This creamy fall or winter potato leek soup is made by slowly sautéing leeks to extract all their flavor, then adding potatoes, fresh herbs, and blending everything together with a little bit of heavy cream. It is served with chicken meatballs, fresh parsley, crispy bacon, and crunchy croutons. It reminds me of our time traveling around Belgium in the winter.
Recipe Inspiration: Trip to Belgium
We had a creamy potato leek soup with chicken meatballs like this while traveling in Belgium. It was a freezing cold day in the middle of winter and we spotted this little restaurant, called Souplounge. The windows of the restaurant had fogged up from the hot soup. You couldn't see inside. The soup was served with chicken meatballs, croutons and parsley along with an apple and a chunk of bread on the side.
It was one of those days traveling where we felt out of our element. We were in a city, Ghent, that we had never been to before (which was not uncommon) but we didn't have much of an idea of what to do. It was cold and we were layered up. We were struggling with how to spend our time in this city.
We stopped over in Ghent between Brussels and Bruges (where we planned to spend Christmas) and we didn’t really have a plan other than to walk around. So, finding this little hole in the wall, warm and steamy, order-at-the-counter restaurant was such a relief. It hit the spot and warmed us up, so much so that we went back the next day for more. This soup is tied to such good memories for us, the feeling of being warm and finding a spot to rest on a challenging day of travel.
Creamy Potato Leek Soup with Chicken Meatballs
This soup is creamy from blending the potatoes, leeks, and broth together and adding a small amount of heavy cream to add richness. The chicken meatballs add some heft so that you’re not feeling hungry later. It’s topped with bright fresh green parsley, salty, crispy bacon, and crunchy croutons. It’s a great fall or winter meal. The chicken meatballs are really satisfying, and if you’re serving this to kids, they may just pick out the chicken meatballs covered in a little bit of creamy soup (ours do).
Making the Chicken Meatballs
Making the chicken meatballs or the soup on their own does not take a lot of time. However, if you’re making both, prepare to set aside some time, especially if you have little kids running around demanding your attention.
You could always make the chicken meatballs ahead of time (say the night before or any other down time), to ease the pressure around dinner time. The soup could certainly be made ahead too.
Storing Leftover Creamy Potato Leek Soup with Chicken Meatballs
This soup is great for leftovers. Store the soup covered in a large Tupperware, or the original pot in the fridge for up to 5 days. Store the meatballs separately, covered in the fridge. To reheat, portion out soup in individual bowls. Add the meatballs and microwave for 2-3 minutes until warmed through, depending on your microwave.
Pureeing the Soup: Blender or Immersion Blender
- Make sure to remove the bay leaf and all of the thyme sprigs before adding the soup to the blender and pureeing. Otherwise, it could be disastrous – quite the headache to remove the stem and leaf fragments.
- If you have an immersion blender you could use that instead of pureeing in batches in the blender. It would make things simpler.
If you're looking for other soup recipes, you may love these:
Fagioli Soup with Macaroni and Kale: Italian style soup with a thin tomato broth, slowly cooked vegetables (sofrito), with beans, macaroni, and kale.
Chicken and Vegetable Soup with Ginger: Chicken soup with lots of vegetables and a hint of ginger in the broth. Warm, comforting, and healthy.
Italian Lentil Soup: Quick soup with a tomato broth, green lentils, garlic and sage. Great weeknight meal, great for lunch the next day(s).
If you make this Creamy Potato Leek Soup with Chicken Meatballs, I'd love to hear from you and learn how it went. Leave a rating and a comment down below and let me know how it turns out. Your feedback means a lot!
Creamy Potato Leek Soup with Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
Chicken Meatballs
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 cup grated parmesan
- 1 egg
- ½ cup milk
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tbsp soy sauce
- 3 sprigs thyme, leaves removed and minced
- 2 sprigs parsley, leaves removed and minced
- ¼ cup panko
- ¼ tsp salt
- a few cracks pepper
Potato Leek Soup
- 3 strips bacon, thinly sliced
- 2 leeks, white and light green parts, cut down the middle and thinly sliced
- 8-10 medium red potatoes, peeled and diced
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ cup heavy cream
- croutons, for serving optional
- fresh parsley, chopped, for serving optional
Instructions
Chicken Meatballs
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- In a large bowl combine the ground chicken, parmesan, egg, milk, garlic, soy sauce, thyme, parsley, panko, salt, and pepper.
- Make the chicken into balls using about 2 tbsp of the chicken mixture per meatball. Add to a large baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes. These are a great snack while working on the rest of the soup - gotta keep your stamina up :)
Creamy Potato Leek Soup
- Bring a large pot or Dutch oven to medium heat. Add the bacon. Cook until crispy, then remove and set aside. Add the leeks, cover and sauté at medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If needed add a tablespoon or two of olive oil to the pot. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute.
- Add the chicken broth, potatoes, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
- Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs.
- Remove a small portion of the potatoes. Set aside to add back to the soup after pureeing.
- Working in batches, puree the soup. I usually do two batches in a blender (be sure to remove the bay lead and thyme sprigs). Return the soup to the pot along with the potatoes that were set aside earlier. If you have an immersion blender you can use that instead of a blender. Add the heavy cream. Bring to a simmer.
- Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Top with the crumbled bacon, chicken meatballs, croutons, and parsley.
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