A plant-based spin on the classic, this Creamy Vegan Potato Leek Soup marries buttery leeks and tender potatoes with creamy cannellini beans, lemony herb oil, and greens for a complete meal.
While the classic French version features butter and cream, I promise you won’t miss the dairy here (no gluten, nuts, or soy either!). Thanks to a few secrets, this soup is rich and creamy and brimming with cozy flavor (but packed with good-for-you ingredients!).
Not only is this soup delicious, but it also boasts a simple ingredient list and a one-pot option. And it’s great for meal prep!
Table of Contents:
1. Why you’ll love this recipe
2. Ingredient notes
3. Step-by-step instructions
4. Tips for making this recipe
5. Variations
6. Frequently Asked Questions
7. Recipe card with notes
Why you’ll love this recipe
Comforting yet wholesome
This soup is cozy, creamy, and everything you want in a bowl of comfort. With melt-in-your mouth golden potatoes and sweet leeks, it delivers pure comfort food, bowl after bowl.
And the secret to its rich, velvety texture? Adding creamy cannellini beans and blending half the soup—no dairy needed.
But don’t let the indulgent vibe fool you—each bowl is packed with fiber, protein, and antioxidants from leafy greens, garlic, and fresh herbs. And just when you think it can’t get better, a drizzle of lemony herb oil comes in for that perfect, rich finish and luxurious mouthfeel.
Wholesome comfort, perfected.
Simple ingredients, big flavor
You’ll be surprised by the gourmet flavors and elegance of this soup given the simple ingredient list. Everyday ingredients like white beans, leeks, potatoes, baby spinach, garlic, olive oil, lemon, fresh herbs, and vegetable broth mix and mingle until they transform into a medley of rich yet bright flavors.
Great for meal prep
This potato leek soup works great for meal prep in many ways.
One, the leftovers are excellent, so you can enjoy a delicious, hearty soup for midweek lunches.
Two, the soup is freezer friendly, so you can whip up a double batch and store it in the freezer for busy weeks. Souper Cubes (affiliate link) are your best friend here!
Three, you can prep several items ahead of time to cut down on prep time the day you make this soup. For instance, you can slice and wash the leeks 3 to 5 days ahead of time: just pat them dry, then store in a paper towel-lined airtight container in the fridge).
You can also chop the garlic up to 5 days ahead of time (store in an airtight container in the fridge). And you can whip up the herby oil a few days ahead of time and refrigerate it in a small jar.
PS: If you love my Creamy White bean Soup with Kale, you will definitely love this soup, as it’s adapted from that fan-favorite recipe (with over 500 5-star reviews!).
Ingredient notes
Leeks
Is there any greater winter vegetable than the humble leek? Okay, maybe fennel or cabbage (I have a lot of “favorite” vegetables), but leeks truly shine in winter and I’m on a mission to make more people fall in love with them.
When cooked down, their oniony flavor mellows into a sweet butteriness that makes the perfect base for soups (and mushroom dishes, like this Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff or Vegan Mushroom Risotto!).
Gold Potatoes
When it comes to choosing the type of potato for a potato leek soup, there’s only one good option in my opinion: the Yukon gold potato (or any other golden potatoes).
Golden potatoes have both medium starch and waxiness. They’re like the Goldilocks of potatoes. In contrast, Russets have very little flavor and are less creamy, so avoid those here. And red potatoes are waxy potatoes, which means they’ll be delicious but won’t get as creamy.
Can’t get enough of potatoes? Be sure to try my Ultimate Crispy Roasted Potatoes, Vegan Mashed Potatoes, or Vegan Scalloped Potatoes!
Cannellini Beans
The classic potato leek soup is more of a side dish, but I’m more of a soup-for-dinner-kinda-girlie, especially in winter.
The addition of cannellini beans (AKA the king of creamy beans) brings protein and fiber to the soup but also another layer of creaminess, especially when you blend half of the soup.
Substitute: Cannellini beans may also be sold as “white kidney beans.” if you can’t find these, use another white bean, preferably a medium or larger sized bean.
Tip: Want to take the soup over the top? Cook your beans from scratch. You’ll need 8 ounces or 225 grams of dried beans. If you have a copy of my first cookbook, The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook, flip to page 38 an Instant Pot cook time chart for dried beans (affiliate link).
Fresh Herbs
If you make my recipes even somewhat regularly, you already know I’m a huge fan of incorporating fresh herbs into my meals. They add so much flavor, nuance, and dimension.
And the fresh herbs hit hard in this recipe. First, a medley of sturdy herbs (sage, thyme, and bay leaves) is tied into a bundle (a “bouquet garni”), infusing the soup with woodsy, herbal aroma while it simmers. Then, the soup gets finished with the most luscious lemony herb oil.
The lemony herb oil might sound complicated, but it’s simply a matter of finely chopping some parsley and dill and mixing them with lemon zest, grated garlic, flaky sea salt, and good quality olive oil.
