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Today, I am sharing a recipe for slow cooker potato leek soup. I just love using my slow cooker for making soups. This soup does use leeks. This may be an item that you are unfamiliar with.
How to use leeks
Leeks are what you can find in the produce department that look like gigantic green onions. With leeks, you usually just want to use the white base and discard the green tops. However, you can place the green parts when making broth or stock. Leeks have a mild onion flavor with a slight sweetness to them.
Leeks can have dirt on the inside, so I recommend slicing them, then placing then in a colander and rinse with water. Alternately, you can cut into white the part of leek lengthwise and rinse under water.
Making the Soup
When making this soup, you begin by sauteing the leeks in a pan with some butter. At the very end of cooking, you are going to add in some garlic. Next, this will now go into the slow cooker along with some diced Yukon gold potatoes, chicken broth, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper. For the potatoes, I left the skins on but you can peel them if preferred. Since this is a blended soup, the skins aren’t a big deal. I actually like the little flecks of brown that the skin adds to the color of the soup. This slow cooks for 5 hours on high and 8 hours on low.
Once the soup is cooked, you will take a potato masher and mash the soup slightly. Next, you will want to blend the soup. I just use an immersion blender. You can use a food processor or blender if you don’t have an immersion blender. However, never fill a blender more than halfway with hot soup or you will end up with a soup explosion.
How to safely blend a hot soup
Here is how to ensure you don’t have a soup explosion if using a blender to blend hot soup. You will need to work in batches.
- Allow the soup to cool for five minutes before blending.
- Remove the center cap from the lid of your blender.
- Fill blender halfway. No more.
- Place a towel over the top of the blender. Hold the towel in place with your hand.
- Blend the soup.
- Pour pureed soup into a pot or bowl.
- Repeat with remaining soup.
- Return soup the cooking pot. Reheat.
Finishing the soup
After you have your soup blended nice and smooth, you are going to mix in some cream to add to the creaminess and richness of the soup. To serve, top with some fresh chopped chives. Now personally, I didn’t love this slow cooker potato leek soup completely blended. Next time, I will just mash with the potato masher and leave the soup with some texture. However, at one time post surgery, my husband was on an almost liquid diet. If we are in need of something like that again, I would totally make this soup and blend some of it for who ever needed that texture.
Here is what you need to make the
Slow Cooker Potato Leek Soup
- LARGE LEEKS
- BUTTER
- GARLIC
- YUKON GOLD POTATOES
- CHICKEN BROTH
- LAY LEAVES
- FRESH THYME OR DRIED THYME LEAVES
- SALT & BLACK PEPPER
- HEAVY CREAM
- FRESH CHIVES
Slow Cooker Potato Leek Soup
- Total Time: 8 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 large leeks, sliced
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 3 lbs Yukon gold potatoes, diced (I didn’t peel them but you can if you want to)
- 7 cups chicken broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- black pepper, to taste
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- fresh chives
Instructions
- In a large skillet, add the leeks with the butter. Cook over medium heat until the leeks are softened. Add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the leeks to the crock pot along with the potatoes, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper.
- Add the chicken broth and close the lid. Cook on high for 5 hours or low for 8 hours.
- Once the potatoes have softened enough remove the thyme (if using fresh sprigs) and bay leaves. Mash the mixture with a potato mash to help break down the potatoes. Use an immersion blender (or food processor or blender) to blend the soup until smooth. DO NOT over blend. If you are using a food processer or blender, you will have to blend the soup in small batches. See my post for tips on how to do it safely and not have a soup explosion.
- Add the cream, blend again a little, then top with chives to serve. Serves 8.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Category: Soup
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
This recipe is adapted from Cook Fast Eat Well.
