This creamy Potato Leek Soup with Chicken Meatballs is made by slowly sautéing leeks to extract their flavor, adding potatoes and fresh herbs, and blending everything with a little bit of heavy cream.
It is served with chicken meatballs, fresh parsley, crispy bacon, and crunchy croutons. It reminds me of my time traveling around Belgium in the winter.
This soup is creamy from blending the potatoes, leeks, and broth and adding a small amount of heavy cream to add richness. The chicken meatballs add some heft to make it a meal so that you won’t feel hungry later.
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).
💡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 December and we spotted this little restaurant, called Souplounge. All the hot soup being made in the restaurant had fogged up the windows. So much so that you couldn't see inside. The soup was served 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 stopped over in Ghent a city between Brussels and Bruges (where we planned to spend Christmas) and we didn’t have a plan other than to walk around. 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 cold day of traveling.
🛒 Ingredients
Below are the ingredients for the Chicken Meatballs and the Potato Leek Soup.
Chicken Meatballs Ingredients
- Ground Chicken: The base of the meatball. You can also substitute ground turkey.
- Parmesan: Use freshly grated parmesan cheese.
- Egg: Helps to bind the ingredients.
- Milk: Adds moisture and creates a softer meatball.
- Garlic: Minced so that the bits of garlic are very small.
- Soy Sauce: Adds an umami flavor.
- Thyme, Parsley, Salt, Pepper: Spices for seasoning.
- Panko: Bread crumbs help to bind the ingredients together and hold in moisture. You can also use plain bread crumbs.
Potato Leek Soup Ingredients
- Bacon: Adds fat and flavor, but also a crispy element when set aside and added back as a garnish.
- Leeks: Have a distinct flavor from other types of onions. They are great to cook with.
- Garlic: Minced, adds a subtle garlic flavor, not overpowering.
- Potatoes: I use red potatoes. To make life easier, choose larger potatoes which are more bang for your buck when peeling them. A portion of them is set aside so that you still have diced potatoes in the soup, but the rest is pureed to create a thick creamy soup. If you have extra potatoes, try roasting them in this Roasted Potatoes with Lemon and Rosemary recipe.
- Chicken Stock: Used for the broth of the soup.
- Bay Leaf, Thyme, Salt, and Pepper: Spices that add flavor to the soup.
- Heavy Cream: Adds richness.
- Croutons: Adds a satisfying crunch.
- Parsley: For garnish, optional.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
📝 How to Make Potato Leek Soup With Chicken Meatballs
Below are the step-by-step instructions and photos for how to make Potato Leek Soup With Chicken Meatballs.
*Note: The recipe card with instructions, ingredient list, and quantities is included further below these step-by-step photos.
Prep. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Step 1. Prep the Meatballs: Add the ground chicken, parmesan, egg, milk, garlic, soy sauce, thyme, parsley, panko, salt, and pepper to a large mixing bowl. Mix with a spoon until just combined.
Step 2. Bake the Meatballs: Shape the mixture into meatballs, portioning 2 tablespoons for each meatball. Place on a baking sheet. You should have 5 rows of 4 meatballs each for a total of 20 meatballs.
Bake at 425°F for 20 minutes. The meatballs should be lightly browned on the top.
Step 3. Cook the Bacon: In a Dutch Oven or large pot, cook the thinly sliced bacon at medium heat until crispy. Remove and set aside.
Step 4. Sauté the Leeks: Add the leeks, cover, and sauté at just under medium heat for 7-10 minutes. (this would be a setting of "4" out of "10" on an electric stove). Stir occasionally. Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil if needed.
Add the garlic and sauté for 1 more minute.
Tip: Use the white and light green parts of the leeks only. Leeks in particular are important to clean thoroughly as dirt can accumulate between the layers.
Step 5. Add the Potatoes, Chicken Stock, and Spices: Add the peeled and diced potatoes along with the chicken stock, bay leaf, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
Step 6. Puree the Soup: Remove and discard the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. With a slotted spoon or fine mesh strainer remove a portion of the potatoes. This is to set aside and add back to the soup after it has been pureed. This way you still get chunks of potatoes in your soup, not just a straight puree.
With a blender, puree the soup. Add it back to the pot along with the potatoes that were set aside.
Tip: Be sure to remove the bay leaf and thyme, otherwise it can create a bit of a headache if they end up in the blender.
Step 7. Add the Heavy Cream and Serve: Stir in the heavy cream. Serve the soup in bowls topped with chicken meatballs, croutons, crispy bacon, and parsley.
🪄More Tips and Tricks
- Allocating Time to Cook: 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.
- Make Ahead: Both the chicken meatballs and the soup can be made ahead of time to ease the pressure around dinner time.
- Thyme and Parsley: If you do not have fresh thyme and parsley for the meatballs and the soup, add ¼ teaspoon dried thyme to the meatballs and ¼-½ teaspoon dried thyme to the soup (taste and adjust). Omit the parsley in both.
- Immersion Blender: If you have an immersion blender you could use that instead of pureeing in batches in the blender. It would make things simpler.
🍴How To Store, Reheat, and Freeze
- To Store: Store the soup covered in a large sealed container. Store the meatballs separately, covered in the fridge.
- To Reheat: Portion the soup into individual bowls. Add the meatballs and microwave for 2-3 minutes until warmed through depending on your microwave.
- To Freeze: Both the chicken meatballs and the soup freeze and reheat well. Store in a sealable container or gallon-sized freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight or at 50% power in the microwave.
If You're Looking For Other Soup Recipes, You May Love These:
Creamy Vegetable and Orecchiette Soup: A soup made with a creamy white cheddar broth and hearty vegetables along with orecchiette pasta.
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. Warm and comforting.
Italian Lentil Soup: Quick soup with tomato broth, green lentils, garlic, and sage. Great weeknight meal and great for lunch the next day(s).
If you tried this creamy Potato Leek Soup with Chicken Meatballs or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. I'd love to hear from you!
Creamy Potato Leek Soup with Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
Chicken Meatballs
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- ½ cup whole milk
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tablespoon soy sauce
- 3 sprigs thyme, leaves removed and minced
- 2 sprigs parsley, leaves removed and minced
- ¼ cup panko
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Potato Leek Soup
- 3 strips bacon, thinly sliced
- 2 leeks, white and light green parts, cut down the middle and thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 8-10 medium red potatoes, peeled and diced
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon 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 tablespoon 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 leaf and thyme sprigs, see Step 3). 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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