This hearty green chile, leek and potato soup is a great way to warm up in cold weather or just to get a sense of comfort any time of the year. It has lots of flavor, texture and plenty of overall goodness.
What started off as a simple soup ended up being a robust leek and potato with green chile, mushrooms, carrots and corn. It is a relative easy soup to make and can be made to fit just about any diet. The soup itself is dairy free, gluten-free, and vegan. To add a little protein as well as additional flavors and textures, I recommend using a couple of toppings such as grated cheese, roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), avocado, and of course – bacon.
There are several substitutions you can make if you don’t have all of the ingredients listed in the recipe. As with any soup, it’s quite versatile, so feel free to substitute with what you have on hand. Be sure to check out the Kitchen Notes for ideas.
Green Chile Leek and Potato Soup
A hearty soup with a pureed potato base and a variety of vegetables – leeks, mushrooms, green chile and corn. This soup welcomes a variety of toppings for additional texture and flavor.
*See Kitchen Notes for more information, substitutions, and related links.
- Amounts are not exact.
- 1 large leek (white portion only), cut lengthwise into quarters, then into ¼” slices
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, halved lengthwise, then sliced
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 Tbsp. bacon drippings (optional)
- 1 – 2 Tbsp. olive oil*
- 4 – 6 ounces mushrooms*, sliced
- 5 large garlic cloves, minced
- 4 cups vegetable or mushroom broth*
- 8 ounces unpeeled, Yukon gold potatoes*, cut into ½” pieces
- ½ tsp. Mexican oregano, crushed
- ½ tsp. ground white pepper
- 1 cup corn (fresh, frozen or canned, drained)
- ½ cup chopped roasted green chile*
- Salt to taste
- Suggested Toppings
- Grated cheddar or Monterey Jack for topping
- Crumbled Bacon
- Roasted Pepitas* (pumpkin seeds)
- Avocado, cut into bite size pieces
- If using bacon, cook in a soup pot until crisp. Remove crispy bacon and set aside. Remove all but 1 Tbsp. of drippings from pot.
- While the bacon is cooking, chop the leek, onion, celery and carrots.
Once the bacon has finished cooking, add 1 Tbsp. olive oil to the pot with the 1 Tbsp. bacon dripping. If not using bacon, use 2 Tbsp. olive oil. Heat over medium low heat.
- When hot, add the chopped vegetables and sauté slowly for about 4 minutes.
- Slice the mushrooms and minced the garlic. Add to the sautéing vegetables and cook another 4 minutes or until mushrooms have begun to soften.
- Turn off the heat and transfer the vegetables to a bowl.
- Add 4 cups of broth to the soup pot and heat to a boil. While waiting for the broth to boil, chop the potatoes.
- Once the broth is boiling, add the potatoes and simmer for about 15 – 20 minutes until potatoes are cooked soft. Remove from heat.
Using an immersion blender or regular blender, blend the potatoes to a puree. Be careful to not over blend because the starch in the potatoes can cause them to become gummy. You should have a creamy broth. Add more water or broth if needed.
- Return the vegetables to the soup along with the corn, oregano, white pepper, and green chile. Reheat for about 10 minutes.
If serving immediately, scoop into soup bowls and top with toppings of your choice.
If possible, let sit in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight for the flavors to fuse. Reheat and serve.
Potatoes – Just scrub the potatoes before chopping. Do not peel! That’s where the nutrients are. If you don’t like the peeling, do not fear…it will be broken up when you purée the cooked potatoes.
Mushrooms – Just about any mushroom works for this soup, except for portobello which might overpower the other flavors. I prefer button mushrooms, shitakes, or even milder mushrooms such as oyster and trumpet. You could also use a mix of mushrooms. For this batch I only had 4 ounces of trumpet mushrooms, but because they are so mild, the soup could have used up to 6 ounces.
Broth – Use mushroom, vegetable, chicken or a combination of.
Green Chile – Amount is determined by how spicy you want the soup and how spicy the chile is. I like using 1/2 cup to yield more of a green chile flavor. If the chile isn’t too spicy, I’ve been known to add more. If you don’t have roasted New Mexico green chile, you can use roasted poblano. If you don’t want spicy, use roasted sweet bell peppers (red, orange, or yellow).
Protein – To add more protein to the soup, add a cup of cooked white beans and purée them with the potatoes OR you could substitute the potatoes with two cups of white beans. If you want meat, add 1 – 2 cups seasoned and cooked chicken or 1 or 2 sausages.
Pepitas – For a little spiciness in your topping, use these Sweet and Spicy Pepitas.
Here are a few more hearty soups to warm you up this winter.
This soup looks so flavourful and delicious.
I make leek and potato soups very often. This is a spicy version I would love to try! Especially now with the stormy weather we have.
Thanks Adina. Anything with a little spice is great for stormy weather. 🙂
This soup looks so flavorful and delicious! It would be perfect for the snowy winter evenings we are having lately.
I’ve done a lot of riffs on potato soup but never even thought to add green chile. LOVE.
Thanks Debra. Potatoes and green chile are an excellent combo!
Ha! I’ve already commented! This makes #3! Have a great week, MJ!
I did the same on a recent post of yours. 🙂 No problem!
The weather recently is calling for delicious soup recipes and this fits the bill. Flavorful with a touch of heat is the perfect combination!
I am not that fond of soups (especially because the weather here is mostly warm) but going through the ingredient list made me want to grab this bowl of deliciousness and slurp it away 😀
Totally understand, although I eat soup year round. 🙂 Thanks for commenting.
First time dropping by your space, lovely write-ups and recipes.. would love to have a bowl of this warm soup, yummy!!
Julie, Welcome! I’m so glad you found my website and hope you will enjoy some of the recipes. Your feedback is always appreciated and questions are welcome. Cheers, MJ
There is something about a hearty soup that warms you up from within to make you happy. Don’t even think we would need bacon or cheese as so many delicious flavors and the warming chili to keep us happy. Stay well and take care
Thanks Bobbi. Soups always make me a happy camper. 🙂
It’s definitely soup season where I live, and green chiles and potatoes sounds like the perfect way to warm up!
Thanks Jeff. Warm up with potatoes and green chile – you’ve got that right!
We’re pretty much having a heatwave with 19 degrees as the current temperature. Soup weather continues and I think this twist on potato soup would be a hit with the family!
Oh you are funny. 19 degrees – a heatwave. That’s living in the Arctic in my book. 🙂 Thanks Liz.
You know I love green chiles in every which way. But my second favorite ingredient is probably potatoes, so you know this would float my boat! Perfect for these cold nights!
Thanks Abbe. Oh yes, I know you love chile like I do. And of course, potatoes are always a great complement. Cheers.
fabulous flavours here MJ. Hope you had a great festive season.
cheers
sherry
Thanks Sherry. Hope your holidays were great as well. Hope you were feeling better.
I love soups with toppings that are customizable. The pepitas and Hatch green chile caught my eye, but all of it sounds delicious. The idea of using the potatoes as the thickener is genius. YUM! I can’t wait to try it!
Thanks Tamara. I’m a sucker for toppings = soups, posole, tacos, tostadas, and just a bowl of beans. The possibilities are endless. The potatoes as the base works great. Hope you try it.
Sounds and looks like another MJ Winning Recipe. This is so loaded with delicious go-to ingredients: onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, garlic, potatoes, chile, cheese, bacon, and avocado.
Who could resist?
It’s been quite cold here and soup is on my brain!
I hope you had a wonderful holiday season with your family and that 2022 will be an amazing year for you, MJ and Bobby!
xoxo
Thanks Darlin. I hope your holiday trip was wonderful! Sound has been on my brain since October and the temps dropped below 60F. LOL Of course I could eat soup year round. This time of year I usually make a soup or stew once a week. It always gives us two meals which is a big plus. Hope you have an amazing year as well. You’re getting close. 🙂 Cheers, MJ
MJ,
It’s hard to believe that time has flown by and one month has already finished in 2022. How did your holidays go? I’m sure you cooked up lots of New Mexico recipes that brought joy to all the lucky ones whom you served!
Warmly,
Roz
I know!! It’s February 2022!!! How did that happen. I actually didn’t cook a lot during the holidays. Had some health issues so the husband took ownership of the kitchen. He did wonderfully! We also got a lot of takeout which probably wasn’t the best thing, but was a nice change. Hope you had a wonderful holiday! Cheers, MJ
Happy New Year MJ!! ✨ What a great looking soup and I like how it blossomed to become its hearty self full of veggie goodness (great way to clean out the fridge too, yes? 🙂 I have a handful of red lentils in the pantry that I think could work well in the mix; must pin this lovely; wonderful inspiration. I hope the holidays were bright and that you are keeping well.
Happy New Year to you as well Kelly! And Yes, isn’t that what soup do? Help us clean out the fridge? 🙂 The lentils sound great in this. Go for it! Cheers, MJ
This sounds so tasty! nothing beats the comfort of a nice soup dish and its with bacon too!
Thanks Raymund. Yes, it has BACON! 🙂
Love, love, love your soup recipes. Well, to be fair, I love 99% of your recipes, lol. I love the use of the pepitas, and have got some Young Guns chile in the freezer ready to go. Hubs has to have meat in everything….how do you think chicken will go in this? What would you change if you added chicken, anything?
Thank you so much Lisa! Chicken would be quite good in this soup. You could either use leftover chicken and add to the soup when you return the vegetables to the pureed base; OR, if you are using uncooked chicken, you could either cut it up into bite-size pieces and sauté it with the vegetables or, use it to make a chicken broth for the soup. To make a broth, add 5 cups of water to pot, season the water with the oregano and ground white pepper and maybe a couple of bay leaves, bring to a boil, add the uncooked chicken pieces and cook for 20 minutes until done. Remove, let cool, then tear or cut into bite-size pieces. Use the broth for the soup. Hope this helps. Thanks for commenting!
MJ, you make the best-looking soups in the blogosphere. I’ll give this a try using the Hungarian green peppers we get here. Take care and have a very safe 2022…
That is a very kind thing to say Ron! Thank you! I’d like to try those Hungarian peppers. It’s interesting how there are so many different flavors in the simple pepper. Bet this soup would be good with them. Cheers!
MJ, I love the cheese and pepitas on top! This recipe is perfect for the weather we are having right now … every single drop delicious!
Thanks Judy. Stay warm!
Oh yeah…this will sure help take the chill off the snow, ice and rain here in Northern California! Got some pork broth and hominy instead of corn. Umm umm. Thanks!
Thanks Sharon. Using the hominy sounds perfect and definitely a nice, comforting way to warm up. 🙂 Enjoy!
May our current warm winds blow across ocean and mountains to bring you wishes for a better year than the one just past ! Reading the name of your soup thought I would find an American version of Potage Parmentier . . . not the rich and interesting offering I’ll certainly copy ! We are experiencing a coolish summer so far with temperatures not oft above 35 C . . . I pay little attention to seasonality anyways 🙂 ! So, thank you . . . shall report back !!!
Thanks Eha. Oh yes, we all need a better 2022.The past 2 years have not been the best, to say the least. Interesting, I had never heard of Potage Parmentier. We learn something new every day. Thanks! Well I guess you could say that this may start out the same and with the potato puree, be somewhat similar, but a lot more ingredients. 🙂 I’m with you when it comes to food…there aren’t many dishes I consider “seasonal”. Soup I could eat year round. Take care and I hope you enjoy the soup. Looking forward to your feedback. Cheers, MJ
Oh, Potage Parmentier is simply the hot version of the Vichyssoise we all love and make – potatoes and leeks again 😉 ! Living Down Under I prepare the cold version far more often !! Yours looks truly appetizing and has far more body to it – shall definitely try . . .
This looks excellent! Tons of flavor, and perfect for the really cold weather (and snow!) we’re expecting. Lovely — thanks.
Thanks John. I’m envious of your snow. We really need some here, but it’s pretty dry. Happy 2022!
The soup looks hearty, and so flavourful! Perfect for the season, MJ.
Thanks Angie. I love soup and this is one could eat year round.
MJ, I love everything about this soup. Snow is in the forecast tomorrow night and I was just looking for a new soup recipe to try. Voila! Love the topping of pepitas. I don’t use those as much as I could. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Thanks Lea Ann. If you want to stay warm with snow on the ground, this soup will certainly help. Enjoy!
You are starting the year off right with a hearty soup, MJ! Love all the veggies you incorporated into this delicious bowl. Sounds perfect for these colder evenings.
Thanks Jan. It’s is quite hearty and comforting.
BACON!
LOL! Of course!!!!!