Leek and Celery Soup (One Pot)

Why We Love This Recipe

• Quick and easy one-pot preparation: Making this leek and celery soup is as easy as softening the vegetables, adding everything else to the pot, cooking it for a bit, then blending it up. You can do it all in one pot and a blender (or immersion blender).
• Lots of vegetables: By looking at the ingredient shot below, you can see that this soup is absolutely packed with potatoes, leeks, and celery. It's a tasty way to get some green in your diet.
• Vegan friendly: This soup is nearly completely vegan, with just one dairy-containing ingredient (butter), that can be easily swapped out for a plant-based butter.
• Naturally gluten free: Thanks to the potatoes, we don't need any flour to help this soup achieve a creamy texture.
• Great way to use up leeks and celery: Look, we've all thrown out celery we had great intentions for, but ended up sitting in the bottom of our fridge. We also love the taste of leeks, but it can be hard to fit them into a recipe. This soup is a great way to use them!

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make this leek and celery soup:

Ingredient Notes

• Leeks: Be sure to use just the bulb and lower portion of the leaves. Though some people enjoy them, the greener upper portion of leeks is pretty tough and can be left out of this soup. One more thing about leeks - they grow in layers in sandy soil, so the best way to prep them is to cut the upper greens off, then cut the leek in half lengthwise, and let them soak or run them under water while using your thumb to "flip" the layers like the edge of a book.
• Celery: Don't use the tough, lower portion of the celery.
• Potatoes: We used Yukon gold potatoes. When cooked and blended, they add a silky creaminess to the soup. You could also use fingerling potatoes or russet potatoes. We don't suggest using red potatoes, as they can have a gummy texture once blended.
• Vegetable broth: If you're using a low sodium broth, be sure to taste your soup before serving and adjust your salt levels accordingly. You can also use chicken broth in this recipe if you're not trying to make it vegan or vegetarian.
• Butter: To make this soup vegan, just swap out the butter for vegan butter.
• Parsley: We used fresh parsley in this recipe. If you'd like to substitute for dry, keep in mind that 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs is equal to 1 teaspoon of dry herbs.
• Thyme: We used fresh thyme in this recipe.

How to Make Leek and Celery Soup

(1) Add olive oil to a soup pot over medium heat. Once the oil is heated, add the leeks and shallots and cook for until the leeks begin to soften, about 7 minutes. Be sure to stir frequently to prevent over browning, which will make the leeks bitter. 

(2) Add garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes, and then stir in the butter, celery, potatoes, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper.

(3)  Cook for an additional 7 minutes, stirring every minute or two.

(4) Pour in the vegetable broth and lemon juice and bring the soup to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium low, cover, and let the soup simmer for 25 minutes.

(5) Use a high speed, heat safe blender or an immersion blender to purée the soup until it's smooth and creamy.

Tips and FAQs

• Storage: let the soup cool to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for 5 days. Reheat in a small saucepan over medium heat.
• Freezer storage: Let the soup cool completely before transferring to an airtight, freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 6 months. To reheat, defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then heat over medium in a saucepan.
• Make it vegan: Just be sure to use vegetable broth and swap out the butter for a non dairy butter of your choice.
• Garnish: Top with chopped celery greens, some more thyme and parsley, some ground pepper and a swirl of (nondairy or regular) cream. You could also add a drizzle of olive oil on top, and little sprinkle of cheese.
• Immersion blender vs. regular blender: A regular blender will result in the smoothest, creamiest soup. That said, an immersion blender tends to be an easier option – It saves you from creating an extra dirty dish to wash, and you don't have to transfer the soup to another container to blend. If using a regular blender, just make sure to be careful and let the soup cool a bit, as the steam from hot soup can create pressure in an airtight blender.
• Variations and substitutions: For extra plant-based protein, consider blending in a can of drained white beans. They won't change the texture much (it just might be a touch thicker), and they will add to the creaminess. You can also play around with adding in different vegetables, like corn, spinach, kale, zucchini, etc.
• Serve with:
  • Asparagus Potato Salad
  • Vegan Cornbread
  • Vegan Tuna Melt
  • Vegan Garlic Bread

How do you prep leeks?

In most traditional culinary preparations, you should remove the tough, dark green leaves and just use the light green and white bulb. The dark green section tends to be much tougher and more bitter, which is why it's often not used. (However, you can use it in homemade vegetable broth!)

That being said, it's not unsafe to eat the dark green section – it just needs a little extra cooking time to soften. If you decide to use it, you'll just need to sauté the leeks for longer (probably 15+ minutes).

Can you make this soup in a slow cooker?

Yes! Start by sautéing the shallots, leeks and garlic in oil as stated in the recipe below. Then, add all ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-5 hours. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth.

More Soup Recipes to Enjoy

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