This delicious leek soup with celery and baked mushrooms is easy to make. You can chose to make a vegetarian version or add the crispy bacon on top. Perfect for chilly days!

Leek soup with celery

Leek soup with celery

It’s been a pretty wet autumn here. Depending on where you live that might be the same for you. And during times like this I love eating a delicious soup. It’s always easy to prepare, it’s quick to make and you can easily vary with whatever you put into the soup. In the case of this leek soup (or you can also call it a celery soup as the amounts are fairly equal) I added leeks (obviously), celery, fresh thyme sprigs, garlic, onion and topped this with baked mushrooms and bacon. I used an immersion blender to make it a pureed soup, but you can actually also choose to make this a non puree soup.

How to make the leek soup

Making the soup is simple. You start by chopping all the vegetables. Make sure you wash the leeks well as they can sometimes be a little sandy in between the leaves. They do grow on sandy soil! Especially the greener part of the leeks can be quite sandy. So wash well and slice into rings. To make cleaning easier I slice them first lengthwise. 

Now place a large pot on medium heat and add a bit of butter or coconut oil. First add the sliced onion and bake until they become translucent. Add the garlic, leeks and the celery and bake for a little while before you add the fresh thyme and the chicken stock.

Leek soup with celery and mushrooms

I’ve used chicken broth here but you can also use a veggie broth if you prefer. I’ve not used potato in this soup but that would work really well too. So you could make it into a potato leek soup. Adding the diced potato will make it more of a creamy soup. Potato has that effect when you add it to any kind of soup really. So depending on what you want as your end result you can add a few potatoes in cubes.

If you’re on a low carb diet you might want to skip the potatoes though.

Let it simmer

Now let the leek celery soup simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. You can blend the soup using a regular blender or use an immersion blender. I always use the latter as adding hot liquid into a blender might be creating steam and can be tricky. I’ve had my share of soup splattered all over the kitchen! Once the soup is done you move to the mushrooms.

I’ve used chestnut mushrooms here but you can use any kind of mushroom you like. 

Baking the mushrooms

Now in terms of baking the mushrooms, I love to do that in lots of butter normally but since I also add some bacon bits I toss those in first and wait until they release fat. That’s what I use to bake the mushrooms in. That also means I do not need to add much salt as they bacon is salty already. With the mushrooms I also add a little bit of thyme leaves but you could also use some finely sliced sage. Both are delicious.

Leek soup with celery

Serving the soup

Now for serving the soup I stick to just using the mushrooms and bacon to top the soup but you could also add some fresh parsley or other fresh herbs on top. Adding some heavy cream will also make the soup richer and more filling. Instead of heavy cream you can also use coconut cream or coconut milk if you prefer to keep it lactose free. The leek soup is quite a comforting soup but it is also fairly light. If you’re serving this for dinner you might add some crusty bread to serve the soup with. A drizzle of olive oil is also delicious.

Variations and substitutions

If you’re making the leek soup with celery (or celery soup with leeks) you can – as already briefly mentioned – add some potatoes to the soup to make it creamier and also more filling. While I love a good potato soup I tend to skip that for this soup as it is a lot more carbs. You can also add some bay leaves to give the soup more flavor. Make sure to remove those before blending though!

Instead of adding potatoes you could also add some celeriac, which gives a similar effect but a totally different flavor. It also has carbs but less than the white potatoes. 

Leek soup with celery and mushrooms

Now in terms of the leeks itself, you regularly see mentioned that you should only use the white parts of the leeks. But you can also use the greener parts. They are a bit tougher and need a little longer to cook but there is nothing wrong with using those. It’s the best way to use more of the leeks.

It’s a great recipe for an easy weeknight dinner and can be easily adjusted to your liking or preference. You can keep any leftover soup for lunch the next day. Just keep it in the fridge in an airtight container and you’re good to go.

Also try:

If you’re a fan of leeks you might also want to try this delicious leek soup with fennel.

Leek soup with celery and mushrooms

Leek soup with celery and mushrooms

5 from 1 vote
GangSoup
KeukenDutch

Delicious soup with leek and celery, topped with baked mushrooms and some crispy bacon
Prep time 10 minutes
Cooking time 20 minutes
Total time 30 minutes

4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 onion sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 4 leeks
  • 4 celery stalks
  • 2 thyme sprigs leaves only
  • 1 liter stock
  • 200 gram mushrooms
  • 100 gr bacon cubes
  • Butter for baking
  • salt and pepper

  • Cut the leeks and wash them well. Also chop the celery in pieces.
  • Take a large souppot and melt the butter. Start by baking the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and the rest of the vegetables. Briefly bake them too. Add the thyme. Pour in the stock and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until cooked. You can puree the soup as I have done or serve it as is. Season with salt and pepper to your liking
  • Cut the mushrooms in smaller pieces and bake these with the bacon cubes separately in a frying pan and serve on top of the soup.

Nutrition Information per portion

Calories: 211kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 1461mg | Potassium: 415mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 2055IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 2mg

Disclaimer

The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.

Did you make this recipe?Mention @insimoneskitchen_ or tag #insimoneskitchen!

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Simone van den Berg

Food- and travel blogger from the Netherlands. Loves good food. Loves to taste good food the world over. She also loves to share travelstories, delicious recipes and ok, cat pictures too. She sometimes feels the need to get really healthy for a while, always mingled with periods of insanely delicious sweets and other decadent treats. Lives in the Netherlands with her two cats; Humphrey and Buffy. Profession: Food photographer, food blogger, recipe developer and nutritionist