Creamy Cauliflower, Potato and Leek Soup (French-Style)

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This creamy cauliflower, potato & leek soup is everything I love about French comfort food—elegant, velvety, and full of flavor. And it’s made from simple ingredients you likely already have on hand. Inspired by the classic French velouté, it combines tender cauliflower florets, potatoes, and sliced leeks with fresh thyme and a splash of crème fraîche or cream for that signature creamy texture.

The best part? You don’t need any fancy tools or techniques. All it takes is a large pot and a regular blender or immersion blender to create this delicious soup at home. And for an extra velvety texture, put the soup through a fine-mesh sieve.

It’s the ultimate comfort food — Serve it hot with a sprinkle of fresh chives and parsley and crusty bread for dipping, and you’ve got a beautiful, satisfying dish that tastes like it came straight from a cozy French bistro. And it’s super easy 😀

Cauliflower, Potato and Leek Soup Ingredients

• 2 large leeks (white and light green parts only), cleaned and sliced
• 1 medium head of cauliflower (about 600-800g), cut into small cauliflower florets
• 3 medium potatoes (about 400-500g), peeled and diced
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (or vegan butter for dairy-free)
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small shallot, finely diced (optional, for extra depth of flavor)
• 1-2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine (optional, but adds brightness)
• 5 cups or 1.25 liter water (or chicken or vegetable broth)
• 200ml crème fraîche, sour cream, heavy or vegan cream (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper or white pepper, to taste
• Pinch of grated nutmeg (optional)
• 3 tablespoons chopped green onions or fresh chives
• Fresh parsley or chervil leaves for garnish (optional)
• Crusty bread, slices of baguette or rustic bread to serve

How to Make Cauliflower, Potato and Leek Soup

• Clean the leeks: Trim the root ends and dark green parts, slice lengthwise, and rinse thoroughly under running water and then in a large bowl of water. This is a really important step. It is super important to wash the leeks properly. They are known to hide bits of sand in the stalks, and then you get a sandy soup 😜.
• Pat dry with a kitchen towel, then slice thinly into half-moons.
• Slice the shallot.

• In a Dutch oven or large soup pot, heat butter and heat oil over medium heat and add the sliced leeks and shallot with a pinch of salt. Then, cook gently for 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent but not browned.

• Stir in the minced garlic and fresh thyme, and cook for 1 more minute until fragrant.
• Add the white wine if using. Let it simmer for 2 minutes to cook off the alcohol.

• Add the cauliflower florets and diced potatoes, stirring well to coat with the aromatic mixture.
• Pour in the water (or vegetable broth or chicken stock if you really want to), and add the bay leaf and pinch of nutmeg if using.
• Finally, bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to medium-low heat, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender when pierced with a knife.

• Remove the bay leaf, then carefully blend the hot soup using an immersion blender, regular blender, or food processor until the soup is silky and smooth.
• For the finest texture, strain through a fine-mesh sieve or chinois strainer (Optional).
• Return to the stove on low heat. Add more water if you would like a thinner soup. Do not boil.
• Ladle into warm bowls. Serve with a quenelle (spoonful) of crème fraîche or heavy or vegan cream, and season with black pepper, a pinch of nutmeg, and more salt to taste. 
• Garnish with green onions or chives, a little parsley or chervil leaves, or a drizzle of olive oil.

Serving Suggestions à la Française

My French in-laws often served soup as the first part of the meal. Usually it was a velouté type of soup – fresh vegetables they bought in season at the local market, and served as a very velvety soup with a dollop of crème fraîche. Here are my suggestions:

• Serve cauliflower potato and leek soup in warmed shallow bowls with a warm, sliced baguette, rustic dark rye bread or homemade croutons on the side.
• For an elegant bistro presentation, create a perfect quenelle of crème fraîche or sour cream in the center of each serving, garnish with fresh parsley or chervil leaves, and add a few drops of high-quality extra virgin olive oil.
• Offer a small dish of fleur de sel on the table, allowing guests to adjust seasoning to their preference.
• For a light lunch or dinner, start with crudités (raw veggies salad, such as this French style carrot and cucumber salad) and then pair the soup with a light salad, baguettes and a glass of dry white wine for a full French-inspired meal.
• For a special occasion, serve this velouté as the first course of a proper French dinner, followed by a light fish course, then the main dish.

Notes du Chef

• You do not need to use vegetable or chicken stock cubes for this soup. For an authentic French soup, either just use water, or use a homemade broth. I try to avoid using ready-made vegetable stock cubes whenever possible, because it makes everything taste the same. The French rely on the fresh ingredients to give the best flavor.
• Velouté – Think velvet 😀 Traditionally, a velouté soup is made with a roux base. However, in this cauliflower, leek and potato soup recipe, the velouté consistency is created by blending and fine straining (if you have time) and adding the crème fraîche, sour cream or cream resulting. The result is an elegant soup that exemplifies the refined simplicity that French culinary tradition is known for.

Bon appétit! This refined velouté captures the essence of French bistro cuisine, but is easy peasy to make in your own home.

