Leek and potato soup, lightened up: sour cream and Parmesan give it all the creaminess you want, no heavy cream required. Topped with fried leek greens and garlicky croutons for the best textures.
Jump to: ℹ️ Overview | 🛒 Ingredients | 📷 How To Make | 📹 Watch The Video | 👩🍳 Recipe Tips | 🥗 Serving Suggestions | 📝Full Recipe Card | 🍽 More Recipes You Might Like
At A Glance
- ⏱ Ready In: 30 minutes
- 🍽 Serves: 4-6
- 🌱 Diet: Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan-adaptable.
- 💪 Nutrition Highlights: Good source of fibre and potassium from potatoes; protein boost from Parmesan.
- 🥕 Main Ingredients: Leeks, potatoes, Parmesan, light sour cream, sourdough.
- 🔥 Flavor Profile: Velvety, savory, gently sweet from leeks, with a little tang from sour cream.
- 🧊 Meal-Prep Friendly: Keeps 4 days in the fridge, freezes well (without the sour cream/Parmesan added, ideally)
- 🥖 Best Served With: Crusty bread, extra pepper or Everything Bagel seasoning.
There are a lot of leek and potato soup recipes out there, but this is my lightened-up version, and it’s the one I keep coming back to. Vegeta stock powder gives it a savory depth that plain stock cubes don’t quite manage, and swapping heavy cream for light sour cream keeps things lighter while still giving that creamy, tangy finish.
Blended potato starch does most of the heavy lifting for texture here, so you’re not relying on cream at all to get that velvety consistency. And here’s the fun part: I use every bit of the leek, frying the dark green tops into a crispy, oniony topping, and piling on garlicky sourdough croutons for crunch. It’s easily made vegan too; just skip the sour cream and Parmesan, or add nutritional yeast and a dairy-free yogurt instead.
👩🍳 You might also like these soup recipes: butternut squash and sweet potato soup, borscht soup, high protein butternut squash soup, watercress soup, turmeric zucchini soup, and make sure to check out these leek recipes.
What You’ll Need
Here is what you’ll need for this leek and potato soup recipe. Find the full measurements in the recipe card below.
- Leeks – use the white and pale green parts for the soup base, and save the dark green tops for frying into a crispy garnish
- Butter – for sautéing the leeks; swap for olive oil if needed
- Garlic – for extra depth
- White potatoes – the starch here is what gives the soup its creaminess, even without cream
- Vegeta stock powder – adds umami; stock cubes or vegetable/chicken stock work too
- Black pepper and nutmeg – nutmeg is subtle but adds a lovely warmth
- Parmesan – adds savoury depth and a little protein; omit or use nutritional yeast for vegan
- Light sour cream – for creaminess and tang without the heaviness of cream
- Sourdough bread – for the croutons; great use for slightly stale bread
- Green onions or chives – for serving
How To Make Leek And Potato Soup
Find the full recipe and nutritional information below. Here’s the rundown:
- Wash the leeks well between the layers, then slice the white and pale green parts (for the soup) and the dark green tops (for frying) separately.
- Melt the butter in a large pot, add the sliced white and pale green leeks with a little salt, and cook 4–5 minutes until soft.
- Add the potatoes, garlic, pepper, nutmeg and Vegeta stock powder, stir, then pour in the water. Bring to a boil, then simmer about 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
- Off the heat, stir the Parmesan and sour cream into the soup, then blend until smooth and creamy.
- While the soup simmers, toss the sourdough cubes with olive oil, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and salt, then bake or air-fry until golden.
- Pan-fry the reserved leek tops in a little oil until soft and golden.
- Serve topped with the crispy leeks, croutons and a sprinkle of green onions or chives.
Watch The Video
Recipe Tips
- Blend the soup until just smooth and silky — don’t overblend, as it can turn a little gloggy (over-blended potato can get gluey from the starch breaking down too much)
- Make it vegan by skipping the Parmesan and sour cream, or add nutritional yeast and a dairy-free yogurt instead.
- Storage: keeps 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
- Freezing: freezes well, best without the sour cream and Parmesan already mixed in (stir in fresh after reheating).
- Don’t skip the fried leek tops. They’re a genuinely simple way to use the whole vegetable and add a lot of flavor for very little effort.
Serving Suggestions
This is the kind of soup I want with warm crusty bread for mopping up the bowl, though the croutons already do a lot of that work. A simple green salad on the side keeps things light if you’re serving it as a starter, or bulk it up with a piece of grilled fish or chicken for a full dinner.
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Video
Ingredients
For the soup & fried leeks
- 1 oz butter 30 grams
- 2 leeks washed and sliced (white/pale green and dark green tops separated)
- ⅓ teaspoon salt
- 2 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 1.65 lbs white potatoes, peeled and cubed 750 grams
- 1 tablespoon Vegeta stock powder or equivalent stock cubes
- ½ teaspoon black pepper cracked
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 liter water 34 fl oz
- 1 cup grated Parmesan about 60 grams / 2 oz
- 5.3 oz light sour cream 150 grams
- 1 tablespoon oil for frying leek tops
For the croutons
- 5.3 oz sourdough bread, cubed 150 grams
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ⅓ teaspoon salt
- To serve: chopped green onions or chives
Instructions
- Cut the white and pale green parts off the leeks and wash thoroughly under cold water, rinsing between the layers to remove any dirt. Pat dry. Wash and dry the darker green tops separately.
- Slice the white and pale green parts for the soup. Thinly slice the dark green tops and set aside for the crispy topping.
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the sliced white and pale green leeks and salt. Cook 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and fragrant (not browned). A lid on top will speed this up.
- While the leeks cook, peel and dice the potatoes and chop the garlic.
- Add the potatoes and garlic to the pot, then sprinkle in the pepper, nutmeg and Vegeta stock powder (or stock cubes). Stir, then add the water. If using stock instead, omit the Vegeta. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook about 15 minutes until the potatoes are completely tender.
- Meanwhile, toss the sourdough cubes with olive oil, salt, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Spread on a tray and bake at 180°C/350°F until golden and crisp, tossing halfway, or air-fry at 190°C for 5–7 minutes, stirring a couple of times.
- Heat the oil in a small pan over medium-high heat and fry the reserved dark green leek tops, stirring often, until soft and golden.
- Remove the soup from the heat. Stir in the Parmesan and sour cream, then blend until just smooth and silky using a stick blender (or carefully in batches in a stand blender) — don't overblend, as it can turn gloggy. Reheat gently if needed.
- Ladle into bowls and top with the fried leeks, croutons, and chopped green onions or chives. Extra cracked pepper or Everything Bagel seasoning is a nice finish.
Notes
- Can I make this without a blender? You’ll lose the smooth texture, but you can mash it roughly with a potato masher for a chunkier soup.
- Can I use regular cream instead of sour cream? Yes, though you’ll lose the slight tang; heavy cream or crème fraîche both work.
- Is this soup gluten-free? Yes, as long as you skip the croutons or use gluten-free bread.
Nutrition
This was so good! I didn’t have sour cream so used light cream which I had on hand and added a little yoghurt. Looking forward to leftovers today.
Thanks so much!
Made this for dinner tonight, easy to make and very tasty. Will try with a lighter coloured stock powder next time as mine was a liquid stock which was dark brown in colour.
Thanks 🙂