Potato Cauliflower Leek Soup

Name: Potato Cauliflower Leek Soup
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons butter; 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, roughly chopped (about 3 cups); 2 large garlic cloves, minced; 4 cups of yellow potatoes, peeled and diced (from 4 medium potatoes); 4 cups of cauliflower, chopped (from 1 medium head); 6 cups chicken stock; 1 cup heavy cream, plus more for serving; ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more for serving; salt to taste; ½ cup fresh chives, chopped for garnish

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Two bowls of Potato Cauliflower Leek Soup sit on a table. There is a blue cloth in the bottom left of the picture and small bowls with black pepper, chives and cream nearby.

The addition of nutritional powerhouse cauliflower helps lighten up this creamy potato leek soup without sacrificing any flavor!

Potato Leek Soup is a classic recipe often associated with sophisticated French cuisine. But have you ever tried Potato CAULIFLOWER Leek Soup?

This twist on the classic is just as creamy, comforting and delicious as the traditional potato leek soup recipe you may be used to, but with an added nutritional boost!

Why you should add CAULIFLOWER to your Potato Leek Soup

If you’re looking at the addition of cauliflower to this soup sideways, let me propose two main reasons why you might want to add it to your potato leek soup:

Cauliflower is a nutritional powerhouse! It’s high in vitamins C, K, and B6, and folate. It’s also a good source of fiber, which supports digestion and antioxidants like sulforaphane which have anti-inflammatory properties.

Adding cauliflower to potato leek soup is a great way to lower both the calorie and carbohydrate content without sacrificing texture or flavor. One cup of cauliflower has about 5 grams of carbs and 25 calories, whereas a cup of potatoes has roughly 30 grams or carbs and 110 calories. If you are trying to follow a lower calorie or lower carbohydrate diet, replacing some of the potatoes in a traditional potato leek soup with cauliflower can help you achieve your health goals.

Cauliflower’s mild taste means it’s also pretty much undetectable when blended in this delicious soup.

With its velvety texture, swirl of heavy cream, sprinkling of black pepper and chives, it reminds me of a sophisticated restaurant menu offering. So even if you aren’t a fan of cauliflower on its own, you should still definitely give this creamy soup a try!

Ingredients for Potato Cauliflower Leek Soup. There are leeks, potatoes, cauliflower, chicken stock, garlic, heavy cream, black pepper and chives.

Recipe Ingredients

With just a few basic ingredients you can create a delicious bowl of soup with great flavor in just about 30 minutes. Here is what you’ll need:

Yellow Potatoes: Yellow potatoes (like a Yukon gold) are perfect for this potato soup because they have buttery, slightly sweet flavor and a waxy texture that makes the soup super creamy when blended.

Cauliflower: Cauliflower is a versatile and mild-tasting vegetable that’s part of the cruciferous family, along with broccoli, cabbage, and kale. Thanks to its neutral flavor, cauliflower is often used in vegan and vegetarian recipes, either as a main ingredient or as a substitute for higher-calorie options like potatoes as in this soup recipe. This recipe uses a medium head of cauliflower or about four cups of florets.

Leeks: Leeks are a member of the allium family like onions, but they are much less pungent. I’d describe them as having a delicate onion-like flavor and they get even more mild and sweet when cooked, especially when cooked in butter (like in this soup!).

Garlic: Rounding out the veggies is fresh garlic, which when minced adds some additional warmth and flavor to the soup.

Chicken Stock: I prefer using a high quality chicken stock over water or chicken broth as the base of the soup because it adds additional flavor.

Heavy Cream: Some heavy cream adds to the creaminess without making the soup feel too heavy.

Ground Black Pepper and Chives: I like to top this soup with some extra heavy cream as well as some freshly ground black pepper and chives. They add some additional flavor and give the soup a beautiful sophisticated presentation.

A blue pot on a portable cooktop with uncooked leeks and a wooden spoon inside.

A blue pot on a portable cooktop with leeks and a wooden spoon inside.

How To Make Potato Cauliflower Leek Soup

After you finish chopping and cleaning your veggies, this soup comes together in 30 minutes! At a high level here is how I make it:

COOK LEEKS
Heat butter in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat on the stove top. Add sliced leeks and cook until they are softened.
COOK GARLIC
Add the minced garlic cloves and stir for 1 minute until fragrant.
COOK POTATOES, CAULIFLOWER
Add diced potatoes, cauliflower florets, chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until cauliflower and potatoes are tender.
BLEND
Working in batches, carefully purée the hot soup in a regular blender until smooth. You can also use an immersion blender if you have one!
FINISH SOUP AND SERVE
Return blended soup to the pot and add the heavy cream and ground black pepper. Stir, then taste for additional salt. Serve in individual bowls and top with a swirl of heavy cream, more ground black pepper and chopped chives.

Hot Tips!

Resist the urge to overblend the soup! Potatoes are full of starches and over-processing a potato based soup in the blender can result in a gummy, unpleasant texture.

When preparing leeks for the recipe, be sure to only use the white and light green parts (the dark greens can be tossed). Also make sure to clean leeks thoroughly – I like to use my salad spinner! If you want a visual on how I cut and clean my leeks for this recipe – check out this video!

Recipe FAQs

Can I use a different kind of potato?

I like using yellow or Yukon gold potatoes because they have a buttery flavor and waxy texture that blends well and helps to make the soup creamy. But if yellow potatoes aren’t available, you can also try red potatoes or even russet potatoes if you are in a pinch.

Can this Potato Cauliflower Leek Soup be made vegan?

Yes absolutely! Instead of cooking the leeks in butter you can use a vegan butter or olive oil and substitute the chicken stock for vegetable stock or vegetable broth. As for the heavy cream, you can use a sweetened non-dairy alternative, but honestly the soup tastes delicious and creamy even without the heavy cream, so feel free to omit it all together.

Can I freeze Potato Cauliflower Leek Soup?

Yes, you can store leftovers of the soup in an airtight container and freeze for up to six months. Just note that potato soups that have been frozen have a tendency to separate a little bit once thawed. But if you give it a good whisk during the reheating process you’ll get back that smooth creamy texture of the original soup.

A close up shot of Potato Cauliflower Leek Soup in a bowl with a swirl of heavy cream, chives and black pepper inside.

Related Recipes

Looking for some other creamy and delicious soups to try? Check out one of these other Soup & Sammie fan favorite recipes!