Creamy Cauliflower, Potato and Leek Soup

Marissa

Cauliflower florets, potatoes, and sliced leeks combined with fresh thyme and a splash of crème fraîche or cream for that signature creamy texture of French velouté soups.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Course dinner, entree, lunch, Soup

Cuisine French

Servings 4

Calories 435 kcal

Equipment

• 1 Dutch Oven or large pot
• 1 Stick blender or food processor
• 1 Fine mesh strainer optional

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 large leeks white and light green parts only, cleaned and sliced
• 1 medium head of cauliflower about 600-800g, cut into small cauliflower florets
• 3 medium potatoes about 400-500g, peeled and diced
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter or vegan butter for dairy-free
• 2 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 small shallot finely diced (optional, for extra depth of flavor)
• 1-2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine optional, but adds brightness
• 5 cups or 1.25 liter water or chicken or vegetable broth
• 200 ml crème fraîche sour cream, heavy or vegan cream (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper or white pepper to taste
• Pinch of grated nutmeg optional
• 3 tablespoons chopped green onions or fresh chives
• Fresh parsley or chervil leaves for garnish optional
• Crusty bread slices of baguette or rustic bread to serve

Instructions

 

• Clean the leeks: Trim the root ends and dark green parts, slice lengthwise, and rinse thoroughly under running water and then in a large bowl of water. This is a really important step. It is super important to wash the leeks properly. They are known to hide bits of sand in the stalks, and then you get a sandy soup 😜.
• Pat dry with a kitchen towel, then slice thinly into half-moons.
• Slice the shallot.
• In a Dutch oven or large soup pot, heat butter and heat oil over medium heat and add the sliced leeks and shallot with a pinch of salt. Cook gently for 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent but not browned.
• Stir in the minced garlic and fresh thyme, and cook for 1 more minute until fragrant.
• Add the white wine if using. Let it simmer for 2 minutes to cook off the alcohol.
• Add the cauliflower florets and diced potatoes, stirring well to coat with the aromatic mixture.
• Pour in the water (or vegetable broth or chicken stock if you really want to), and add the bay leaf and pinch of nutmeg if using. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to medium-low heat, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender when pierced with a knife.
• Remove the bay leaf, then carefully blend the hot soup using an immersion blender, regular blender, or food processor until the soup is silky and smooth. (For the finest texture, strain through a fine-mesh sieve or chinois strainer.)
• Return to the stove on low heat. Add more water if you would like a thinner soup. Do not boil.
• Ladle into warm bowls. Serve with a quenelle (spoonful) of crème fraîche or heavy or vegan cream, and season with black pepper, a pinch of nutmeg, and more salt to taste.
• Garnish with green onions or chives, a little parsley or chervil leaves, or a drizzle of olive oil.

Notes

Storage:

• • The soup will keep refrigerated for up to 3 days and actually improves in flavor overnight, as is typical of many French dishes.

• • Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. It’s best to keep the cream and soup separate and add the cream when you are ready to eat.

• • For freezing, prepare the recipe without adding the cream or crème fraîche. Add after thawing and reheating.

Serving Suggestions:

• Serve cauliflower potato and leek soup in warmed shallow bowls with a warm, sliced baguette, rustic dark rye bread or homemade croutons on the side.
• For an elegant bistro presentation, create a perfect quenelle of crème fraîche or sour cream in the center of each serving, garnish with fresh parsley or chervil leaves, and add a few drops of high-quality extra virgin olive oil.
• Offer a small dish of fleur de sel on the table, allowing guests to adjust seasoning to their preference.
• For a light lunch or dinner, start with crudités (raw veggies salad, such as this French style carrot and cucumber salad) and then pair the soup with a light salad and a glass of dry white wine for a full French-inspired meal.
• For a special occasion, serve this velouté as the first course of a proper French dinner, followed by a light fish course, then the main dish.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 435kcalCarbohydrates: 46gProtein: 8gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 51mgSodium: 96mgPotassium: 1302mgFiber: 8gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 1602IUVitamin C: 113mgCalcium: 152mgIron: 3mg

Keyword Cauliflower, Quick and easy, Velouté

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

What kind of bread to serve with cauliflower, potato and leek soup

Traditionally, velouté soups are served with French baguette slices of bread. No butter and no cheese, just slices of very fresh baguette. However, it is not uncommon these days to find a selection of breads, including rustic breads and gluten free breads served with soups in French family homes.

The gluten free rye-style bread you see in some of the photos of my cauliflower, potato and leek soup was made at SBA’s Kitchen’s workshop in Briagalong, Australia. Perfect flavor and texture to make some cottage cheese open-faced sandwiches to go with my velouté soup!

The workshop was amazing! I learned how to make gluten-free rye-style starter and bread, discard crackers and discard pancakes.

And we also made some Danish Open Sandwiches on the bread for lunch (similar to my Baltic open sandwiches and equally yum).

Why I loved this workshop 😀

• Julie (from the SBA’s Kitchen blog) is so knowledgeable and friendly – everything was so clear and no question was ever a bother.
• Julie provided all the recipes and ingredients. She measured out the ingredients before we got there, so that we could concentrate on the process and have time to ask questions.
• Not only did I learn how to make sourdough gluten-free bread, but I also learned some great techniques, such as how to line a baking loaf, to use in my cooking.
• I can’t believe that in four hours we managed to make gluten-free sourdough starter, discard crackers, discard pancakes and 5 different types of Danish open-faced sandwiches – and have time to have a leisurely lunch 😀.

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