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Close-up of a bowl of creamy potato leek soup restaurant style, garnished with fresh chives and spice.

Creamy Potato Leek Soup Restaurant Style

This recipe provides instructions for making a smooth, creamy potato and leek soup similar to what you might find in a restaurant. It is suitable for a quick dinner preparation.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Course: Dinner, Soup
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Soup Base
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 4 large leeks, white and light green parts only, roughly chopped (about 5 cups)
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
  • 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped into ½-inch pieces
  • 7 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Finishing
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • Chives, finely chopped, for serving

Equipment

  • Large soup pot
  • Hand-held immersion blender

Method
 

  1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a large soup pot. Add the leeks and garlic and cook, stirring regularly, until soft and wilted, about 10 minutes. Adjust the heat as necessary so as not to brown.
  2. Add the potatoes, broth, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper to the pot and bring to a boil. Cover and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are very soft.
  3. Remove the thyme sprig and bay leaves. Purée the soup with a hand-held immersion blender until smooth. If you use a standard blender, purée the soup in batches, filling the jar no more than halfway, leaving the lid hole open and covering it loosely with a dishtowel to let heat escape, and pour the blended soup into a clean pot.
  4. Add the heavy cream and bring the soup to a simmer. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. If the soup is too thin, simmer until thickened. If it is too thick, add water or stock to thin it out. Garnish with fresh chives before serving.

Notes

The soup can be frozen without the cream for up to 3 months. To use frozen soup, defrost it in the refrigerator for 12 hours. Reheat the soup on the stovetop over medium heat until hot. After heating, add the cream and bring it to a simmer before serving.