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
Units
Scale
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 1/2” 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