This Slow Cooker Vichyssoise Soup is perfect for a cozy winter meal. Also called potage parmentier, this leek & potato soup is a nutritious vegetarian dinner idea that the whole family can enjoy.
EASY SLOW COOKER VICHYSSOISE
Tender potatoes and flavorful leeks are blended up to a creamy and dreamy perfection to make this amazing Potato Leek Soup. This soup makes for a perfect light lunch, or works great as a starter to a fabulous dinner. The French sure do know how to make a darn good soup!
Can I brag for a sec?! This soup right here? It was given 5 stars by the Oprah.com team about 5 or 6 years ago. Yeppers it was! 🙌
That was one fantabulous day in the life of Diethood. I was just getting started with this whole recipe-blog deal, and that review meant so much to me! STILL DOES!
Lemme tell you though. This soup is rich, a bit creamy, a bit chunky, a whole lot of wonderful, and is also great chilled! The chilled version of it is called Vichyssoise. So fancy. 😊
I mean, really. The flavor, the texture, and everything all together is like getting a hug from a soup bowl.
HOW TO MAKE VICHYSSOISE SOUP
I want to call this back-to-basics-recipe because it’s very simple and easy going, and you might already have all the ingredients hiding in the pantry. Best part is that you can prep this in the morning and leave it to cook for the whole day.
By the way, you only need carrots, celery, garlic, leeks, potatoes, fresh thyme, salt, pepper, and butter. AND a Slow Cooker.
- Cut the potatoes and the leeks. Leeks may need to be washed before cutting because dirt likes to hide in places you can’t see. Just cut off the dark green part, then cut the leeks in half, lengthwise, and rinse under cold water. Pat dry with paper towels and chop them up.
- Put potatoes and leeks in the slow cooker and set aside.
- Combine sliced carrots and celery in a skillet and sauté for 4 minutes; stir in some garlic and transfer it all to the slow cooker.
- Stir in vegetable broth; add fresh thyme sprigs and butter.
- Close with the lid and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours, or until potatoes are very tender. You can also cook it on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours.
- When done, blend the soup with an immersion blender. If you only have a traditional blender, blend in batches. I also advise not to blend it on high speed; pulse it so that you have more control of the texture in the end.
The finishing touch should involve some heavy cream – totally optional, but totally necessary. 😉
HOW LONG DOES POTATO LEEK SOUP LAST IN THE FRIDGE?
- Store soup in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
CAN YOU FREEZE POTATO LEEK SOUP?
- YES! Potato Leek Soup can be frozen for 3 months, but don’t add the cream if you plan to freeze it.
Right now, at this very moment, I am making this Slow Cooker Leek and Potato Soup, again. We have had this soup twice in the last month. It’s what happens when you clear out your local Farmer’s Market leeks supply. 😃
In fact, our Thanksgiving dinner either includes this Leek and Potato Soup or my Asparagus Soup. There’s an idea for ya! 👊
Now go and start peeling some potatoes so you can serve dinner by 6-ish tonight.
MORE EASY SOUP RECIPES
- Slow Cooker French Onion Soup
- Lighter Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Ham and Sweet Potato Soup
- Creamy Carrot Soup
ENJOY!
TOOLS USED IN THIS RECIPE
Slow Cooker Vichyssoise Soup
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 3 leeks, white and light green parts only, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large carrot, sliced
- 3 celery ribs, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper, or to taste
- 6 to 7 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, optional
- chopped fresh parsley, for garnish, optional
- fresh thyme leaves, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Place chopped potatoes and leeks in the slow cooker and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet and add carrots and celery; cook for 4 minutes.
- Stir in garlic and cook for 20 seconds.
- Add carrot mixture to the slow cooker.
- Stir in vegetable broth; add butter and thyme sprigs.
- Close with the lid and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours, or until potatoes are very tender. You can also cook it on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours.
- When done, remove the thyme sprigs and, if using, stir in the heavy cream.
- Blend the soup with an immersion blender. If you only have a traditional blender, blend it in batches.
- Taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly.
- If soup is too thick, add water or vegetable broth to thin it out.
- Ladle soup into bowls.
- Garnish with parsley and fresh thyme leaves.
- Serve.
Notes
WW FREESTYLE POINTS: 4
TO FREEZE
Potato Leek Soup can be frozen for 3 months, but don’t add the cream if you plan to freeze it.TO REHEAT
Defrost the soup in the refrigerator overnight; reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat until hot. Once heated through, stir in heavy cream and bring to a simmer; serve.Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
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Originally published on December 9th, 2012
Absolutely delicious!!
Thank you so much! 🙂
This looks absolutely delicious! Yummy!
The soup season is on! This recipe sounds easy and delicious!
So creamy with delicious flavor. Yum!!
Ohhh yes I’m definitely making this yummy soup!!
This potato look soup looks incredible and oh so rich! And love that you can make it in the slow cooker.
The Instant Pot has changed my soup game. It makes soup in no time with developed flavors! This looks hearty and delicious!
This soup is perfect for cool fall nights. I love the flavors you’ve put together potatoes and leeks.
No wonder this soup got rave reviews! It’s DELICIOUS! Currently my favorite fall soup. Thank you for the recipe!
This soup looks absolutely delicious! Makes me want to curl up on the couch with a big bowl of it!
This reminds me of the wonderful soups I grew up with in Europe, so good!
This is a go-to fall soup! So easy, I put it in before work and have something warm and delicious to warm up after I get home.
My friend made this recipe for us and I immediately came to pin it for later! This was DELICIOUS!!
I have made this 6 or 7 times now. It is my go to soup! Only change I make is not to puree it. I tried it the first time and just prefer it as is. So happy I found this recipe.
