I went out to the garden on a rainy day (rare in San Diego) and noticed something…
My leeks were finally ready to harvest!
I knew it was time to make one of my all-time favorite soups: potato leek soup.
There are a few things I love about soups:
- They’re dead-simple to make
- They’re super nutritionally-dense
- They’re easy to make with ingredients from the garden!
So I ventured out into the garden to harvest my leeks (see the full growing guide here). With a quick tug, they were out of the ground…but they were filthy:

After a thorough wash and peel, they were ready for the kitchen. On to harvesting the fresh thyme sprigs:

I didn’t have any potatoes or garlic ready to harvest, so I bought them from a local farmer in my area and headed inside to chop everything up.
First, the leeks. Remove the root base as well as the stalk as soon as it stops feeling firm to the touch, then roughly dice them. You don’t need to be perfect here:

Next, the potatoes. Some people like to peel their potatoes for soups, but I don’t see the point. Why not leave all of that nutrition in the soup! It doesn’t affect the flavor. In fact, I find it gives it a heartier taste:

Finally, mince up the thyme and garlic. Most recipes call for leaving the thyme on the stem, but I’d rather incorporate it into the soup and get more flavor in there
After you’re done slicing and dicing, add a liberal hunk of unsalted butter to your pan (I like a cast iron):

Next, add your leeks and garlic. All you need to do is stir them around on medium heat for around 10 minutes or so, just until they become slightly translucent and wilt. If they start to brown, turn the heat down and stir more often:

Now we add our chicken broth, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper:

Now, add the “meat” of the recipe…your diced Yukon Gold potatoes. Bring the pot to a boil after you add them, then immediately turn to low and monitor for 20 minutes. You want the potatoes cooked through and soft so they’re ready to blend!

After your potatoes are cooked through, either blend with an immersion blender in the pot or transfer to a standard blender (do in two batches if using standard blender). Blend until extremely smooth and creamy…we want all of those flavors incorporated!

One more step before you can enjoy your soup. Add the secret ingredient: one cup of organic heavy cream. This gives your soup an absolutely insane creaminess and brings out all of the garden-fresh flavors we’re working with:

Now your soup is ready for garnish. I personally love a mixture of garlic chives, green onions, and fresh basil, but it’s completely up to you! You could add bacon bits or other crunchy goodies to really spice up the flavor.

This is quickly becoming my go-to soup from the garden, and I’m excited to modify it based on what’s ready to harvest in the yard. I truly hope you enjoy it, and if you have any modifications that you like, leave them in the comments below. I’d love to try them!
PrintGarden-Fresh Potato Leek Soup
This soup is fresh, savory, and absolutely perfect for a rainy day. Better yet, you can make it straight from the garden with minimal ingredients! It’s one of my personal go-to recipes when I need to throw a bunch of produce in a pot, blend it up, and have something delicious come out the other side. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Soups
- Method: Stovetop
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3–4 large leeks (at least 1″ in diameter), chopped
- 3–4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, diced into 1/2” pieces
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1–2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 7 cups organic chicken broth
- 1 cup organic heavy cream
For the topping:
- Fresh chives, minced
- Fresh basil, minced
Instructions
If harvesting from the garden:
- Gently remove leeks from the soil, holding at the base and tugging lightly. Knock off all dirt and remove outer layer if slimy or damaged. Chop off leek tops and only use the solid white and green stem.
- Snip off fresh thyme and basil.
Melt butter over medium to high heat in a large pot, making sure not to brown. Add diced leeks and garlic and let cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly to avoid browning.
Add potatoes, stock, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper and bring to a quick rolling boil. Then, turn down to simmer and set a timer for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through and soft.
Use an immersion blender to purée soup in the pot, or transfer in two parts to standard blender.
Add heavy cream and stir well toincorporate into the soup. Season to taste and let simmer longer if soup is too thin.
Garnish with fresh green onions, chives, and basil.
Notes
If you’re using an immersion blender, you can blend in the cast-iron. If using a standard blender, blend in two batches.
You don’t have to blend the soup, but I find the flavors incorporate way better and the texture is incredible if you do.
You can separate out the leeks and simmer the potatoes and broth, blend, and re-add the leeks if you want a chunkier, leek-ier soup.
If it’s too watered-down, let it simmer a bit after adding heavy cream. It will thicken up nicely!
Keywords: fresh, quick