This healthy leek and potato soup is delicious, comforting, nutrition-packed, and ready in less than 30 minutes! Even better, it's easily adaptable to your tastebuds because the main ingredients are interchangeable.
Cooler weather begs for comforting dishes like my Zucchini Soup with Ground Sausage, Carrot Soup, or potato soup, but if you're eating low glycemic or low carb, old-fashioned potato soup doesn't fit the bill. Thankfully, there's no flour in this recipe, and the addition of leeks makes this a low carb potato soup. No blood sugar spikes and crashes here!
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Ingredient Notes
The star ingredients are potatoes, leeks, and cauliflower. As much as a keto dieter will try to convince you, nothing really tastes like potatoes except potatoes. So, even though this is a low-carb soup, the (high carb) potatoes are present to have the potato flavor.
Leeks are beautifully flavored, especially when sauteed in butter like the recipe calls for. But with "low carb" in mind, I added cauliflower because it has less than half the carbs of leeks.
The result?
All 3 flavors are equally present and harmonious; not one outshines the other.
Full list in ingredients in the recipe card.
Substitutions
- The potato, leek, and cauliflower are in equal amounts so you can easily swap 1-for-1 in any way that you want. For example, you can omit the cauliflower and replace it with an equal amount of potato or leek, or half of each.
- Heavy Cream: Easily swappable with half-and-half, vegan cream, Greek yogurt, etc., or extra broth.
2 Ways to Clean Leeks
Leeks have a bunch of layers that get dirt in between. After chopping all other ingredients, thinly slice the leeks into rounds or half moons.
1. You can place them in a colander, break them apart by hand, and thoroughly rinse them under water.
2. You can set them in a bowl of water, enough to make them float, and let them soak for a few minutes. The dirt will sink to the bottom. Spoon the leeks out without stirring the water. (I'd still rinse them in a colander when done.)
How to Make Healthy Leek and Potato Soup (with Tips)
- Peel and chop the potatoes into 1-inch pieces. Rinse and set aside.
Low Carb Tip
Rinsing potatoes removes some of the starch and carbs. The smaller you chop them, the more starch is exposed and rinsed away; plus they cook faster!
- Chop the cauliflower (stems and florets are okay). Measure 4 cups, rinse, and set aside.
Heat a large pot on medium-low heat. - Cut the leeks where the white portion turns green, and cut the roots off the whites. Discard the greens and roots. Slice the white leeks in half, lengthwise, then chop into half-moons. Rinse thoroughly in a colander while breaking apart by hand, then set aside.
- When the pot is hot, add the butter and allow it to coat the surface; then add the garlic and leeks. Cover and cook for 3 minutes.
Add potatoes, cauliflower, salt, pepper, thyme, parsley flakes, and ½ cup of broth. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, or until a fork can easily pierce the potatoes.
Note
The broth is not enough to cover the vegetables and that's okay. By covering the pot, everything that isn't touching the broth is getting steamed.
- Transfer half the contents of the pot to a high-power blender. Add 1 cup of broth, and ¼ cup of heavy cream. Blend, starting on low and slowly increasing speed until well blended. Transfer to a bowl.
Repeat for the remaining soup contents in the pot. Combine with the first batch and stir. Ready to serve.
Blending Tip
The longer you blend at a high speed, the more smooth the consistency will be, but do not surpass 3 minutes per batch. I personally like to blend, then transfer to a mixing bowl and use an immersion blender for that ultra silky texture.
FAQ
Since potatoes are a high-carb vegetable, potato soup is "full of carbs," but by substituting leeks or cauliflower for potatoes, the carb count is reduced.
This leek and potato soup is high in fiber, a good source of potassium and vitamins B1 and B6, as well as an excellent source of vitamins K and C.
This potato and leek soup has only 240 calories per serving, which is not high in calories.
Cauliflower is a 1-for-1 substitute for potatoes in potato soup.
Ground thyme is normally the only herb in most potato soup recipes because it compliments the potato so well. This recipe also calls for dried parsley.
For food safety reasons, potato leek soup lasts 5 days in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
If you plan to freeze potato leek soup, it's best to not add the cream until you're going to eat it. Freezing with the cream will cause a separation of water, but you can mix each serving by hand when you reheat it. If you don't want to freeze, the recipe can be cut in half.
Nutrition
Potatoes & Diabetes
The American Diabetes Association affirms that a diabetic diet can incorporate potatoes even though potatoes are high glycemic.
This recipe works with a diabetic diet because the potatoes are portioned and each serving has 5 grams of fiber. However, it's recommended to pair this soup with high protein low glycemic foods for blood sugar management.
Each 1-cup serving equals 2 carb choices.
More Potato Recipes
Recipe
Healthy Leek and Potato Soup
- 4 cups Potatoes (Russet; ~3 medium size)
- 4 cups Leeks (~2-3 leeks)
- 4 cups Cauliflower (~1 medium head)
- 3 Tablespoons Butter (unsalted)
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
- ½ teaspoon Thyme (ground)
- ½ teaspoon Parsley (dried flakes)
- 2½ cups Broth (low sodium or no sodium)
- ½ cup Heavy Cream (or Half & Half)
- Peel and chop the potatoes into 1-inch pieces. Rinse and set aside.
- Chop the cauliflower (stems and florets are okay). Measure 4 cups, rinse, and set aside. Heat a large pot on medium-low heat.
- Cut the leeks where the white portion turns green, and cut the roots off the whites. Discard the greens and roots. Slice the white leeks in half, lengthwise, then chop into half-moons. Rinse thoroughly in a colander while breaking apart by hand, then set aside.
- When the pot is hot, add the butter and allow it to coat the surface; then add the garlic and leeks. Cover and cook for 3 minutes.Add potatoes, cauliflower, salt, pepper, thyme, parsley flakes, and ½ cup of broth. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, or until a fork can easily pierce the potatoes.
- Transfer half the contents of the pot to a high-power blender. Add 1 cup of broth, and ¼ cup of heavy cream. Blend, starting on low and slowly increasing speed until well blended. Transfer to a bowl.Repeat for the remaining soup contents in the pot. Combine with the first batch and stir. Ready to serve.
- Makes 8 cups. 8 servings per recipe. Each serving = 1 cup.
- This recipe can easily be cut in half.
- To make it even lower carb, swap out any amount of the potato for cauliflower or leeks. Cauliflower has less carbs than leeks.
- If planning to freeze, do not add the cream until you're ready to eat it. Freezing with the cream will cause a separation of water, but you can mix each serving by hand when you reheat it.
Christina
Fantastic recipe! The whole family loved it! The grocery shop was out of leeks unfortunately so I just doubled the potatoes & that worked great too. I will try with the leeks next time for a more low carb option.
Sue
1 bowl ? Internet says soup bowl is between 8-16oz. Is your serving size nutritional info based on a 8 oz, 12 oz, 16 oz soup bowl? Thank you.
The Gestational Diabetic Chef
Hi Sue - I apologize for the lack of information. Not measuring the soup was an beginner blogger oversight. Looking at the ingredient amounts, I would guess each serving is closer to 12oz. I hate to leave you without an actual answer, but I likely won't be able to remake and edit the recipe in time for you. - Traci
Elena Rivas
Having diabetes is a pain especially if you don't know how to cook healthy meals . THANK YOU FOR HELPING THE MANY PEOPLE LIKE ME LIVE A HEALTHIER AND HAPPY LIFE.
The Gestational Diabetic Chef
You're so kind, Elena. Thank you!
Lamzalo.com
This might be a really dumb question but can you freeze it? Either that or I could just cut the recipe in half
The Gestational Diabetic Chef
Hey! Sorry about the late reply on this. Yes, you can freeze it, and when you defrost and reheat it, you'll likely have to blend it again (if you see separation). Or just half it and you're set. 🙂