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April 21, 2020 by Terran Leave a Comment

Family Time: Homemade Vegan Potato Leek Soup

One of Westway’s founding principles is to cherish the people we love and all the time we get to spend in their company. I absolutely love cooking for my family. If I can bring comfort or a little bit of yummy happiness to the people I care about most, I feel like I accomplished something good.

I wanted to share one of my favorite, most comforting, delicious — and super easy — recipes with you: potato leek soup. It’s quick, simple, endlessly customizable, and is perfect for a cozy day at home. It’s also vegan but you’d never know it!

You Need

3 leeks
1 onion
6-ish potatoes
1 box of vegetable broth
Olive oil
Seasoned salt (or regular salt)
Pepper

Optional Toppings:
Corn
Green Onions/Scallions
Red Peppers
Poblano Peppers
Jalapeño Peppers
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheese
Ham or Bacon
or whatever else you can dream up!

Chop your onion

Nothing crazy or specific. Just chop it in a way that’s easy to sauté.
 

Chop your leeks

Leeks are delicious but dirty. Rinse them off, slice them down the center (see above) and rinse them again. Then just chop, chop, chop until you get to the thicker green tops. Those you’ll discard — or figure out something else to do with them. I’m not a professional chef; don’t ask me.
  

Rinse your leeks

Really, really rinse ’em. We’re not aiming for dirt soup here, people.
 

Chop your ‘taters

I like to cut them fairly small so I can fit more into the pot. I like potatoes. If you’re making this soup, I’m guessing you do, too. 
 

Get your broth ready

You’ll probably only need one box but I like to have more just in case. If you want to make the soup vegan or vegetarian, opt for the vegetable broth. If you don’t care, you can make it with chicken broth or water plus a bouillon cube. I prefer the taste of the veggie broth but, hey, you might like something else. This is about bringing a little yummy joy into your life, not being strict with the recipe.
 

Time to start cooking!

I like using the Instant Pot (don’t tell Greg; I gave him a hard time for buying it) because it cooks quickly and I can eat sooner. If you want to make this in a crock pot, you can — it’ll just take about 4 hours to cook and you’ll want to do the next few sautéing steps in a really big pan on the stove. If you’re using the Instant Pot, pop that sucker on sauté and add your olive oil to get it hot.
 

Add your onion

When the oil is hot, toss in your onion. If you’re cooking in the Instant Pot, you’re going to want to stir pretty constantly so nothing burns. If you are using a pot on the stove, low and slow, my friends… low and slow.
 

Salt & Peppa

We’re going to want to season our ingredients all along the way. I like seasoned salt. Maybe you like regular salt. Do your thing but definitely add a good dose of it + black pepper. Or whatever kind of pepper you like! 
 

Mmm…

Cook your onions ’till they’re soft and golden. Most recipes will tell you this takes 3 minutes. I’m here to tell you they’re all lying. On high in the Instant Pot, I want to say this took like 10 minutes with pretty constant stirring. Burning your onions would not be good. On the stove, low and slow, this is probably more of a 20-minute process.

Secret tip: when your onions are getting soft and you see all those little brown bits forming on the bottom of the pan or Instant Pot, pour in just a teensy bit of water to deglaze it. Those little brown bits all come up and go back on the onions where they belong.
 

Toss in your leeks & sauté

Toss them in and cook ’em down. You don’t want to throw them in at the beginning with the onions because they’re much more delicate and would cook a lot faster. When they’re looking soft and delicious, move on to the next step…
 

Potato time!

Add those beautiful potatoes, stir everything around so it’s all mixed together, and cover it all with broth. If you run out of room in your pot but have potatoes left over, cook the rest in a pot on the stove and add them later. I usually have leftover potatoes because, as I mentioned earlier, I really like potatoes. If you’re using the crockpot, this is when your onions, leeks, potatoes, and broth would all come together. 
 

Set it & forget it

OK, I know that’s the catchphrase to a totally different cooking product but it’s what you need to do. If you’re using the Instant Pot, set it on Soup/Broth. If you’re using a crockpot, stick it on low for 4 hours. 
 

Open it up…

This is what everything should look like when you open the top. Delicious.
 

And Mash!

Use your potato masher and smash everything together. It’s gonna be awesome. If you want a creamy texture, use an immersion blender. I like it a little more rustic. Add more seasoned salt and pepper to taste. 
 

Enjoy!

I like to add a little fresh black pepper and some toppings (ideas were at the top). The soup is great on its own or with some ooey-gooey cheesy bread. 


What do you think? Did you try the recipe? Leave a comment below!
 

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Home » Family Time: Homemade Vegan Potato Leek Soup

