Cozy, satisfying and easy to make, this Vegan Potato and Leek Soup is pure comfort food. It’s great for dinner, meal prep, leftovers, freezing, picky eaters, you name it. And if you don’t like leeks, it’s just as easy to substitute onions or leave them out.
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Hey Internet, it’s only the third week of September but my stomach is already ready for soup season. There’s just something about a cozy bowl of soup.
And while I already have a good amount of soup recipes on my blog, there’s always room for more.
I was craving soup the other day. A rich, decadent, starchy yet smooth soup. One I could load with goodies on top.
Enter the vegan potato and leek soup. I love potatoes. I love leeks. I love soup.
And these things all together make an incredible soup, especially when you top them with chives, vegan cheddar shreds, freshly cracked black pepper, and--best of all--homemade vegan bacon bits.
Anyway, this soup recipe is one of my new favorites. It’s extremely easy to make, comes together in less than 30 minutes, and it is SO THICK and luscious.
It’s one of those stick-to-your ribs type meals.
And as I mentioned above, if you don’t like leeks, you can just make it a regular vegan potato soup. Use sweet or yellow onions, or none at all if you’re not an onion person.
You can also use any potatoes you’d like. Try it with golds, baby reds, or even sweet potatoes. I think this flavor profile would go with anything.
OK. I’m SOUPER excited for this recipe. Sorry about that.
What You’ll Need
- Vegan butter: Optional, but if you want a rich base for your soup, I highly recommend sauteing your leeks in vegan butter. The taste is out of this world. But if you are oil-free, just saute these in a little extra broth or a splash of water.
- Leeks: If you want a vegan potato and leek soup, you’ll need leeks. I LOVE leeks and they’re absolutely perfect in this application. However, if you don’t like them or can’t find them, sweet or yellow onions will work, or you can just skip this altogether if you’re not an onion fan.
- Garlic: Fresh minced garlic is best so you can get that great base of flavor.
- Flour: Optional, this really helps thicken the soup later on, but you only need a small amount of it. Gluten-Free all purpose flour will also work here.
- Potatoes: I used russet potatoes but gold potatoes would be super creamy and also a good choice. Actually I think any potatoes would work, even sweet potatoes. If you want a really smooth texture, I do recommend peeling your potatoes, though the skin of gold or baby/new potatoes is so thin you could leave that on.
- Vegan chicken broth: My go-to vegan chicken broth is Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base because it tastes SO GOOD. Other vegan chicken bouillon products (like Orrington Farms) will work, as will prepared vegan chicken broth (like Imagine). Vegetable broth will also work fine.
- Bay leaf: I used a large bay leaf in this recipe and it imparts so much flavor. We’ll take it out before blending the soup, though!
- Fresh thyme sprigs: Again, adds so much flavor and gets removed before blending. You can substitute dried thyme if you like, but you won’t be able to remove that before blending, which is fine, of course.
- Salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
- Canned coconut milk: Canned full fat coconut milk (adds an incredibly subtle sweetness and a lush, creamy, velvety texture to the soup. It does NOT make the soup taste like coconut. You can substitute a thicker carton milk like cashew milk, or you can blend up some soaked cashews or sunflower seeds with some hot water to make a cream sauce to mix in.
How to Clean Leeks
- We’re using fresh leeks in this recipe and they can be quite dirty.
- The way I like to clean them is first give them a good rinse in the sink, then chop them into half inch disks. Cut those disks in half and add everything to a bowl.
- For this recipe we are not using the dark green bits, only the base of the leek which is white and light green. You can save the other bits for a stir fry or something else, if you’d like.
- Fill the bowl of chopped leeks with water and gently mush them around in it, separating all the pieces with your fingers.
- Now let the leeks soak while you prep your other veggies, or for 5-10 minutes. Drain them well and they are ready to use.
How to Make Vegan Potato and Leek Soup
- In a large nonstick pot, start by melting the vegan butter over medium high heat. If not cooking with oil, skip to the next step.
- Add the chopped, rinsed, and drained leeks to the pot and stir well with the vegan butter, or if not cooking with oil just add a splash of broth or water to keep the leeks from sticking or browning. We just want them to soften and get a little bit translucent. Cook for about 5 minutes.
- Still over medium high heat, add the garlic and cook for a minute more.
- If using, sprinkle the flour over the leeks and garlic in an even layer. Stir immediately and constantly for about 30 seconds until you don’t see any powdery bits remaining.
- Add the potatoes, broth, bay leaf, and thyme springs. Add salt and freshly cracked black pepper (but use less than you think you’ll need, you can add more later). Stir gently and bring to a boil.
- When it has come to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer--small bubbles. Cook uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. They don’t need to be soft enough to mash--in fact, don’t let them overcook because they can then turn a bit slimy when blended.
- Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs and blend the soup with an immersion blender until thick and creamy. You can leave some chunks or blend it smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, carefully blend the soup in a countertop blender in batches. You can blend all or just some of the soup if you like it a little chunky.
- Add the coconut milk and stir well. Add more salt and pepper if needed and serve.
- Top with chives or green onion, vegan cheddar shreds and vegan bacon bits or whatever else you like. Enjoy!
- Refrigerate leftover soup in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days. If it thickens too much, dilute with a bit of broth, but it often loosens when you reheat it even without the broth. If you’d like to freeze it, let it cool a little then freeze in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
More Vegan Soup Recipes
- Vegan Beef Stew
- Vegan Stew with Dumplings
- Butternut Squash Carrot Ginger Soup
- Vegan Tom Kha Soup
- Vegan Cream of Chicken Soup
- Tomato Soup with Vegan Grilled Cheese
- Vegan Matzo Ball Soup
- Creamy Mushroom Lasagna Soup (weird but good!)
