Irish Vegetable Soup is a simple and rustic soup consisting of potatoes, carrots, onions, leeks and broccoli cooked in broth and pureed until smooth. Serve topped with lots of freshly ground black pepper and snipped chives and alongside sliced Irish brown bread. Yields 15 cups or about 10 (1-1/2 cup) servings.
I love a good soup recipe. And when it’s as easy as this one-pot gem well? I’ll love it even more. I found this recipe on TikTok late last year. I never had a pureed vegetable soup like this before and was instantly intrigued. After I made it, I knew I was going to share it on SS and add it to my St. Patrick’s Day recipe repertoire.
What Is Irish Vegetable Soup?
It’s a humble soup of potatoes, carrots, onion and leek (broccoli is optional) simmered in vegetable broth and pureed until velvety smooth. Served topped with lots of freshly ground black pepper. It’s even more comforting when served with a slice of freshly baked brown bread.
Truth be told, it doesn’t need to be St. Patrick’s Day to enjoy this soup.
To Make This Irish Vegetable Soup You Will Need:
- butter – Lends fat for sautéing and flavors the soup. If vegan, use olive oil instead.
- olive oil – Lends fat for sautéing and flavors the soup.
- carrots – Adds a delicate sweetness to the soup.
- yellow onions – Adds a sweet and subtle onion flavor to the soup.
- leek – Lends a distinct sweet and oniony flavor.
- kosher salt – Helps soften the vegetables and enhances the flavors of this soup.
- garlic – Adds distinct punchy flavor.
- red skin potatoes – Gives this soup butter creamy texture once pureed.
- vegetable broth – I used unsalted vegetable broth. Low-sodium or unsalted chicken broth may be substituted.
- broccoli – Lends color and flavor to this soup.
- freshly ground black pepper – Adds some subtle bite and flavor.
- snipped chives – For a pop of color and delicate onion flavor – for serving. (optional)
Sauté the vegetables:
Add 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil into a 5 or 6-quart dutch oven and heat over medium.
To that add 2 roughly chopped carrots, 1 large leek (cleaned and sliced) and 2 chopped yellow onions with a teaspoon of kosher salt. These don’t have to be perfect, because you will be pureeing the soup later on.
Stir to coat in the butter. Cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened slightly.
Next add in the garlic, stir and cook 2 minutes.
Then add in 4 medium to large red skin potatoes. I cut each potato in half lengthwise and then into thirds.
Simmer Vegetables:
Pour in 2 quarts (8 cups) unsalted vegetable stock.
Stir, cover and bring to a boil over high heat.
Once boiling, reduce heat to low and add in 2 generous cups broccoli. Stir, cover and cook 20 minutes over low heat.
The soup is ready once the vegetables are tender.
Puree Soup:
Working in batches (because this makes a lot of soup), ladle vegetables and broth into a high powered blender. Secure the lid and remove the center plug before covering with a clean kitchen towel.
Puree until velvety smooth. I poured this into an 8-cup measuring cup and then pureed the second batch.
Alternatively, you could use a stick blender and directly puree the soup in the pot. (I just think my Vitamix does a better job at getting everything smooth)
Transfer the soup back to the pot. Heat through if needed and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. For me I used 2 teaspoons of salt, but taste and season to your preference.
Ladle soup into bowls and top with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper and some snipped fresh chives.
It’s also incredible served with freshly baked Irish brown bread. The texture of this soup is so perfect and the flavor is earthy, yet light and subtly sweet from the carrots and leek. The broccoli flavor is subtle and the freshly ground black pepper gives this soup that extra something special.
How Long Will Irish Vegetable Soup Last In the Fridge?
If stored properly in an air-tight container (or containers) it will last 1 week in the refrigerator.
Can You Freeze Irish Vegetable Soup?
Yes! This soup can be portioned into freezer safe containers or re-sealable storage bags and stored in the freezer for up to 6 months. Simply reheat low and slowly.
Enjoy! And if you give this Irish Vegetable Soup recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
Irish Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large carrots, peel or unpeeled, roughly sliced
- 1 large leek, rinsed of sand and roughly sliced
- 2 medium yellow onions, roughly sliced
- kosher salt
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 medium to large red skin potatoes, cut into 6 large pieces
- 2 quarts unsalted vegetable broth
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- fresh chives, snipped
- freshly ground black pepper
Equipment
- Lodge 6-quart Dutch Oven
- Vitamix 7500 Blender, 64 oz. Low-Profile Container, White
Instructions
- Melt butter and olive oil in a 5 to 6 quart dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add in carrots, leek and onion with 1 teaspoon salt. Stir, cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring ocassionally. Once softened, add in garlic. Stir and cook 2 minutes. To that, add potatoes and broth. Stir, cover and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, add in broccoli and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
- Work in batches, ladling vegetables and broth into a high powered blender. Remove the center plug from the lid and cover with a kitchen towel and puree until smooth. I poured the first batch into an 8-cup measuring cup and then pureed the second batch.Alternatively, you could use a stick blender and directly puree the soup in the pot.
- Pour soup back into the pot, taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve in bowls and garnish with extra black pepper and snipped chives.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Sarah Kenney on TikTok.
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Made this last night for dinner. I iked the taste…after lots of salt, some thym and a splash of lemon juice. All that said, it did not look at all like the pictures posted. Mine was a pale moss green color…not the golden color of yours. I cannot figure out why except that I did peel the potatoes/ Other than that, I used the same ingredients.
I guess it was appropriate that it was green, given the name of the soup but why the color was so different remains a mystery.
I am new to yor site. I saw this recipe link posted last week on Jessica’s How Sweet Eats blog site. I will be checking in on oyurs now on a regular basis…lots of good looking recipes to try.
I am so glad I made this soup! I loved the flavor, texture, and comforting feeling the soup gave. I did double the garlic, and added celery hearts, 6 sprigs of parsley, and a bay leaf. It is such a beautiful color!
I followed the recipe exactly. The soup turned out as pictured. It’s delicious. It does make quite a bit! Next time, I’d like to make the brown bread. Definitely making this again.
I skipped the broccoli and added parsnips because I love them. The soup was divine.
Made this for church Lenten soup supper. I used my instant pot. Sautéed onion annd leek foe 5 min. Cooked on high for 9 minutes then used immersion blender. Everyone raved about the flavor. Very quick and easy.
Should I peel the red-skinned potatoes before adding them to the pot?
DELICIOUS
I can’t give the soup a rating yet…it’s stil bub-bub-bubbling away on my stove. Smells great, though!
I did find the ingredients a little difficult, though. You called for 2 cups of broccoli florets and 2 quarts of vegetable stock but for other items you used vague size terms. My market didn’t have “large leeks.” I used 3 small leeks. I tend to buy potatoes in bulk (I used 5), but prefer loose carrots as the smaller ones are sweeterr (I used 3).
Also terms like “rough slice” are vague. I am an experienced cook, but had to guess. A lot.
First time making them delicious with Irish soda bread.
I made this today and all I can say is WOWEEEEEE! I made the recipe just as is with one minor adjustment. I did not put the broccoli in before pureeing the soup. We like a chunkier soup, so I added the cooked broccoli and some additional cooked cubed potatoes after pureeing the soup. !This soup is filling and delicious. Thank you so much for this recipe
LOVE this soup!! Quick and easy to make. I make it once a week now. Thank you!!
So good, I had s small amount of roasted veggies from the night before and added. Thank uou
Awesome soup!! Highly recommend. Easy and delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I make it every other week!!
This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors!