Potato Leek Soup for St. Patrick’s Day (Gluten- and Dairy-Free)

I’ll never forget the first time I tried potato leek soup.

I was 16 and staying at a friend’s house overnight. My friend’s mom was – and still is – a really great home cook, so I always knew that when we ventured into her kitchen for a late-night snack, I was in for something really, really good. On this particular night, my friend popped some popcorn, pulled out a roll of slice and bake cookie dough, preheated a pan and heated up the family’s dinner leftovers: The creamiest, most savory and delicious soup I’d ever tasted. “What IS this?” I asked, to which my friend nonchalantly replied, “potato leek soup!” It was absolute heaven.

More than 20 years later, I’ve been dreaming about comfort foods that are gluten-and-dairy-free, and this soup immediately came to mind. After some trial and error, success! To me, it tastes just like the original, minus the butter and heavy cream. With a green salad and a crisp glass of white wine, it’s comfort in a bowl.

Serve it as part of your St. Patrick’s Day feast, and everyone who eats it is sure to feel lucky!

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Potato Leek Soup

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Servings: 4

Equipment

• Sharp Knife
• Small bowl
• Medium Glass bowl
• Stockpot
• Immersion blender

Ingredients

• 3 large leeks, chopped
• 1 cup gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free oat milk (I used Oatly)
• 5 tbsp Soy-Free Earth Balance, divided
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 4 large Russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into one-inch pieces
• 6 cups chicken broth (my favorite is Kitchen Basics)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp salt

Optional Garnish

• black pepper to taste
• snipped chives

Instructions

• Roughly chop the white and light green parts of the leeks, placing them into a medium glass bowl. Cover the leeks with cold water and allow them to soak for 5 minutes, until the grit falls to the bottom. Remove the leeks to a towel and squeeze out as much water as you can.
• Melt 1 tbsp Earth Balance and combine with rice milk in a small bowl and set aside.*
• Melt the remaining 4 tbsp of Earth Balance over medium in a large stockpot. Add the leeks and garlic and cook until fragrant and soft but not brown, about 8 minutes.
• Add the potatoes, broth, bay leaf, dried thyme, salt and a couple of pinches of black pepper and bring the contents to a boil. Cover, turn the heat down to medium-low and gently simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes break easily when pierced with a fork.
• Pull out the bay leaf, then puree the soup with an immersion blender right in the pot, or in batches in a blender or VitaMix; return to the pot. Add the oat milk and Earth Balance mixture, stir to combine and heat through. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
• Ladle into bowls and garnish with chives or more dried thyme.

Notes

*Note: If your family does not have nut allergies, you can substitute one cup of almond or cashew milk for the rice milk and Earth Balance mixture.