Cream of Leek and Kale Soup
With the mild fall temps this year, the kale in our garden has been getting a bit out of hand, so I thought I would make some kale soup. But I was really in the mood for something rich and creamy.
Mmmm … Like Cream of Leek and Kale Soup. Yes.
Cream soups are typically quite fattening, but this soup uses slimming potatoes to give you creaminess.
Creaminess without fatteningness.
Cream of Leek and Kale Soup
Kale is a super source of calcium. Add them to this lusciously creamy soup and you have a nutritious and delicious comfort food that won’t add inches to your waistline.
Ingredients
- 2 medium leeks, cut into thin slices - (see note)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 ribs celery, diced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 to 4 medium potatoes
- 3 cups water - or very mild vegetable stock or broth – divided
- 1 teaspoon granulated onion
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
- pinch dried rubbed sage
- 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh kale
- 1 cup plain, unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt - or to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot, sauté leeks, onions, and celery in oil over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes or until onions begin to appear translucent.
- Meanwhile, peel potatoes and dice into 1/2- to 1-inch dices. (I use my veggie chopper to cut the onions, celery, and potatoes. With the help of my chopper, I can prepare this soup in half the time.)
- Turn heat on high and add potatoes to pan along with 2 cups of the water and the seasonings.
- Cover and bring to boil. When soup comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook until potatoes are just tender, but not too soft (about 4 to 5 minutes).
- Meanwhile, wash and chop kale.
- When potatoes are tender, remove 2 cups of the soup mixture from the pan and pour it into a blender. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Stir remaining cup of water and chopped kale into soup. Cook uncovered at a low boil for 5 to 7 minutes or until kale is tender. Stir occasionally.
- While soup is cooking, add milk and salt to blender mixture and blend until smooth.
- When kale is tender, stir in blender mixture. Cook until thoroughly heated.Serve hot.
Notes
1. Leeks can sometimes get dirt trapped between the layers of their leaves. To clean the leeks, thinly slice them into rounds, place the slices in a colander, and run under cool water, breaking apart the rings as necessary to remove dirt.
2. The dark green part of a leek can be very tough; therefore, you will want to only use the white, yellow , and very light green part of the leek (minus the root).
Yield: 2 to 3 servings
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I make a soup like this but instead of milk alternative I take half the batch and blend it with cashews and nutritional yeast! I only buy almond milk and I hate the way it makes savory dishes taste so I have found if I use cashews and my no chicken chicken bouillon cubes and water it makes for a nice savory creamy base!
This sounds really good! I’ll have to try it. It sounds similar to my recipe for Cream of Potato Soup:
https://jenniferskitchen.com/2009/03/cream-of-potato-soup.html
I made this and it is delicious!!
I just made this recipe and it was amazing! We all loved it. I did substitute chicken broth for the water and at the end, added some of the spice, Spike. Truly a keeper recipe!
Happy to hear you liked it, Eileen!
Love this recipe.
Looks delicious… calorie count?
Hi Dana,
Thank you for your comment.
This recipe fits in my weight loss program, and one of the benefits of the program is there’s no need to count calories, so I don’t have a calorie count for this soup. You can read more about the nutrition information for my recipes here.
Sorry I don’t have the information you’re looking for, but I hope the info at the link above is helpful. And I hope you enjoy the soup!
Jennifer
I just made this soup and it was amazing! I didn’t have any kale so I used collards. I used unsweetened soy milk, a little Pinot Grigio, some cashew cream, ground coriander, white pepper, and some minced fresh chives as a garnish on top. Even my cream and butter loving husband loved it! The flavors are balanced and not bland at all. Almost tastes like colcannon soup. Oh, and I highly recommend serving with Cholula hot sauce. Thank you for such an soul satisfying soup!
Just made this and it was wonderful! Used the pink fleshed potatoes from this past weeks farmers market and pre-washed kale to make life easier. Yum!
So glad you liked the soup Alex. Now I’m thinking about how long it’s been since we’ve had this – I need to go make some now! 🙂
does it matter what type of potatoes? I have Russet on hand. I bought a ton o leeks because they looked delicious and wasn’t sure what to make with them…don’t want a soup that is so heavy and this looks delicious.
Hi Lisa,
Yukon Golds are my favorite, but Russets will work just fine. I’ve made this with several different kinds of potatoes and it’s always delicious!
How many servings does this make? Can 3 people be fed well on it?
Hi Heather,
Yes, this recipe will make 3 good-size servings. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Hi there!
I used nonfat plain yogurt plus a quarter cup of half n half. Great recipe and thank you for sharing it!
Roxanne
AMAZING SOUP!!! It’s so gratifying to make a soup and have it turn out this savory and delicious. Thank you for the awesome recipe. NOTE: next time I am probably going to use vegan protein broth in place of some water and almond milk and I think this will make it even creamier.
Thanks Barbara! That’s what I love to hear.
Using broth sounds like a great idea!
I just made this and it’s so good!! I didn’t have sage, but I did use chicken stock instead of water and just a dash of coriander because another commenter suggested that. It’s delicious. Thank you.
So good to hear! Thanks for your comment!! 🙂