This lighter potato leek soup recipe was originally posted a year ago, but I made it the other night with a few new tweaks, so I wanted to bring it back and share what I did differently!
One of my favorite parts about cold weather is that it’s perfect for soup! Potato leek soup is delicious, but it can be dense and heavy so I came up with this lighter potato leek soup recipe. I replace half of the potatoes with cauliflower so the soup is a little bit lighter and healthier, but still has the same creamy texture as traditional potato leek soup. Best of all is that this recipe is gluten free, dairy free, and if you swap out the chicken stock for veggie stock, it’s completely vegan!
It’s extremely easy to make and comes together pretty quickly. The longest part is letting the veggies roast, but after that it’s a quick blend and you’re off to the races! This soup gets better as it sits, so I often make it a few hours before dinner and let it sit so the flavors come together. This is delicious right as it’s made or a great way to meal prep for the week!
Lighter Potato Leek Soup Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups whole fingerling potatoes or 1 ½ russet potatoes cut into 2 inch cubes
- 1 ½ cup cauliflower florets
- 2 leeks (trimmed and washed)
- 4 tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp dried rosemary
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup water + more to thin it out if needed
- Pinch of nutmeg
Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees.
Note** I originally did this with fingerling potatoes, but I only had russet potatoes in the house the other night so I used the russets, and the soup was delicious! I used one and a half russet potatoes that I cut into large 1 ½ – 2 inch cubes.
Keep the fingerling potatoes and garlic cloves whole, and roughly chop the leeks into 1 inch pieces. (I keep the skin on the potatoes for added nutrients, and because it’s easier. It all gets blended up in the end so the skin doesn’t make a difference.) Break up the cauliflower so the florets are in 1 inch pieces. You want everything to be about the same size so it cooks evenly.
Mix the leeks, potatoes, cauliflower florets, garlic, oil, salt, thyme, and rosemary together so everything is evenly coated with the oil, salt, and herbs. Prepare a baking sheet lined with either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, and spread out the vegetables so they’re in one even layer.
Note** I originally used a baking sheet which you still absolutely can do, but this time I got out my two large cast iron skillets and used those to roast the leek, cauliflower, and potato mixture. This gave the leeks, cauliflower, and potatoes great caramelization and flavor! Again, this is not necessary, but wanted to update the recipe with this addition because I really enjoyed how it came out. The only thing I did differently from the original recipe was I mixed everything together and spread the veggie mixture between two cast iron skillets, then popped those into the oven. No parchment paper needed.
Roast at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes until potatoes are fork tender and everything has golden edges.
Once the vegetables are done, let them cool slightly so they’re easier to work with. You can use a hand blender or a regular blender, but I like my soup pretty smooth, so I use my nutribullet to blend the veggies, stock, and water together. Blend everything until you get your desired soup consistency. Just add additional water or stock if you want to thin it out. You may have to do this in batches. I did. Just blend everything in batches, then transfer to a large pot, season with additional salt and pepper to taste, and add a pinch of nutmeg to finish it off. You can serve this lighter potato leek soup as is, or save it for a meal later on. It makes a great weekday lunch!
This recipe makes 4-6 servings, and packs up and transports really well.
Enjoy!