- Corn Chowder
- Vegan Double Chicken Noodle Soup
- Hearty Lentil Vegetable Soup
Anything Else?
As always, I hope you love this recipe--I know I do, and Mr. Zardyplants does too. It’s rare that we’ll both lick the bowl, but we did!
We had a lot of leftovers from testing this recipe a few times to make sure it was perfect for you, and every day we were excited to eat more of the leftovers--it is quite a feat to make Mr. Zardyplants like leftovers so much!
This Vegan Potato and Leek Soup is:
- Cozy
- Rich
- Creamy
- Savory
- Luscious
- Velvety
- Satisfying
- And perfect for a weeknight dinner, meal prep, or a holiday meal. It’s a crowd pleaser!
Let me know in the comments below if you make this recipe or tag me @Zardyplants on Instagram so I can see your beautiful recreations! If you tag me on IG, I will share your post in my stories :)
Also, one quick request: if you love how this recipe looks or tastes, please leave me a 5-star rating and a nice comment–ratings help more people find my recipes which helps me keep providing them! Thank you!
<3 Liz
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Vegan Potato and Leek Soup
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 cups 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Cozy, satisfying and easy to make, this Vegan Potato and Leek Soup is pure comfort food. It’s great for dinner, meal prep, you name it.
Ingredients
Soup
- 3 tablespoons vegan butter, optional (see note 1)
- 2 medium leeks or 1 large onion, chopped, rinsed, and drained (see note 2)
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3-4 tablespoons gluten-free or regular all purpose flour, optional (see note 3)
- 3 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into ½” dice (see note 4)
- 4 cups vegan chicken broth (see note 5)
- 1 large bay leaf (or 2 small leaves)
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme (or substitute 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 14.5 oz can full fat coconut milk (see note 6)
Toppings
- Chives or green onion
- Vegan cheddar shreds
- Vegan bacon bits
Instructions
- Melt vegan butter (if using): In a large nonstick pot, start by melting the vegan butter over medium high heat. If not cooking with oil, skip to the next step.
- Cook leeks: Add the chopped, rinsed, and drained leeks to the pot and stir well with the vegan butter, or if not cooking with oil just add a splash of broth or water to keep the leeks from sticking or browning. We just want them to soften and get a little bit translucent. Cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add butter: Still over medium high heat, add the garlic and cook for a minute more.
- Add flour (if using): If using, sprinkle the flour over the leeks and garlic in an even layer. Stir immediately and constantly for about 30 seconds until you don’t see any powdery bits remaining.
- Add potatoes, broth, and seasonings: Add the potatoes, broth, bay leaf, and thyme springs. Add salt and freshly cracked black pepper (but use less than you think you’ll need, you can add more later). Stir gently and bring to a boil.
- Simmer: When it has come to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer--small bubbles. Cook uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. They don’t need to be soft enough to mash--in fact, don’t let them overcook because they can then turn a bit slimy when blended.
- Blend: Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs and blend the soup with an immersion blender until thick and creamy. You can leave some chunks or blend it smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, carefully blend the soup in a countertop blender in batches. You can blend all or just some of the soup if you like it a little chunky.
- Add coconut milk: Add the coconut milk and stir well. Add more salt and pepper if needed and serve.
- Garnish: Top off a bowl with chives or green onion, vegan cheddar shreds and vegan bacon bits or whatever else you like. Enjoy!
- Store: Refrigerate leftover soup in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days. If it thickens too much, dilute with a bit of broth, but it often loosens when you reheat it even without the broth. If you’d like to freeze it, let it cool a little then freeze in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Note 1: Optional, but if you want a rich base for your soup, I highly recommend sauteing your leeks in vegan butter. The taste is out of this world. But if you are oil-free, just saute these in a little extra broth or a splash of water.
- Note 2: If you want a vegan potato and leek soup, you’ll need leeks. I LOVE leeks and they’re absolutely perfect in this application. However, if you don’t like them or can’t find them, sweet or yellow onions will work, or you can just skip this altogether if you’re not an onion fan.
- Note 3: Optional, this really helps thicken the soup later on, but you only need a small amount of it. Gluten-Free all purpose flour will also work here.
- Note 4: I used russet potatoes but gold potatoes would be super creamy and also a good choice. Actually I think any potatoes would work, even sweet potatoes. If you want a really smooth texture, I do recommend peeling your potatoes, though the skin of gold or baby/new potatoes is so thin you could leave that on.
- Note 5: My go-to vegan chicken broth is Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base because it tastes SO GOOD. Other vegan chicken bouillon products (like Orrington Farms) will work, as will prepared vegan chicken broth (like Imagine). Vegetable broth will also work fine.
- Note 6: Canned full fat coconut milk adds an incredibly subtle sweetness and a lush, creamy, velvety texture to the soup. It does NOT make the soup taste like coconut. You can substitute a thicker carton milk like cashew milk, or you can blend up some soaked cashews or sunflower seeds with some hot water to make a cream sauce to mix in.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stove top
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Vegan, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free, Sugar-Free, Can Be Oil-Free, Vegan Potato Soup
Anna
Amazing recipe, everyone loved it! I used oat cream instead of coconut and smoky tofu instead of bacon bits. Perfect for a cold evening - will definitely be making this again!!
★★★★★