Rich, creamy, and comforting, this vegan potato leek soup is perfect for a chilly fall or winter day. We cook leeks, potatoes, and white beans until soft and blend everything together until smooth to create a perfect silky texture without using any milk or cream.
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🥔 Why We Love This Recipe
- Perfect soup for colder weather: Leeks are in season until November, so this soup is perfect to make in the fall, when you're craving something that's warm and comforting, but still packed with fresh ingredients.
- Dairy free: If you're like us and you can't have dairy, but still miss the rich, creamy texture it lends to soups, then this recipe is perfect for you. Our family couldn't tell there was no dairy in this recipe! White beans and potatoes add that creamy, rich texture (and lots of nutrients).
- Quick and easy: This vegan potato leek soup comes together in just a few simple steps and only 12 ingredients, including oils and spices. It only takes about 30 minutes of simmering on the stovetop + a quick spin in the blender. Perfect for a weeknight meal!
- Delicious side dish: this soup is filling enough to enjoy as a lighter meal, but it's especially great as a side dish to your favorite salad, sandwich, or other main.
🥣 Ingredients
Here's everything you'll need to make this vegan potato leek soup:
📋 Ingredient Notes
- Choice of potatoes: We used Yukon gold potatoes in this soup because they're starchy, buttery and produce a perfectly creamy soup. Russet potatoes or fingerling potatoes are also viable options. We don't suggest using red potatoes, which can have a gummy, mealy texture when blended.
- Choice of beans: We used cannellini beans, but great northern beans, navy beans, or white kidney beans will work in this vegan potato leek soup. White beans are best in this recipe as they tend to be on the softer side. They allow for a creamy texture and blend well with the potatoes for a more nutritious alternative to heavy cream!
- Vegetable broth: check out this recipe and try your hand at homemade broth using vegetable scraps!
- Dijon mustard: it may sound unusual for a soup recipe, but a small amount adds that extra 'oomph' you need in a creamy soup. Same goes for white wine vinegar – both ingredients add acidity to counteract the richness of potatoes and butter.
- Celery: you can also sub with celery root (celeriac) if you have some on hand!
- Leeks: only use the light green and white part at the bottom of the leek. The dark green part is very tough and won't cook down or blend well in this soup. Leeks are central to this recipe, but if you can't find any, yellow onions or shallots are an okay alternative.
🔪 Step-by-step Instructions
(1) Melt 4 tablespoons of vegan butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Once melted, add leeks and minced garlic and stir well to coat. Cook for 6-7 minutes, until the leeks are softened.
(2) Add celery, potatoes, 1 ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
(3) Add vegetable broth, cannellini beans, and white wine vinegar to the pot. Stir well and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
(4) Carefully transfer soup to a heat safe blender. Add dijon and blend until smooth and creamy. Return soup to pot. Taste and add additional ½ teaspoon of salt if desired.
(5) Stir in remaining 2 tablespoon butter and chopped chives and serve. We love serving ours with more chopped chives, a drizzle of olive oil and black pepper. It's also great with a swirl of nondairy cream.
💭 Expert Tips and FAQs
- Wash the leeks thoroughly: Leeks grow in layers and thrive in sandy soil, so there is often sand/dirt trapped between a leek's layers. Here's a great article on how to chop and wash leeks.
- Be careful blending: If your blender isn't heat safe, the hot soup could potentially crack your blender. Also, hot soup releases steam, and in combination with an airtight blender lid, you run the risk of the lid blowing off. This is why we recommend blending in small batches to minimize this risk. Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender if you have one on hand. You could also let the soup cool before blending it, and then reheat the soup in a pot.
- For a different take on this soup, try using sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes! They're equally delicious and make for a beautiful orange soup. You can also use a mix of squash (butternut is my favorite) and potatoes if desired.
- Our go-to pot for soups: we always, always use an enameled cast iron dutch oven for soups. The cast iron surface allows for even, quick cooking and the enameled surface is easy to clean. Staub is our go-to brand – we use their cast iron pots daily and they never fail! Here's the one we used in this recipe.
- Serve as a main or side dish: this vegan potato leek soup is delicious whichever way you serve it. It's great as a side dish (served in small bowls or these adorable mini cocottes pictured below!). It's also delicious served with crusty warm French bread. Yum!
- Storage: let soup cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. (These vacuum sealed containers keep soup super fresh – up to 5x longer than regular containers! We use them all the time.) You can also freeze this vegan potato leek soup for up to 6 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then heat gently on the stovetop until warm.
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Print📖 Recipe
Vegan Potato Leek Soup
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 Servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Rich, creamy, and comforting, this vegan potato leek soup is perfect for a chilly day in the fall or winter. We cook leeks, potatoes, and beans until soft and blend everything together until smooth to create a perfect silky texture without using any milk or cream.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons nondairy butter, divided
- 4 cups roughly chopped leeks, washed thoroughly
- 3 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
- 1 cup sliced celery
- 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and roughly diced
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 15 ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 ½-2 teaspoon fine grain kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ cup chopped chives
Instructions
- Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Once melted, add leeks and minced garlic and stir well to coat. Sauté for 6-7 minutes, until leeks start to soften.
- Add celery, potatoes, 1 ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper to the pot. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add vegetable broth, cannellini beans, and white wine vinegar. Stir well and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Carefully transfer soup to a heat safe blender. Add dijon and blend until smooth and creamy. Return soup to pot. Taste and add additional ½ teaspoon of salt if desired. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoon butter and chopped chives and serve.
Notes
Wash the leeks thoroughly: Leeks grow in layers and thrive in sandy soil, so there is often sand/dirt trapped between a leek's layers.
Be careful blending: If your blender isn't heat safe, the hot soup could potentially crack your blender. Also, hot soup releases steam, and in combination with an airtight blender lid, you run the risk of the lid blowing off. This is why we recommend blending in small batches to minimize this risk. Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender if you have one.
Storage: let soup cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. You can also freeze for up to 6 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then heat gently on the stovetop until warm.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Bowl
- Calories: 283
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 1469.7 mg
- Fat: 6.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 48.3 g
- Fiber: 6.7 g
- Protein: 7.4 g
Keywords: vegan potato leek soup
Let us know what you think!