Chunky Potato Leek Soup (Vegan and Gluten-Free!)

Chunky Potato Leek Soup! 

I love potatoes, leeks, and dill. Today I was so freezing cold that all I wanted was a warm creamy and  potato chunked soup. I'm not going to lie, I feel warm and cozy now! This recipe did the trick. It's vegan and gluten-free but nobody noticed or cared. It was so good that maybe all potato leek soup should be vegan ;)

This soup was actually so simple! The thing that took the most amount of time was peeling the potatoes haha. To be honest if I wasn't serving this to people with certain expectations I'd have left the nutrient rich skin on and saved myself the time! But either way here we are with this super easy one pot recipe.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Vegan butter (I used Earth Balance "Great Buttery Taste”)

2 Medium Leeks, cleaned and sliced (for a great video on how to do this, here's a helpful link!)

1/2 White onion, chopped

4 Garlic cloves, minced

4 cups Yellow potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1" thick cubes

2 1/2- 3 cups Vegetable Broth (Less for thicker soup)

1/2 tspDried Basil

1/2 tspDried Oregano

1 Bay Leaf

1 tsp Salt

1 cup Soy Milk (plain)

1 TbspFresh dill, finely chopped

1 TbspFresh parsley, finely chopped

 Black pepper to taste

Instructions:

Peel, clean, and chop all vegetables. In a large soup pot, melt vegan butter on medium heat. Add the Leeks, onions, and garlic and sauté. After veggies are soft (5-10 minutes), add chopped potatoes and stir. Pour in vegetable broth and mix well. Raise heat to high, cover and let boil for 5 minutes. Lower

temperature to a low boil, and add basil, oregano, bay leaf, and salt. Leave covered and cook for about 15 minutes. Once potatoes are soft, uncover, lower heat to a low simmer, and mash contents with a potato masher. Once the soup is the consistency you like, add the soy milk, dill, and parsley. Remove from heat and continue to stir soup. Serve with black pepper to taste. Enjoy! 

The Best Vegan Insta-Pot Split Pea Soup!!!

The Best Vegan Insta-Pot Split Pea Soup!!!

I was freezing today. Like, FREEZING. Granted, it's not technically considered remotely cold outside yet, but I'm a cold human and there's a new chill in the air as fall approaches. I've always been jealous of my friends when they get to scarf down the classic Dutch Split Pea Soup, which of course includes ham, when I'm traveling. When home, I always try to make a version that I can eat at least once! 

This time I decided I needed a better recipe. I'd tried many different ones, and there were good and bad about each, but none of them quite had everything I wanted. SO anyway, I've combined many components of different Split Pea recipes into one, and finally I have a recipe that I feel proud of and look forward to making from now on! I hope you like it too. What would you do differently? Let me know what you think!

p.s. Also, I'm not usually an instant pot person because I get freaked out by technology sometimes LOL. It was actually not scary and very easy haha. ALSO normally Split Pea Soup takes one million years to make, and this was SO refreshing. One word of caution, when sautéing the garlic and onions, I feel that the insta-pot was much more hot that I'd normally use for this purpose. I heated the oil up, and when it seemed to start smoking I actually unplugged it, sautéd, then added everything else in before plugging it back in and getting on with it. Maybe it's a learning curve but I didn't want to cause a kitchen fire lol. 

INGREDIENTS: 

2 CUPS Split Green Peas (rinsed)

5 CUPS Vegetable Stock

2 CUPS Water

1 TBL Olive Oil

1/2 Onion (chopped)

3 Garlic Cloves (peeled and minced minced)

3 Large Carrots (peeled and diced)

3 Stalks of Celery (diced)

2 Yellow Potatoes (peeled and chopped)

3 Bay Leaves

1 tsp Ground Mustard

2 tsp Dry Parsley

1 tsp Smoked Paprika

Salt and Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Turn instant pot on "sauté", add oil, then onion and garlic. Stir for a couple of minutes, then add all of the other ingredients. Seal the lid, then cook on HIGH pressure for 15 minutes. Let it release naturally for 15 more minutes, then release pressure manually. Uncover and removed Bay Leaves. Add more salt and pepper to taste, stir and serve! It's that easy. 

Serves 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Time in Pot: 30 (15 to heat, 15 to cool)

Total Time: 40 minutes!