Creamy Leek and Parsnip Soup Recipe (2024)

Tasty and easy. Caution on quantity of leeks and parsnips. New York leeks and parsnips may work but West Coast veggies in these numbers would feed 12.

Agree. I'm scaling it to 1 lb of parsnip, peeled and diced, 1 large leek (2" diameter x 8" of usable white and light green), EVOO, i medium onion, 1 large carrot, salt and pepper, and a cup or so of bird stock. Dice all veggies and sweat at very low heat until tender with minimal fond on the pot bottom. This should take 40 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer 20 min, then hit it with a boat motor (stick blender) until creamy, maybe adding a bit more EVOO, but not too much. YUM!

Second James’s comment, it made a big batch, added another ~3 cups water to get the consistency right. Subbed shallot for garlic. Sweated the veggies for 2x time to fully caramelize. Liberal use of Omnivore Salt and pepper. Family’s happy, adding to the rotation!

This was super easy (and rewarding). I found the parsnips and leeks caramelized a little too well and the soup became too sweet. However, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice fixed that quickly! Also, I used an immersion blender and of course forgot to take out the bay leaves. Rest assured, the soup was still absolutely fine.

I love reading the recipes that the NY Times publishes, but do so wish that the nutritional information were included with each. With many readers struggling with being overweight (or obese), diabetic etc., such information would be truly helpful. Thank you for your attention to this request.

How do you caramelize the vegetables without them browning?

Don't forget to remove the bay leaf before pureeing the soup

Elegant enough for guests and easy enough for a weeknight dinner. I used 50-50 chicken stock & water and 50-50 potatoes & parsnips.

Given the differences in sizes of such ingredients as leeks and parsnips, it would be really helpful if the weight were given in the recipe.

-Instant Pot for 10 minutes after sauteeing vegetables with 4C veg stock, QR-Added zest and juice of a lemon -Immersion blender, adding 2C veg stock

I would use just the (well washed) white and light green parts of the leeks. Save the dark green leaves for stock.

I often make leek & potato soup and will try this variation...love parsnips. Reading the comments on size of leeks/parsnips, I wish American cooks and recipes would use weights instead of giving volume or stating"small/medium/large leeks". I refer to French websites often and they virtually always use weights. It makes everything so much easier. I have seen leeks vary from 1/2 inch diameter to almost 2 inches.

Good question. Step 2 in the recipe makes no sense. I think it should read "let vegetables sizzle and cook until softened but not browned."

I often make leek and parsnip soup more or less as per this recipe. It also works well with pureed fresh ginger and/or some spices, eg cumin, coriander, cardamom, to taste.

James Spears, you got that right! I'm out here in Cali with ONE large leek and 6 small parsnips and this will feed six as a first course or four with crusty bread and salad. I also added a small amount of some duck stock I made from some bones, and just a wee pat of butter for richness.Great recipe, though. Nice for our little pandemic family (me, wife and daughter)

It was delicious but to give the time as 25 minutes is ludicrous.Just prepping 8 cups of the vegetables probably took 20. It's a huge amount to caramelize in a pot and I eventually moved everything to a wok. Next time I will cut the parsnips very small in hopes of speeding up the process. I would say cooking time was over an hour.

I love parsnips and was looking forward to this soup. Prepared exactly as described. The result was cloyingly sweet soup. Perhaps the parsnips I used were exceedingly sweet. I couldn’t eat it. If you like sweet soups, you may love this one.

Used 3.5 C leeks & 4 cups parsnips. Was way to Leek-y. Won't make again

Meh:I made it exactly, using my own veggie stock. It's just okay . . I used the 4 cups of leeks and 4 of parsnip as listed, but agree weight would be best.When served with a squeeze of le.om juice and a dollop of Greek yogurt and grated tart apple it is much improved. If l made it again, l would consider adding ginger, cumin etc.

We simmered the soup with a generous half cup of walnuts before we pureed it in the vitamix . Instead of turmeric we used nutmeg and a teeny bit of cinnamon . We garnished it with walnuts and blue cheese. Showstopper for featuring our bumper crop of parsnips from the garden this winter

I added one gala apple, and three sage leaves. The parsnip flavour blossomed.

I made this using parsnips we grew, used water instead of stock and added diced celery and carrot to make up for no stock flavor. The parsnip/leek/tumeric combo is really great, and a dollop of yogurt at the end really makes it.

I followed the directions and made a half batch with 2.5 cups of parsnips and leeks. Came out great and not the gallons of soup that people mentioned, I would do a full batch next round. Evo on top made it a keeper.

I thought this was pretty bland so I added some lemon juice at the end. The yogurt definitely helped.

This is easy and delicious!!!

This is a wonderful and quite versatile soup. I used onion instead of leeks. No problem, though carrot and celery were also added for more depth. I also used half turmeric and half curry powder for a deeper flavor. The parsnips were too sweet for my taste, so I thinned the soup with milk and some cream.

@pH The recipe doesn't say to caramelize the vegetables. It says "...cook, stirring frequently until nearly caramelized, but without browning". In other words, you're supposed to stop cooking them before they become brown/caramelized.

Do you cover pit when simmering?

Delicious the way recipe is listed. Did not change anything. Stayed in the Fridays for about a week. Are little bit everyday. Very light and can be vegan.

I filtered my puréed soup through a tamis. It doesn't take that long, and it gave the soup a very silky texture. Crème fraîche stirred in really adds to the flavor. I also used organic chicken stock rather than water. Next time I make it I'll try freezing the extra and see how that goes. I enjoyed this soup very much.