Winter Vegetable Soup

Name: Winter Vegetable Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons butter; 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks; 1 leek, peeled, rinsed and sliced (white and light green parts only); 2 celery stalks, sliced; 3 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (I like Yukon Golds); 4 cups chicken broth; Salt and pepper to taste; 1/4 cup sour cream; 1 tablespoon horseradish; Freshly ground pepper

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Warm, thick, creamy winter vegetable soup that is chock full of winter veggies and not a drop of cream! Welcome to the perfect cold weather healthy comfort food.

Bowl of winter vegetable soup with a spoon sitting on a wooden counter.

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Why you will love this recipe
Ingredients you need to make this recipe
Ingredient notes and substitutions
Here’s how you make this recipe
Recipe FAQs
Want to round out your meal?
Other soup recipes we love!
Could you leave us a review?
Winter Vegetable Soup

Why you will love this recipe

We make this good and good for you soup on the regular, especially in the cold months (although I bet it would make an excellent chilled soup too!), and here’s why.

It is packed full of a combination of vegetables that taste so good together (! do love a scrumptious vegetable mash-up!), especially when they are cooked until they are tender and then pureed into a thick creamy soup.

And to make things even better, all that warm thick creaminess comes without any, well, cream. Not that I have anything against cream, mind you. But all that hearty deliciousness is good old veggies playing nicely together.

And while you don’t have to, you can add a swirl of horseradish and sour cream to add some fanciness to your lunch. Let’s make it!

Ingredients you need to make this recipe

Ingredient notes and substitutions

Carrots: You can either use three large carrots or around 25 baby carrots
Leek: Look for this scrumptious member of the onion family in your produce section. You can also swap out the leek for a peeled and chopped sweet onion.
Potatoes: We like Yukon Golds for this recipe, but Idaho and Russet potatoes will work too.
Chicken Broth: We find the kind in the box tastes better than canned, and you can find it in the soup aisle next to the canned version.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Here’s how you make this recipe

Sauteed carrots, leeks and celery in a pot.

Step 1: Chop up some peeled carrots, some celery, and a leek. Saute them in a little butter until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

Chopped vegetables for winter vegetable soup in a pot.

Step 2: Add some chopped potatoes to the pot. We like Yukon Golds (you don’t even need to peel them!), but you can also use Idaho or Russet potatoes (you should peel those, and make the peels into potato chips!).

Step 3: Add some chicken broth and let your veggies simmer until they are nice and tender, about 30 minutes.

Horseradish cream sauce in a glass bowl.

Step 4: This part is optional (but SO GOOD)…while the veggies are cooking, mix up some sour cream and horseradish to make a sassy garnish for your soup.

Winter vegetable soup pureed in a blender.

Step 5: When the veggies are done, transfer them to your blender and puree it all up until it is smooth (you might have to do this in batches depending on the size of your blender). If you have an immersion blender you can also puree your soup right in the pot (you might end up with a few small veggie chunks but that’s not a bad thing!

Now all you need to do is season it the way you like it with some salt and pepper and ladle it out!

And if you made that sour cream and horseradish drizzle to go on top, swirl it in now. Just because we are being so very very healthy doesn’t mean we aren’t entitled to a little zing!

Winter vegetable soup with a sour cream horseradish drizzle in a bowl on a wooden coounter.

Recipe FAQs

What are leeks?

Leeks are a thick long veggie that is part of the onion family and are available year round in your produce section. They have a gentler taste than regular white onions.

Leeks are famous for catching sand in dirt in their layers as they grow, so when you are ready to use them, chop off all but the light green and white part and cut them in half vertically. Now rinse them under water to get any of that grit out.

Leeks tend to be sold in bunches of two or three, so if you find yourself with a an extra leek, there are so many scrumptious ways to use them up. Use any leftover leeks in this warm and wonderful Potato Leek Soup. More in a sandwich mood? Try leftover leeks in this roast beef sandwich with leeks and Boursin cheese!

Can I use a different type of potato in this recipe?

You can! Honestly, any kind of potato will work just fine (even sweet potatoes!). If you are using potatoes with a thin skin (like Yukon Golds or red potatoes) then you can simply scrub them and chop them up. If you are using potatoes with a firmer skin (like Idaho or russet potatoes) you will want to peel them before chopping.

Can this soup be made ahead of time?

It can! Simply reheat it slowly over medium low heat, adding a little water or chicken broth if it is too thick. If you are doing the sour cream horseradish topping you will want to add that at the last minute.

Have a question that I didn’t cover?

Pop it in the comments below and I will get back to you pronto!

Want to round out your meal?

We love a warm cream cheese biscuit on the side, or maybe you would like a butter biscuit instead?

And for dessert, we deserve a cookie…a Blue Dory cookie is one of our faves.

Other soup recipes we love!

Looking for more soup inspiration? You can find our complete collection of soup recipes here!

Could you leave us a review?

If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! ) and your thoughts in the Comments section.