This Irish potato leek soup is a delicious way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. It reminds me of a loaded baked potato…in the form of soup!
I could not let St. Patrick’s Day pass by without paying homage to my Irish roots. So I am breathing new life back into this old recipe. In the form of updated photos and newly-added Instant Pot instructions.
🎉🙌🏻
Yes, you can make this on the stove top OR in your Instant Pot.
Did you know I am (part) Irish? I researched my ancestry a few years back and found several Irish branches in our family tree. My grandmother’s side of the family were farmers and supposedly came over during the potato famine.
So back to the recipe. Yes, this soup had potatoes in it. But I’ll bet you will be surprised to know that there is a super sneaky ingredient in there too – some cauliflower.
I used the cauliflower to add some creaminess, plus extra nutrition. Honestly I cannot even detect it in the finished dish! And my husband and kids don’t like cauliflower, and they ate the soup happily.
And as I often do with soup, I love to go a little crazy on ALL the toppings (<-Bacon! And cheeeeese!).
The toppings are, of course, 100% up to you, but may I suggest some REAL bacon. Not the turkey variety. The real pork stuff. We used the Trader Joe’s pre-cooked bacon because we like to be lazy with our bacon. 😆 YUM.
So let’s talk about leeks for a second. They have a mild onion-y like flavor, and I think I need to find more ways to use them because they are so good! If you have never cooked with leeks before, this link may be helpful: how to wash and prep leeks. Mine were gritty, so a good washing should not be skipped!
As for the potatoes, I recommend yukon golds (<- Thank you Costco for the ginormous bag!) But russets would work okay too.
Also, if you have not sprung for an immersion blender (affiliate) yet, you totally should! I don’t know why I waited so long to buy one! They are really inexpensive, and when you are pureeing soups like this one, it makes things so, so, so much easier!
If you only have a regular blender handy, you can modify this recipe by letting the soup cool, then transferring to the blender in batches to puree. And THEN transferring back to the pot to re-heat. More complicated, and a few more dishes to wash…but it works.
I bet you’ll be cruising Amazon afterward to check out that immersion blender, though. 🙂
I hope you enjoy this recipe. And Happy (early) St. Patrick’s Day!!🍀
Tools Used to Make Irish Potato Leek Soup
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- Instant Pot, large pot or Dutch oven
- Measuring spoons
- Dry ingredient measuring cups
- Measuring cup for liquids
- Knife and cutting board
- Ladle for serving
Irish Potato Leek Soup Recipe
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Irish Potato Leek Soup
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 medium onion roughly chopped
- 3 leeks chopped
- 1 rib celery roughly chopped
- 2 pounds medium Yukon gold potatoes Diced into 1 inch chunks
- 2 cups cauliflower florets (7 ounces on food scale)
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste, since this will vary greatly based on saltiness of broth, butter, etc.)
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 leaves bay
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
Instructions
Stovetop Instaructions
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat; stir in onion, celery and leek.
- Cover and cook 20 minutes.
- Stir in potato, bay leaves and thyme; cover and cook 15 minutes.
- Stir in broth, cauliflower florets, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until potato is tender.
- Remove from heat.
- Carefully remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the pot.
Serve with desired toppings. Recommended: real pork bacon, shredded cheese and green onions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Melt butter in the inner pot on sauté mode; stir in onion, celery and leek.
- Cook until tender, about 7 minutes, stirring frequently. It will cook down in volume, FYI.
- Add in chicken stock, potato, cauliflower florets, salt, pepper, bay leaves and thyme.
Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes, and quick release the pressure (QR) when the cook time is complete. (Hint: I place a dish towel over the lever before releasing pressure to avoid starchy liquid from spraying everywhere.)
After the pressure is fully release, remove the lid, and carefully remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Tongs are helpful for this.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the pot.
Serve with desired toppings. Recommended: real pork bacon, shredded cheese and green onions
Recipe Notes
Nutritional information is approximate and was calculated using a nutrition label generator.
Saw someone use leeks on a cooking show and was immediately transported back to St. Paddy’s 2015 when I made this soup. SO good. So good that I have to make it again tonight! I’m going to attempt to convert it to an Instant Pot recipe. Wish me luck!
Oh this would be a great one to convert to the IP. I may need to post that😉👏🏻
If dairy is your problem, try ghee.
What substitute options if any do you suggest for the butter. It is really the only downside to this yummy recipe.
It will taste better with the butter. But! You could substitute with olive oil, and you don’t have to use as much as 1/2 cup…just try a couple tablespoons and see how it looks. Add more if needed. Good luck!
In the process of making this! Do you mean 2 14oz potatoes or 2 potatoes equaling 14 oz? HELP!
I wish I had seen this sooner! I am sure you are done making it by now…I am sorry! It is 14 ounces total. I am updating the recipe so that others don’t get confused.
Would it be possible to make this in a slow cooker? I’m planning a St. Paddy’s Day Party and was hoping to make it all in my slow cookers.
If I cooked the onion, celery, and leek in butter for ~5-10 mins before putting it in the crock pot and then adding everything else I think it might work, but I would like your opinion!
It miiiight work, but I am not sure since I have never tested it that way. If you are making it for a party, I’d suggest doing a test run first to make sure it turns out okay (consistency, taste, etc.). Please let me know if you try it and how it turns out!
You know, this recipe is sooooo easy already. I should just make it your way! My only problem is I have non stick pans and I’m afraid the immersion blender would damage the bottom of the pan.. Do you know of any immersion blenders that would be safe for non-stick?
I definitely see your dilemma! Yeah, I’d worry about using it in non-stick too, since it might chip the finish. I am sorry to say I don’t know of any.
I might just transfer it to the crockpot to keep it warm and just blend it in there!
Hopefully this will work! Thanks for helping me work through this problem!
I’ll be making this in a few days, and I totally just ordered the immersion blender. I’m sitting next to my husband as I’m reading this recipe and, thinking out loud, exclaimed “but I need an immersion blender!” He convinced me to buy it, as I’ve been talking about getting one for months. So thank you 😉 Plus I have Amazon Prime sooooo free 2 day shipping! I’m excited to try the recipe (and my new blender!!) It looks delicious (the soup…not the blender). I’ve made quite a bit of potato soup, but this one looks perfect!
I hope you enjoy that soup and the immersion blender too! I have couple other recipes that use that immersion blender – tomato basil soup and ranch dressing. (<- just in case you want to use it in some other recipes.) 🙂 Enjoy!
When do I add the cauliflower?
Thank you so much for your question Abby! I add the cauliflower florets with the broth. I did not even realize I left that out of the instructions, so I appreciate the note! I have updated the recipe to reflect this.
Thank you, making it right now!
Thanks for the heads up Leigh! I am not sure what happened. But I fixed it now.