. Us adults don’t learn languages so quickly!
Lorena says
Thank you for your wonderful comment Leslie!! Yes, I am VERY proud :D And you are right, as adult it is really hard to learn a language. I grew up bilingual and started learning English at 10 years old. I am fluent in all three. My French which I didn’t start learning until I was 14 is basically non existent now :(