My hearty vegan potato, leek, and cheese soup is not only really creamy and delicious - and ready in just 30 minutes - it's also only 197 calories per bowl! What a great way to kick-start your healthy new year!

Is there anything better to warm you up on a rainy winter's day than a delicious bowl of thick, hearty potato, leek, and cheese soup for lunch? I think not! This potato, leek, and cheese soup is just the thing for our chilly weather, and will, as they say, warm the cockles of your heart.

Why cockles? Because 'ventricles of the heart' just doesn't have the same ring about it! ('Cockles' comes from cochleae cordis - the snail-shaped chambers we have in our hearts.)

Before we left Britain in early 2012, something amato mio and I loved to do in the winter was drive to Salcey Forest, and go for long walks. I’d make a flask of soup beforehand (usually broccoli and 'cheese', or onion, or pumpkin), and we’d call in to Waitrose on the way to buy a couple of granary bread rolls to have with it. After our walk, invariably a bit chilly, we’d have a very welcome mini picnic in the car before heading home.

And if it had started to rain, so much the better – there’s something inherently cosy about sitting in a car on the edge of a forest, wrapped up in hat and scarf, drinking hot, thick soup, while rain pounds on the roof!

Now that we’re back in Britain, we're eating lots and lots of stews and soups because let's face it, Blighty is great for veggies at this time of year, and also, our old Eastern European habit of eating seasonally is still an everyday part of our lives.

(Plus, my lovely mother-in-law bought me an awesome Crock-Pot for Chrimbo, which has been really put through its paces this past couple of weeks!)

This leek, potato, and cheese soup is great if like me, you've become a little blurred around the edges during the festive period, and are aiming to rectify it. My preferred way of losing weight is by doing 5:2 fasting (eat 'normally' but sensibly for five days, and have two fasting days of only consuming 500 calories. It's much easier than it sounds!), and this soup is really filling on fasting days. I generally don't eat until around 7.30pm on fasting days, as I like to fast for a good 22 hours (the fast starts after the last meal the night before, and ends with the first meal the day after) but sometimes, especially when I've had some time off regular fasting, I have something light mid-afternoon, and then something later on. In cases like this, because it's under 200 calories per serving, I can have a couple of bowls!

A word of caution though, if you are going to have this as part of a fasting day, or other calorie-controlled diet, be sure to count any bread or croutons, etc. you may have with it. The nutritional information I've provided for this recipe is for the soup only. 🙂

📖 Recipe

Hearty Vegan Potato, Leek, and Cheese Soup

My hearty vegan potato, leek, and cheese soup is not only really creamy and delicious - and ready in just 30 minutes - it's also only 197 calories per bowl!

Print Pin Rate

Course: Soup

Cuisine: British

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes minutes

Makes (slide to adjust): 6 servings

Calories: 197kcal

Author: Nico

Ingredients

• 3 large floury white potatoes approx. 900g/2 lbs - washed and cut into bite-sized chunks (no need to peel)
• 2 large leeks - trimmed washed, and cut into bite-sized chunks
• 8 cloves garlic - trimmed peeled, and smashed
• 2 litres vegetable broth
• 100 g strong vegan cheese (note 1)
• ground black pepper
• Flat leaf parsley

Metric - US Customary

Cook ModePrevent your screen going dark

Instructions

• Place the potatoes, leeks, garlic, and stock into a large saucepan.
• Bring to the boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes or so, until the veggies are soft.
• Turn off the heat, and use an immersion blender to roughly blend the soup.
• Crumble in the cheese, and gently stir through - it just needs to soften, not completely disintegrate.
• Grind over some black pepper, garnish with a little parsley, and serve with chunky fresh bread. 
• This heart vegan potato, leek, and cheese soup will keep in the fridge for around 3 days, and for up to 3 months in the freezer.

Notes

1. You can use your favourite vegan cheese, of course, or sub with around 6 tablespoon of nutritional yeast flakes.

Nutrition Facts

Hearty Vegan Potato, Leek, and Cheese Soup

Amount Per Serving

Calories 197 Calories from Fat 54

% Daily Value*

Fat 6g9%

Saturated Fat 3g15%

Sodium 545mg23%

Carbohydrates 30g10%

Fiber 4g16%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 7g14%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Did you make this recipe?Do mention @yums0me and/or tag #yums0me - I'd love to see how yours turned out!

DisclaimerMeasurements in parenthesis are approximate; it is beyond the scope of yumsome to be able to provide pinpoint-accurate ingredient quantities for every type of measuring utensil. As a guideline however, I make the assumption that:

• 1 cup = US cup = 240 ml
• 1 tablespoon = US/UK = 15 ml
• 1 fl oz = US = 30 ml

Further information may be found here

If you like my Hearty Vegan Potato, Leek, and Cheese Soup recipe, you'll love these other soupy yums!