Substitutes: Around the holidays, at some American grocery stores, you will find a blend of “poultry herbs,” which typically features thyme, rosemary, and either sage or rosemary. Feel free to use those. Also, you can substitute the sage with rosemary. If you don’t have dill, you can just replace it with more parsley.
Baby spinach
While a traditional potato leek soup doesn’t have any greens, I snuck in a few handfuls of baby spinach for a nutrition boost. I promise you will hardly even notice the greens!
Tip: Want a purely creamy soup without the texture of silky greens? Simply omit the spinach.
Step-by-step instructions
Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the sliced leeks.
Stir occasionally until the leeks have softened and are starting to brown, then add the garlic and chili flakes (optional).
Sauté briefly, stirring frequently. Add in the vegetable broth to deglaze the pot.
Add the peeled and diced potatoes, cannellini beans, bouquet garni, salt, and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes.
Once the potatoes are tender, scoop out half of the soup into a stand blender*. Blend the half batch of soup until creamy and thick.
*For a one-pot option: use an immersion blender instead. Add the immersion blender directly in the pot and blend roughly half of the soup, taking care to not blend all of it (you want some texture!).
Pour the blended soup back into the pot and stir until the soup has thickened.
Add the chopped baby spinach and simmer briefly until the spinach has wilted.
While the soup simmers, make the lemony herb oil.
Finely chop the parsley and dill. Zest the lemon and grate the garlic. Combine the herbs, lemon zest, garlic, and a bit of flaky sea salt.
Transfer to a small jar and drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil. Stir, adding more salt to taste.
Tips for making this recipe
Don’t skip the lemony herb oil!
This soup is good on its own, but you’d be selling it short if you didn’t finish it with the lemony herb oil.
The fresh parsley and dill add extra layers of flavor and character, the extra virgin olive oil adds silky richness and a gorgeous mouthfeel, the lemon zest brings a delightfully bright flair, and fresh garlic gives everything a fun zing.
You can store leftover herby oil in the fridge for about 1 week. The oil will likely solidify after being refrigerated for more than 24 to 48 hours, but just let the jar of herby oil sit out at room temperature for ~10 minutes.
While it doesn’t take long to chop the herbs and zest the lemon/garlic, if you have a mini chopper or mini food processor, you can add all of the ingredients for the herby oil to the machine and whiz it up.
Wash the leeks thoroughly
Leeks are one of my very favorite vegetables, but they are pretty filthy. Literally. They are covered in dirt.
Be sure to wash them thoroughly so you don’t end up biting into any gritty sand while slurping your luxurious soup! Washing instructions are in the recipe card.
Use good quality broth
The quality of your vegetable broth matters in a soup with simple ingredients, so use the best-quality broth you have access to.
For store-bought broths, my favorite brand is Imagine Organic (affiliate link). The broth is rich and flavorful (and when you taste it by the spoon, it’s actually pretty tasty–—something I definitely cannot say for other store-bought broths).
You can also use a Better than Bouillon “no-chicken” broth base for a savory depth of flavor (affiliate link). Start with 2 to 3 teaspoons of the base for 4 cups (960 mL) broth to avoid oversalting the soup.
Multitask
To make this recipe most efficiently, lean into multitasking a little bit.
While the leeks are cooking on the stove, peel and dice the potatoes. And while the soup simmers, make the Herby Oil.
Variations
This soup is quite flexible and can be adapted based on what you have on hand and/or what you prefer.
Don’t have leeks? While this soup will no longer be a potato leek soup, it would still be delicious with sweet onions. Use 2 medium sweet onions or 6 large shallots.
Switch up the herbs. Use fresh rosemary instead of sage or thyme in the bouquet garni. Use chives instead of dill in the herby oil, or just more parsley.
Skip the baby spinach or replace it. Want a purely creamy soup? Skip the baby spinach. Or, if you prefer, replace it with baby kale or a few handfuls of thinly sliced lacinato kale. If using whole kale, simmer for a few extra minutes, or until the kale is tender.
Add more veggies if you like. Feel free to use up to 5 ounces (140g) of baby spinach (a standard size bag of baby spinach). You will want to add more salt to taste and/or more herby oil per serving. Or, dice a few carrots or thinly slice a fennel bulb; sauté for a few minutes after the leeks soften.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don’t have kitchen twine to tie up the thyme/sage into a “bouquet garni” you have several options:
(1) replace the twine with either (a) a long stem of flat-leaf parsley, with leaves removed or (b) plain, unwaxed dental floss; OR
(2) Add the herbs to a cheesecloth and remove the cheesecloth after simmering; OR
(3) Add the thyme sprigs and sage sprigs plus bay leaves whole in the soup; after simmering and before blending, use tongs to fish the whole sprigs and bay leaves out, discarding.
Once cooled, store leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
For the herby oil, store it in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 1 week. The oil will likely solidify after being refrigerated for more than 24 to 48 hours, but just let the jar of herby oil sit out at room temperature for ~10 minutes.
