This hearty, creamy Potato Leek Soup with Bacon and Chives is perfect for any time of the year, St. Patrick's Day celebrations, and most especially wonderful once the cold weather sets in!
Since we have a long winter here in Minnesota, it is one of our soups that we love to curl up with a hot bowl filled to the brim with this creamy, delicious soup while we watch one of the typical winter storms pass through.
If you've never tried leek before, this is a perfect recipe to try it out with for the first time! The leek adds some onion flavor, but with a different consistency (if you're one of those people that doesn't like to bite into onion, but love the flavor of onion, then you should really love using leek!).
🥘 Ingredients
The leek texture in this soup combines beautifully with potatoes, and is then made even creamier by adding the heavy cream. Top it off with your favorite toppings, or add even more bacon and chives.
- Russet Potatoes
- Leek
- Chicken Broth
- Butter
- Garlic
- Heavy Cream
- Seasoning/Herbs - Thyme, salt & pepper, and turmeric.
- Garnish - Bacon, chives, smoked white cheddar.
🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions
Our potato leek soup with bacon and chives is a very easy soup to make, and it is one that your whole family is sure to love! We like to leave ours a bit rustic (a few chunky pieces) versus blending it until completely smooth. Enjoy!
- In a large stock pot, melt butter over medium high heat and add sliced leek.
- Saute the leek for a few seconds by itself, then add the minced garlic and continue to saute until the leek begins to wilt (2-3 minutes).
- Add seasoning (thyme, salt, pepper) once the leek has begun to wilt.
- Add the chicken broth and diced potatoes, stir and add the turmeric. Stir again and cover.
- Reduce heat to medium and cook at a low boil until the potatoes are fork tender and come apart easily, about 15 minutes.
- Once the potatoes are tender, use a hand blender, stand blender, or food processor to puree the soup base until it is your desired level of smoothness (we like ours a bit rustic, with a few chunks that can still be found in the soup). ***Be extremely careful while pureeing the soup, it is very hot, let it cool just a bit before attempting.
- Add the crumbled bacon, chopped chives, and heavy cream. Stir and serve.
☘️ More Irish Recipes!
Potato Leek Soup is also a very popular Irish soup and one that we include in our lists of Irish recipes for St. Patrick's Day celebrations! The creamy soup has historically been enjoyed during the Irish winters as much as my family and I enjoy it here at our wintry, iced over mini farm 🙂 Click to see all of my Irish recipes.
- Irish Lamb Stew
- Corned Beef and Cabbage
- Irish Oatmeal Cake with Caramel Pecan Frosting
- Traditional Irish Soda Bread
- Irish Soda Bread Pudding
- Irish Barmbrack
📋 Recipe
Potato Leek Soup with Bacon and Chives
Ingredients
- 1 lb potatoes (2-3 russet potatoes, peeled and diced)
- 2 stalks leek (thin sliced)
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 ½ tablespoon garlic (minced)
- 8 sprigs thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme - more for garnish, if desired)
- ½ teaspoon each, salt & pepper (or more, to taste)
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 2-3 strips bacon (cooked, crumbled - reserve some for adding to the top when serving)
- 1 tablespoon chives (chopped)
- ¼ cup heavy cream (more to drizzle as garnish when serving, if desired)
- 2 tablespoon smoked white cheddar (grated, optional garnish)
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, melt butter over medium high heat and add sliced leek. Saute the leek for a few seconds by itself, then add the minced garlic and continue to saute until the leek begins to wilt (2-3 minutes).2 stalks leek, 2 tablespoon butter, 1 ½ tablespoon garlic
- Add seasoning (thyme, salt, pepper) once the leek has begun to wilt. Add the chicken broth and diced potatoes, stir and add the turmeric. Stir again and cover. Reduce heat to medium and cook at a low boil until the potatoes are fork tender and come apart easily, about 15 minutes.1 lb potatoes, 3 cups chicken broth, 8 sprigs thyme, ½ teaspoon each, salt & pepper, 1 teaspoon turmeric
- Once the potatoes are tender, use a hand blender to puree the soup base until it is your desired level of smoothness (we like ours a bit rustic, with a few chunks that can still be found in the soup). Add the crumbled bacon, chopped chives, and heavy cream. Stir and serve.2-3 strips bacon, 1 tablespoon chives, ¼ cup heavy cream
- Top with your choice of garnish. We used some more crumbled bacon, a few sprigs of thyme, some freshly grated smoked white cheddar and a swirl of heavy cream.2 tablespoon smoked white cheddar
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Angela is an at home chef that developed a passion for all things cooking and baking at a young age in her Grandma's kitchen. After many years in the food service industry, she now enjoys sharing all of her family favorite recipes and creating tasty dinner and amazing dessert recipes here at Bake It With Love!
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