With winter still roaring along in Manitoba, this easy, healthy Slow Cooker Potato Leek Soup is definitely a welcomed sight.
Remember those Gluten Free Bread Bowls I shared with you the other day? Today I’m sharing a recipe for a soul warming, comforting soup that is perfect to serve in them. You’re probably expecting this creamy, hearty soup to be loaded with calories, aren’t you? According to the Recipe Nutrition Calculator on myfitnesspal.com, this soup comes out to about 250 calories per serving. I’d say that’s pretty decent for a thick, creamy soup. (Note: I don’t calculate every recipe, just did this one for an approximate value, and to prove that creamy soup can be done light.)
The inspiration for this soup actually came from my kids. During Christmas break I took them grocery shopping with me. With both of them being older, it’s really kind of fun to take them shopping with me because I can send them to get things from different areas of the store. While we were going through the produce, I had my daughter pick out some red peppers. I asked my son to go get some cucumbers. He then said he would like some guacamole, so I told him he had to find the the avocados first. If he could find them, we’d make him some “grock-a-moley” (how he pronounced it). He found them! Then they saw the leeks. We don’t often venture into different veggies, there’s a lot in the store that I’ve never tried, mostly because I’m just not sure what to do with them. We’ve had leeks in the house once before, but I’m pretty sure both kids are too small to remember. But, thanks to THIS SCENE from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, my kids wanted to try leeks. Who says all influence from movies has to be bad? The kids both loved this soup, they had a great time saying “There’s a leek in my bowl!”, and they were pleased that they could eat their bowls when they finished their soup.
Slow Cooker Potato Leek Soup
By using low sodium, low fat ingredients, you can create a rich, creamy soup without all the calories. If you have a smaller slow cooker, halving the recipe should work just fine.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced
- 3 leeks (whites only), thoroughly washed and sliced
- 1 stick celery, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 900 ml (30 fl oz) gluten free low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup water (or enough to ensure your potatoes are covered)
- 370 ml (12.5 fl oz) skim evaporated milk
- 1 cup shredded low fat cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- sliced onion greens, fried bacon bits, and additional shredded cheese to garnish
Instructions
- Place potatoes, leeks, celery, parsley, thyme, black pepper, and garlic into a 6 quart slow cooker.
- Pour the chicken broth and water over top. Cook on High for 4-5 hours, or until the potatoes are tender when poked with a fork.
- Stir in the evaporated milk and shredded cheese. Stir. Cook for another 30 minutes.
- Using an immersion blender, or working in small batches with a regular blender or food processor, puree the soup until smooth.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Garnish with chopped onion greens, bacon bits (we fried up turkey bacon), and additional shredded cheese before serving.
Notes
Be careful putting hot liquids in the blender. Only fill the blender half full, and remove the cup from the lid. Cover with a thick towel before running the blender. Filling your blender too much, and not having a place for the heat to escape, can cause the hot soup to erupt like a volcano out the top of the blender.
Vivi says
Look super yummy Jean, can’t wait to try it! Plus you took beautiful picture of it.
Jeanine Friesen says
Thanks, Vivi! 🙂
NA Olson says
Looks delicious, Jeanine. One suggestion — instead of having to put the soup into an upright blender with all the attendant cautions and ways that can go wrong with heated liquids, an immersion blender would make life so much easier! It makes short and easy work of cream-ifying a soup. I’d never used one until my mother insisted I try hers because she was so hooked on it. Momma knew best — this thing was SO much easier than the blender for ease of use, safety, and clean up! I’m not sure if this is the brand she has or not, but here’s a link to one that looks like hers and was probably about the same price. http://www.zappos.com/kitchenaid-khb1231-2-speed-immersion-blender-contour-silver?ef_id=Uo52iwAAAdk@pHga:20140116143205:s
Jeanine Friesen says
Thanks, Aine! I LOVE my immersion blender. I found a like-new kitchenaid one for $4 at a garage sale. I was so excited, I nearly danced to my car. 😉
Robyn says
Will make this recipe for sure. And the presentation is lovely. Thank you!
Jeanine Friesen says
Thanks, Robyn!
Susan says
Potato leek soup is one of my favorites and leeks are a symbol for my heritage- ancestry. Using the modern conveniences, I also cook mine in a slow cooker, and use an immersion blender as suggested by Olson. so easy!
i do not serve it with cheese or meat because we never had it that way, but no harm in doing so. I also use homemade chicken stock for more flavor.
It looks really “upscale” in the bread bowl!
Waiting for a really good welsh cake recipe to end this traditional meal or perhaps that will be my personal challenge.
Jeanine Friesen says
Thanks, Susan! Welsh cakes, you say? Hmm… 😉
Alice Theofan says
We have a staff “soup” day every Monday. I was wondering if I made it on Sunday, could I reheat in the crockpot the next day? Will it still be good? I know some of the cream soups kind of “fall apart” when reheated.
Jeanine Friesen says
Since this recipe doesn’t have a lot of dairy in it, I think it would work great to reheat it the next day. I know the leftovers that we enjoyed for lunch were still smooth & ‘intact’ after we reheated it. Hope this helps, Alice!
Alice Theofan says
Thanks for letting me know! I’m going to try it on my “soup” day!!
Ginger says
This sounds wonderful! Do you have suggestions for how to make it without dairy? Perhaps some sort of silken tofu mixture? Thanks!
Darlene M Formanek says
To make this recipe low carbs also I make with white fish/ bay scallops instead of potatoes. more like a Leek and Seafood soup. white fish or scallops do not cover up the leeks favor like salmon would.
Jeanine says
Great tip Darlene! Thanks!