potato, white bean & leek soup
This soup is like a warm hug on a cold day. It’s rich and creamy (with no diary for my dairy-free or vegan girlies) but balanced out by your favorite autumn/winter herbs, rosemary and thyme, and brightened by a squeeze of lemon juice. Everyone has their preferences on how thick they like their soup so adjust the veg broth or water as you see fit. As I recommend with most soups, this is best served with some warm bread :) And a heads up if you’re planning to save some for later: it can thicken in the fridge, so feel free to add more broth/water for a thinner consistency.
potato, white bean, & leek soup recipe
ingredients
1-2 tbsp olive oil (plus extra for drizzling on top at the end)
1 medium to large leek (or 2 small), light green and white parts only sliced into thin half moons*
3-4 cloves of garlic finely diced
3 medium potatoes (russet or Yukon gold or a combo work here!) chopped into bite sized chunks**
2 14oz cans of white beans (either cannellini or navy beans work here!) drained and rinsed
4 cups veg stock (one container in the US) or water
3/4 cup non-dairy milk (I used oat milk but almond or soy would work just as well)
3-4 sprigs of thyme
1-2 sprigs of rosemary
1 bay leaf
salt
black pepper
lemon juice from 1/2 lemon (or more depending on preference) and lemon zest from 1 lemon (optional)
red pepper flakes
handful of chives and/or parsley finely chopped
[TIP: Whenever you are dealing with a bunch of sprigs of herbs that you will eventually be removing from a soup, stew, or stock, I find it easiest to tie them all together with some kitchen twine so you don’t have to spend too much time searching for individual sprigs later on. Fun fact, this is also called a bouquet garni :)]
instructions
Place a large dutch oven or soup pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Once hot, add 1-2 tbsp of olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the chopped leeks. Stir regularly until they’ve cooked down and start to turn a gold/light brown color.
Add garlic and stir constant for 1-2 minutes or until it smells amazing.
Add the potatoes, beans, veg stock or water, non-dairy milk, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, and 1-2 tsp of salt. Stir until combined and bring to a boil.
Once at a boil, turn heat down to low and maintain a simmer. Cover for 30-40 minutes or until the potatoes are extremely fork tender.
Once the potatoes are ready, turn off heat, remove your herbs (or bouquet garni), and use an immersion blender to blend all of the ingredients together. For a creamier, smoother soup, feel free to pour the soup into a blender in batches. Either way, the soup is still v hot at this point so be careful!
Once the soup is full mixed and creamy, add salt to taste, freshly cracked black pepper, and half a lemons worth of lemon juice. Mix and taste. Adjust for seasonings until it tastes the way you want it (I usually add a bit more salt and almost another half of a lemon because I love acid).
Distribute the soup into bowls. I like to top with more lemon juice, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, fresh cracked black pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, chives and/or parsley. Serve with some of your favorite bread. Get cozy. Enjoy :)
NOTES
* To avoid food waste, I like to save the dark green parts of the leeks for stocks, use in other soups or stews, make a pesto, or even sauté them with some fat and my favorite seasonings like you would with collards or other hearty greens. You can also store them in the freezer until you want to use them!
** Even though this soup could be more “aesthetically pleasing” if you peeled the potatoes, I recommend keeping the skin on. First, you are avoiding more unnecessary food waste. Second, you avoid missing out on all those amazing vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that are in potato skins!