Where can I find the nutritional information on the recipes?
Hi Michelle! I shared this recipe years ago when there wasn’t a reliable nutrition calculator online so that is why that information is not included. If you’d like to calculate it for yourself, you can go to http://www.caloriecount.com/
Have a great Sunday!
i am confused. The instructions say to purée the soup, but in the picture it looks like there are chunks of potatoes. Is it necessary to purée?
Hi Kris! Yes, it should be pureed, but you can leave a few chunks as I do for presentation.
Delicious and so nutritious! Both my husband and I loved it. Will definitely make again.
WOuld I be able to add bacon to this? and how would i do that?
Hi Annabel! Yes, that sounds even better! However, I would cook the bacon in a frying pan, (or microwave it), crumble it, and just add it to the soup as garnish.
Katerina,
I got so excited about your blog – my fellow Macedonian! Great job! I actually found it through an email from Oprah’s team which recommended 6 best crock pot recipes for winter (Feb 26 I think). Kudos.
About this dish – I think I used too many leaks (had frozen and cut from Trader Joe’s) so it wasn’t a hit. How did yours end up orange/red? Mine was yellow-ish. I ate 2 cups but my hubby and the baby (8.5 months) weren’t fans. Any recommendations in ways to tweak it (other than less leeks)?
Hope you have other crock pot recipes coming. I’ll definitely try more…my resolution is try the new dishes at least once per month. Doing well on that resolution so far.
Aleks
Hi Aleksandra!! SO glad you found me!! 🙂
My soup is always a bit orange – I think that’s more to do with the 3 carrots that I add to it. Was it the flavor of the leeks that they didn’t like? If that’s the case, use only one large leek. I have never used frozen leeks, and since I don’t know how much is in one bag, I couldn’t tell you if you might have used too much. The taste of leek should be subtle – not overpowering – but still there. 🙂 I hope this helps! Let me know!!
It wasn’t a hit at our house either. The celery overpowered the other flavors. I tried it with and without the parsley and it wasn’t good. We experimented with adding corn, soy sauce, and milk (separately and at the same time). Only the corn helped. Finally, on a whim, we tried coconut milk. It was pretty good, but not the same soup at all. In all, this is the first 1 star rating I’ve ever had to give. We won’t make this one again.
I’m really sorry you didn’t enjoy it, Tricia.
The potatoes didn’t cook in the 4hrs on high. I’m about to dump it into a soup pot to try and salvage this. Maybe it’s my crock pot? I don’t think so. I use it all the time
Hi Karen!! I’m sorry about that :(. I make this soup quite often and it’s never taken more than 4 hours, but you never know… Hope it turns out great! Have a wonderful evening!
Chopped the veggiea last night so I could throw everything in the crockpot. Having the soup for dinner on this windy day!
I made this yesterday for my hubby and I since my daughter was going to my MIL’s…..What an awesome dish!! Can’t wait to make it again and I froze some!
Hi Tammi!! I am so happy to know that you loved it!! Thank you!
I love finding new recipes for my slow cooker. This sounds really delicious. I like to use it on days when I’m really busy and can just throw everything in in the morning and come home to a lovely meal later on.
I’m about to pick up my daugther now, but before that I need to get leeks for this recipe. I REALLY love leeks and potatoes together (I make gratin) and tonight is pasta, so I’m making this on the side! So easy but delicious and I know it!!! Thanks, Kate! I should have checked this post earlier when I saw the pic on IG…. I’m always running behind on posts… =P
I was wondering how I missed this, then I realized you weren’t in my reader – gasp! All fixed now! This looks perfect & I can’t wait to try it! Love your photos too!!
Yummy soup for this winter!
Love to see your delicious dish on every Sunday.
Thank you, Anna! 🙂
Very nice. I’m seeing that being made this weekend and topped with some sharp cheddar and pieces of thick cut bacon.
Potatoes, soup and savory? Swoon! Kate I’ll am looking forward to your new Sunday series. Surprisingly I accomplished 80% of last year’s resolutions. Let’s see what happens this year. lol:)
Well you know I am a soup FIEND and this looks fabulous. I like Savory Sundays!!! : )
This is one of my favorite soups, I’ve never thought about making it in the slow cooker, great idea;-)
Savory Sundays is a mighty fine idea. I find soups to be so challenging to photograph and you’ve done such a fine job. Funny thing I used leeks today to in pancakes and this soup looks absolutely delicious!
Nothing beats a wonderful savory soup on a cold winters day!! This soup looks amazing. 🙂
I love leek and potato soup but have never even once thought of making it in the slow cooker! This looks absolutely delicious.
You know, you and I are opposites. My files are bulging with recipes too, but I usually talk about the savory dishes and don’t spend too much on sweet stuff. I’m so glad you gave us a peek at your dinner table because this one’s a keeper.
This soup looks so cosy! (Love your serving cups!)
I don’t think about New Year’s resolutions until never. They’re wily little things which start off with a coy tip-of-the-hat- but as soon as you turn around they pick your pocket, steal your good intentions, and leave you feeling sad and used.
Much better to eat and drink in merry moderation all year ’round. 😉
This soup looks so comforting & delicious! I love how easy it is too :).
Another great soup for a cold Winter day!
This is one of my favorite soups! It reminds me of when I first tried it in a pub in England with my in-laws. They were shocked that I hadn’t eaten a leek before! Now I make it a few times a year.
I seem to get all caught up in baking and other projects and let dinner slide. Great idea to break out the slow cooker…and Bill would be quite happy with this delicious soup!
A very delicious soup!
I seriously just logged on to my computer for a slow cooker recipe. Good timing Kate!
I use my slow cooker on Sundays, too! 🙂 Hope you have a great day, Kristy! xo