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Based in San Diego, CA
Traveling the U.S. in 2022
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I want you to close your eyes for a moment. Well, I want you to close your eyes for a moment. Well, maybe don't close them because then you'll stop reading. So, let's just *imagine.* OK, here we go... Imagine you're at the beach with your four-legged best friend just as the sun is coming up over the horizon. A warm summer breeze carries the scent of the salty ocean through the air, the sand is soft between your toes, and things couldn't be more perfect. And then your dog poops. 💩 I mean, that's always a good thing but when you're in this moment, a beach stroll with a bag of poo in your hands isn't exactly the dream. Thankfully, the dooloop exists so you can keep your hands free and keep the moment perfect. ​​​​​​​​
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I've been a fan of @dooloopdogs for years now and am so thrilled to have them as one of our trip sponsors! If you don't have one, you seriously need one. Seriously!
Want to know more about how we are traveling, wher Want to know more about how we are traveling, where we're going, or what it's like living in a small space with your significant other and pup? Where do we stay? Do we have hot showers? What are some of our best memories so far? If you're curious, ask below and your question may be featured in an upcoming post!
SWOOOOON! This gorgeous Florida evening with Jaspe SWOOOOON! This gorgeous Florida evening with Jasper and his mom was absolute magic!!! The sunlight sparkled over the grassy sand dunes alongside the warm Atlantic Ocean as it slowly sunk down into the western sky. Jasper was happy as a little clam as he was rewarded with treats, snuggles, and playtime for being the goodest boy!​​​​​​​​
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A big, huge thank you to @wellnesspetfood for joining us as a trip sponsor of our Great American Road Trip!
Welcome to the wild, wild Westway family, Sibbie!​​​​​​​​
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Named for the American Revolutionary War heroine, Sybil Ludington, we felt like the Airstream who was going to take us on our Great American Road Trip needed to have a very American name. Sybil Ludington and her horse, Star (can you guess the truck's name?), completed a midnight ride farther than Paul Revere's to announce to her father's fellow militia men that the British were coming. She was even thanked by George Washington!​​​​​​​​
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Sibbie is a 30-foot Airstream. She has a full size sofa, dinette with two bench seats, a surprisingly large shower and bathroom, and a great kitchen with a propane stove, oven, and three-in-one microwave + oven + air fryer. She also has an insane number of windows and skylights that make the entire space feel light and bright! 😍 Greg, Roxy, and I fit very well and feel like it's just the right amount of space for the three of us!​​​​​​​​
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Who else out there has an Airstream? Do you love yours? We certainly love ours!​​​​​​​​
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St. Augustine, FL​​​​​​​​
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@airstream_inc #westwaypets #westwaystudio #roadtrip #greatamericanroadtrip #wildwildwestway #airstream #airstreamadventure #airstreamliving #airstreamlife #airstreamlifestyle #nomadphotographer #travelphotographer #travelingdogphotographer
A big, huge, monstrous THANK YOU to my very first A big, huge, monstrous THANK YOU to my very first models of our trip: Julie, Louie, Bella, and Brooklyn! These four totally rocked their photo shoot for our three trip sponsors: @wellnesspetfood, @dooloopdogs, and @petplaysf! ​​​​​​
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Julie and Louie are both incredible photographers so it was extra fun to work with them! I know them from San Diego but when I found out they were in Fort Myers — just 2.5 short hours south of where we were picking up the Airstream — I knew we had to go see them and do a photo shoot!​​​​​​​​
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Isabella and Brooklyn are two of the cutest dogs you'll ever meet. I was warned that Brooklyn would take a minute to warm up, which she did, but once she realized we were there to shower her with attention, we became BFFs.​​​​​​​​
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Thank you, again, Julie & Louie! You guys rock and we had a blast with you!
We are nearly one month in to our big adventure! I We are nearly one month in to our big adventure! It's hard to even believe it! We have seen new places, visited old friends, and photographed a bunch of puppers already! ​​​​​​​​
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The journey began in San Diego, CA and took us to Tampa, FL for about a week. We headed down to Fort Myers and then up to St. Augustine before leaving the sunshine state. After that, we spent a night on a beautiful pecan farm just outside Savannah, GA before making our way to Charleston, Wilmington, and Charlotte (where we spent a few glorious hours floating in Lake Norman). Today, we are headed to a friend's place just outside Asheville!​​​​​​​​
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I promise to introduce you to our new Airstream in some upcoming posts. I will just say here that she is beautiful and everything we hoped she would be!​​​​​​​​
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We'll be in the northeast in a few short weeks & I absolutely can't wait!!!
Nothing says Airstream + Florida quite as much as Nothing says Airstream + Florida quite as much as a pink flamingo... so it's only fitting that we photograph the @petplaysf pink flamingo float toy as we kick off our big six-month road trip adventure in the Sunshine State! Am I right or am I right???​​​​​​​​
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We couldn't be more thrilled that P.L.A.Y. has decided to join us on our journey as a trip sponsor. We are going to have soooo much fun playing with and photographing their amazing products all around the US this year! Thank you, P.L.A.Y.!​​​​​​​​
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Who else's dogs love P.L.A.Y. toys??? 🙋‍♀️
Do you ever find a product that makes you question Do you ever find a product that makes you question how you ever lived without it? For me, that was @dooloopdogs! It's a brilliantly simple leash accessory that holds your pooch's poo bag so you don't have to. We've been using them for years and they're truly something special!​​​​​​​​
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When we began to plan our big road trip, I knew I'd be taking a few dooloops along with me (different leashes call for different dooloops, duh!) and I dreamed of having the company come along as an official trip sponsor. Well, it happened!!! We'll be sharing the dooloop love all around the US, photographing dogs with dooloops, and showing others how a simple tool can improve their daily walks with their pups! Thank you, dooloop! We're so excited to have you along for the journey!
I have some incredibly special clients, let me tel I have some incredibly special clients, let me tell you. They're clients I love working with and who consistently put their trust in me to create photos for their advertising & marketing campaigns around the globe. When I told Wellness Pet about our big adventure, the response was swift and definitive: "count us in!" I'm so, so, so thrilled to have them as a trip sponsor for our journey and to create images for them all along the way. We have used their products for years — Sojos, WHIMZEES, and their WellBites treats — so this partnership couldn't feel more perfect and authentic! Thank you, Wellness!
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