Golden potatoes, zesty garlic and sautéed leeks are blended up to creamy, dreamy perfection to make this cozy vegan potato leek soup. It's super satisfying and can be on the table in about 40 minutes!
I'm one of those people who will happily eat soup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But I get why some people object to eating soup for any old meal: it's not always all that satisfying.
Potato soup is my solution. Potatoes are so filling! I've been told that they're one of the most satiating foods, which is pretty consistent with my experience as a potato eater. So when I'm ravenously hungry I go right ahead and make them the main ingredient in my soup!
I guess that's why I have so many potato soup recipes on this site, from classic vegan potato soup to Thai-inspired potato soup to dill pickle potato soup (yes, really, and you'll be amazed at how good it is!).
And now here I am with another dairy-free spin on a classic. Let me introduce you to my vegan potato leek soup!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Olive oil. You can substitute another high-heat oil, or even vegan butter if you'd like.
- Leeks. You'll need two fresh leeks, and you'll only be using the white and pale green parts. The dark green parts are tough, so we're leaving them out, but that doesn't mean you need to throw them away! This article contains a few ideas to put your leek tops to good use. Be sure to clean your leeks well, as dirt often gets trapped between the layers.
- Garlic.
- White wine. You can leave this out if you prefer to cook without alcohol. If you do include it, be sure to check your brand with Barnivore to ensure the bottle you choose is vegan.
- Dried thyme. You can substitute with fresh thyme leaves by tripling the amount.
- Yellow potatoes. I like using yellow potatoes (such as Yukon gold) for their pretty color and the texture they lend to the soup. But feel free to substitute another variety such as red or russet potatoes if you'd like.
- Vegetable broth. I used Better Than Bouillon in seasoned vegetable flavor.
- Coconut milk. Make sure you're using canned coconut milk (preferably full-fat) and not coconut beverage, which is normally sold in cartons.
- Salt & pepper.
- Fresh chives. These are for topping our vegan potato leek soup. Feel free to skip them or use parsley or scallions instead.
How to Make Vegan Potato Leek Soup
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Heat your olive oil in a large pot, then add chopped leeks (white and pale green parts only). Sweat the leeks for a few minutes, until they start to soften up, stirring occasionally to prevent them from burning.
- Stir in some minced garlic and cook it with the leeks for just a minute or so. Keep on stirring!
- Stir in the thyme and wine, then bring the wine to a simmer. Let it cook for a few minutes until it reduces by about half, which means the alcohol has just about cooked off.
- Stir in chopped yellow potatoes, broth, and coconut milk. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil, then let it simmer until the potatoes are tender. Don't overcook the potatoes! Doing so can result in your soup turning out overly gummy.
- Take the pot off of the burner and blend your soup. I highly recommend using an immersion blender for this step — not only will it simplify the process, but it also avoids you over-blending the soup, another common cause of gummy potato soup.
- Blend the soup completely if you'd like it to be creamy, or just partially for chunky soup.
- Season your soup with salt and pepper to taste, and top it with some chopped fresh chives.
- Ladle into bowls and enjoy!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover vegan potato leek soup will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. It will thicken up during storage. If it gets too thick, simply thin it with some broth or non-dairy milk when you reheat it.
I don't recommend freezing this soup, as the freezer can mess with the texture of potatoes.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is!
I couldn't taste the coconut at all, but if you're very sensitive to the flavor you might want to substitute another non-dairy milk. I recommend going with something very creamy with a high-ish fat content, such as a good cashew milk.
In addition to fresh chives, try some croutons, vegan sour cream, or coconut bacon!
More Vegan Soups
- Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup
- Vegan Lasagna Soup
- Creamy Tomato Orzo Soup
- Red Lentil Dal Soup
- Vegan Vegetable Wild Rice Soup
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
Rich & Comforting Vegan Potato Leek Soup
Golden potatoes, zesty garlic and sautéed leeks are blended up to creamy, dreamy perfection to make this cozy vegan potato leek soup. It's super satisfying and can be on the table in about 40 minutes!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium leeks, white and pale green parts only, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 pounds yellow potatoes (such as Yukon gold), peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 3 cups vegetable broth, plus more as needed
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk (from a can)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Chopped fresh chives, for serving
Instructions
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Coat the bottom of a large pot with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place it over medium heat.