Yes! This soup is freezer-friendly and can be frozen for about 3 months.
For quicker defrosting, I recommend freezing individual servings of the soup in these Souper Cubes (affiliate link).
To reheat smaller portions, you can add them directly to a saucepan and heat until defrosted and warmed through.
For larger portions, you’ll get the best texture if you thaw the soup in the fridge, then reheat.
If the soup is too thick, thin out with a splash of broth or water while reheating on the stove.
As for the herby oil: I have not tried freezing the herby oil, but I would recommend freezing it in ice cube trays, similar to how you freeze pesto. Once the cubes are frozen, you can pop them into a freezer bag.
This soup is best paired with a slab of crusty bread! I like to toast mine in the oven, then rub it with a halved garlic clove, cut side facing the bread. Drizzle the toast with a bit of good olive oil or a schmear with a pat of vegan butter, and you have instant garlic bread!
If gluten-free and/or you don’t want to serve with bread, you can serve alongside some roasted potatoes or even stir in cooked quinoa, brown rice, or other whole grains into the soup to bulk it up more.
Looking for a fabulous soup and salad pairing for fall/winter? I recommend this Roasted Butternut Squash Kale Salad!
If you love this creamy vegan potato leek soup, please be sure to leave a rating and review below! It’s always much appreciated :)
Big Vegan Flavor
Techniques and 150 recipes to master vegan cooking.
Creamy Vegan Potato Leek Soup
Ingredients
- 3 large leeks
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 large sprigs fresh sage (or rosemary)
- 10 to 12 sprigs (7g) fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 12 ounces (340g) Yukon gold potatoes (3 medium potatoes)
- 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (optional; or ¼ to ½ tsp red pepper flakes)
- 4 cups (960 mL) good-quality vegetable broth
- 2 (15-ounce / 425g) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 ounces (85g) fresh baby spinach, chopped (optional)
Herby Oil
- 1 cup (14g) flat-leaf parsley (leaves only)
- 1 handful (8g) fresh dill (leaves only) (or more parsley)
- 2 medium lemons
- 1 clove garlic, grated or minced
- ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt
- ¼ cup (56g) extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Prep the leeks: Cut off the roots and the top few inches of dark green tops first, then thinly slice the remaining leeks. Add to a bowl of cold water and gently agitate them to loosen the dirt. Use your hands or a slotted spoon to scoop out the leeks onto a clean towel and pat dry (don’t drain them, or the dirt will fall back into the leeks).
- Make the Bouquet Garni: Gather the bay leaves, sage sprigs, and thyme sprigs in a single pile. Use kitchen twine to tightly tie them together (see Note 1). Set aside.
- Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a Dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high heat. Once shimmering, add the leeks with a few pinches of salt. Cook until softened and starting to brown, 7 to 9 minutes, stirring occasionally.a. While this cooks, rinse the potatoes, then peel and dice them.
- Add the garlic and chili flakes to the pot. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently. If needed, add a splash of broth to deglaze, scraping up any browned bits. Add the broth, Bouquet Garni, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, pepper to taste, potatoes, and beans. Stir well.
- Bring the soup to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and simmer the soup for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender, uncovering to stir a few times.
- Meanwhile, make the Herby Oil: Finely chop the parsley and dill. Using a microplane, zest the lemons on top of the parsley, then grate the garlic into the mix. Add to a small jar (this makes it easier to distribute the oil).a. Stir in the flaky sea salt and the ¼ cup (56g) olive oil. Taste, adding more salt to taste.
- Once the potatoes are tender, scoop out the Bouquet Garni and discard. Blend about half of the soup (3 to 3 ½ cups / 680 to 800g).a. Stand blender option: Transfer half of the soup to a stand blender. Replace the blender cap with a dish towel to allow the steam to vent. Blend until thick and smooth. Return to the pot and stir to incorporate.b. One-pot option: Use an immersion blender throughout half of the soup, but be sure to not blend it all—you want to retain some texture.
- Add the baby spinach to the soup. Simmer for 2 minutes, or until the spinach has wilted and is silky. Season with salt to taste and a squeeze of lemon juice if desired.
- Serve the soup in bowls. Spoon the Herby Oil over each bowl.
Notes
- If you don’t have kitchen twine to tie up the thyme/sage into a “bouquet garni”: (1) replace the twine with either (a) a long stem of flat-leaf parsley, with leaves removed or (b) plain, unwaxed dental floss; OR (2) Add the herbs to a cheesecloth and remove after simmering; OR (3) Add the thyme/sage sprigs & bay leaves whole in the soup; after simmering and before blending, use tongs to fish the whole sprigs and bay leaves out, discarding.
Love the soup! I added carrot, celery, and zucchini for more nutrients. The lemon is wonderful.
Those sound like tasty additions, Shannon! Happy to hear the soup was a success :)