This dairy free potato leek soup is quick and simple to make and has the added flavor of roasted red peppers.
Using coconut milk instead of cream, this cozy soup is dairy free, gluten free, paleo, and Whole30! It can easily be made vegan, too, with vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
Potato leek soup: simple comfort food at its finest
With just a handful of main ingredients, potato leek soup is SO easy. Make it once or twice, and it’s a recipe you’ll always have in your back pocket and can customize almost endlessly.
With a suprisingly short cook time, this soup makes a go-to weeknight meal that’s cozy and hearty. Leeks, potatoes, broth, thyme, and coconut milk are all you need — the roasted red peppers just add a little flair!
Ingredient notes for this recipe
Classic potato leek soup usually contains leeks, potatoes, broth, thyme and/or bay leaves, and cream.
My version has all of those except the cream, instead opting for full-fat coconut milk to give the soup that extra touch of creaminess while keeping it dairy free, Whole30, and potentially vegan.
But one thing that makes potato leek soup a classic is how easy it is to create variations — here, you’ll see that my variation is roasted red bell peppers served on top.
To keep this soup Whole30, you can either roast your own red peppers or just watch the labels of what you’re using to make sure there aren’t any crazy additives. I used Divina Organic Roasted Red Bell Peppers.
I highly recommend getting high-quality broths like Kettle & Fire’s broths to boost the overall flavor. If you’re keeping this soup Whole30, make sure you read the labels of whatever you’re buying — you’d be surprised how many broths have added ingredients!
How to make dairy free potato leek soup
To start with, you’ll need a large saucepan or Dutch oven. I always grab my Misen Dutch oven for soup recipes!
Next up, wash the leeks thoroughly. Leeks are notorious for retaining dirt — after all, they grow up through the ground, so dirt literally gets swallowed up in the tightly-bound leaves of a leek.
Chop off the root end of the leeks, as well as the darkest green parts. Then rinse them. This should make it easier to get in the cracks and make sure they’re clean.
Slice up the leeks and soften them over low heat in the Dutch oven. Leeks are the aromatics for this soup recipe — many recipes use onions, carrots, and/or celery but for this recipe, all you need are the leeks!
Add the potatoes, broth, and thyme, bringing the mixture to a boil and then reducing to a simmer. You’ll simmer the soup just long enough for the potatoes to get fork-tender.
At this point, you can blend the soup using either an immersion blender or a blender. Honestly, I think the blender is the way to go — using an immersion blender, it’s really easy to over-blend the soup and end up with a gummy consistency due to too much start releasing into the soup. If you do use an immersion blender, blend on low.
Garnish each bowl with roasted red peppers and scallions when serving.
Why is my potato soup gummy?
Gumminess in blended potato soups usually happens because too much starch is released into the soup. Simply said: the soup was over-blended.
You can try to combat it by adding a bit more broth.
But to avoid the problem altogether, don’t use an immersion blender and make sure to slowly increase the speed from low to high in the blender. Oh, and don’t start blending and walk away! You’ll only need to blend the soup for about 2 minutes.
Can you freeze potato leek soup?
Yes, you can freeze potato leek soup, but just know that the soup may become somewhat grainy when defrosted and reheated.
But, since this recipe uses coconut milk instead of dairy cream, it shouldn’t have the problem of separation like other dairy soups can have.
To freeze, store in an airtight, freezer-friendly container for 2-3 months.
Alterations, variations, and more ways to customize
Start off with potato leek soup as the base, and you can top it in many, many different ways. Here are a couple ideas:
- Crumbled chorizo
- Chopped bacon
- Roasted tomatoes
- Fresh veggies, such as radishes, tomatoes, red onion
If you aren’t dairy free, you can swap the coconut milk for heavy cream. Definitely ups the richness factor of this soup!
To make this soup vegan, use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
Get even cozier with more dairy free soup recipes:
- Creamy Ham & Potato Soup
- Dairy Free Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Leek, Mushroom, and Chicken Soup
- Silky Butternut Squash & Apple Soup with Toasted Pecans
- Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Soup (Paleo, Dairy Free)
Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear what you think! Comment below or tag me on Instagram.
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Dairy Free Potato Leek Soup w/ Roasted Red Pepper
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 17
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This gluten free and Whole30 potato leek soup gets an extra punch of flavor from roasted red peppers.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ghee or extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large leeks, white and pale green parts only, rinsed and chopped (2 large leeks)
- 4 medium red potatoes, peeled and diced (about 4 cups)
- 3 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers (make your own or use a packaged version)
- Scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the fat in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add the leeks, reduce heat to low, and cook for about 10 minutes, until the leeks are softened and translucent.
- Add the potatoes, stock, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to simmer and cook, partially covered, for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and soft enough to mash.
- Remove from heat, and discard the thyme. Add the coconut milk to the pot. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth directly in the pot; or, working in batches if necessary, transfer the soup to a blender and blend on high for about 2 minutes, until completely smooth. Transfer back into the pot. Season to taste with additional salt and fresh ground pepper. Serve the soup garnished with roasted red peppers and scallions.
Notes
For the smoothest texture, press it through a fine-mesh strainer after blending. Let’s be honest; most of us are going to be happy without this step!
Keywords: potato leek soup, whole30 soup, dairy free, paleo, gluten free, whole30