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When the oil is hot, add the leeks and sweat them, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
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Stir in the garlic and cook it with the leeks for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
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Stir in the wine and thyme. Bring the wine to a simmer and allow it to cook for about 4 minutes, until reduced by about half.
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Stir in the potatoes, broth, and coconut milk to the pot. Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. Lower the heat and allow it to cook, uncovered, until the potatoes are just fork tender, about 15 minutes.
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Remove the pot from heat.
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Blend the soup with an immersion blender or transfer it in batches to a food processor or blender. You can leave some chunks in the soup or blend it until completely smooth, but be sure to stop blending as soon as it's as smooth as you like (don't overblend or it will turn gummy).
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Return the soup to the pot if you removed it for blending, thin with additional broth if you'd like, and reheat it if necessary.
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Remove the pot from heat and season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
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Ladle the soup into bowls and top with chives. Serve.
This Soup s delicious. Thanks
Im glad you like it!! Thanks Celine!
The roasted garlic takes this over the top! Perfect for this snow day!
Yay!! I'm so glad you like it!
Looks delicious, how many potatoes would you say are in 1 1/2 pounds?
Thank you! If you're using average size Yukon gold potatoes I'd say about 5.
Would substituting in almond milk suffice?
That should work!
Would this soup freeze well?
I haven't tried freezing it because potatoes supposedly change texture when you freeze them, so I'm not sure if it would work out very well.
Hi! How many people does the recipe serve and for your nutrition facts, what is the amount that it is based upon?
Thanks!
It serves 4, with each serving giving you about a cup and a half.
I just bought two beautiful leeks and want to make this soup! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE garlic, but wonder if the roasted garlic overwhelms the mild leeks in this soup as 2 bulbs is a fair amount. TIA!
I could still taste the leeks - roasted garlic is so mild that I actually found the flavor of that to be too mild with less than 2 full bulbs! I hope you enjoy this!
Just a warning; Do not substitute the coconut milk with soy milk! I did that last week and it totally changed the flavor, it wasn't horrible but I couldn't eat it.. This week I'm getting some coconut milk and am going to try the recipe exactly the way it's written.
Sorry to hear that! It could also be the specific soy milk you used - some brands have a cleaner flavor than others and even many unflavored varieties contain sweetener, which can really mess with the flavor.
Hi Alissa, just found your blog! Do you ever do Vitamix vegan recipes? I just purchased one and am excited to try all kinds of recipes.
Thanks, Cindy
Hi Cindy! Glad you like the blog! I'm afraid I don't have a Vitamix at the moment. I do have lots of soups, smoothies and vegan cheeses that I make in the food processor, but I'm sure they'd work in a vitamix as well. :)
Hi alissa
Made the soup and used a combination of coconut milk and coconut cream with vegetable broth...and the roasted garlic...I think it needs more than 2 bulbs roasted garlic personally it could stand to be stronger for my taste. I'll try 3 next time.....I also added a little dry sherry and rosemary and thyme...yum!...thanks for the recipe .
Sounds delicious! I'm glad you enjoyed it! If you like a lot of garlic then go for that extra bulb. You could also try adding a couple cloves of minced fresh garlic and when you sauté the leeks.
Hello ! Yhanks for your recipe it looks strangely simple. I hate coconut milk with a strong passion. How much does it taske in this recipe ? I purchased cooking soy cream to make it this weekend but i wonder if next time it would be worth trying coconut? Let me know !
I couldn't taste the coconut, but I'm not particularly sensitive to it. I think soy cream would work really well - I'd probably just use that to be on the safe side. I hope you enjoy it!
Delicious! Thank you!
As always, another delicious recipe for keeps! Thanks
We made 70 servings of your amazing soup for our Community Garden Harvest Fair using freshly harvested potatoes, leeks and chives. We made it as stated and it could not have been better. People are still asking for the recipe and are requesting it again next year's fair!
Thanks so much for sharing your recipe.
That is so cool!! I'm so glad it was a hit. Thank you so much for sharing!