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. 

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