This amazing Leeks, Potatoes & Butternut Squash soup made in Instant Pot (IP) is just the perfect Fall soup. Top it off with some cream and pumpkin seeds for added texture.
Some links in my posts may be affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you purchase items by clicking on these links. I will always disclose when a product in a post has been gifted by a company as well as when a post or product is sponsored.
History Behind This Leeks Soup
As you know I live in Miami, FL. We are no strangers to hurricanes unfortunately. Actually, we have the preparations down to a perfect routine. Last week we were preparing for hurricane Dorian. Without getting into too much detail, we usually have to decide if we evacuate or stay and have plans for both paths.
Once we decided that we weren’t going to evacuate, we started putting into action the plan to hunker down. One of the steps for that plan is to start using in the most efficient way possible all the perishables. Anything that is in the refrigerator pretty much because chances are that we would lose electricity.
Quickly I decided what I was going to cook in order to use all vegetables in the refrigerator. I had bought leeks, potatoes and butternut squash to make 2 different soups however I was short on time and still had to cook the meats in the freezer so I decided to combine the leeks, potatoes and butternut squash to make 1 single soup instead of 2. I also thought that cooking them in the Instant Pot would free my stovetop for my other meals.
Instant Pot Leeks Soup
I had never cooked leeks in instant pot and I didn’t know if this soup was going to be successful. Also, when I cook my butternut squash soup, I tend to bake it before hand and then make it into a soup but obviously I didn’t have time for that with so much going on.
So I thought that if I sautee the vegetables beforehand, then they should naturally get soft from that process. Then I was going to use the soup setting in IP and lastly blend the soup to make it creamy. I had a plan in place!!
Best Toppings For This Creamy Fall Soup
The two toppings I used for this soup are:
- Heavy cream
- Pumpkin Seeds (toasted)
When I cook Leeks & Potatoes soup or Butternut Squash soup, I make them both on the stovetop. I tend to add ingredients in little by little and cook on medium to low heat for a long time. Somewhere in between I add heavy cream to make the soups more creamy. However, I knew that I couldn’t do that in the Instant Pot because it is a bit cumbersome to open it up and pressurize it again. So that’s why I decided to add the cream individually to each soup bowl once I was serving the soup.
The pumpkin seeds were added to the picture last minute. We love snacking on them, they are toasted and already peeled. I usually buy a big bag at Costco and use it mostly as toppings for salads. However, they turned out to be a perfect topping for this soup too. It made me feel like it is the perfect Fall soup:). Most people here in Miami call toasted pumpkin seeds Pepitas.
Leeks, Potatoes & Butternut Squash Soup in Instant Pot
Ultimately, even though this soup was an accidental discovery, I’m very happy to add it to my recipe book. My kids and my husband enjoyed it. Plus, it’s healthy with no processed ingredients and just delicious. You can use it as a starter (add an extra half cup of water to recipe below) or eat it for dinner (make it a little thicker).
Potatoes and butternut squash might vary widely on their size so if you include 4 huge potatoes and a big butternut squash, you’ll get much different results. So feel free to adjust the ingredients and their quantities a little bit.
I made this soup with water since I didn’t have vegetable broth or chicken broth on hand. I’m definitely curious to try it with broth and if you do please let me know what you think. We loved it just like this though!
My mom makes a similar soup with bone broth, no butter added and it’s really amazing. Also, if use bone broth instead of butter, the soup will be more fit for Mediterranean Diet (if you’re a follower of that way of life).
Leeks, Potatoes and Butternut Squash Soup in Instant Pot
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 Leeks
- 1 Butternut Squash medium size
- 4 Golden Potatoes medium size
- 3 tbsps butter
- 6 tbsps heavy cream (optional for topping)
- 3 tbsps toasted pumpkin seeds (optional for topping)
- 4 cups water
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
- pinch thyme
Instructions
- Chop the head of the leeks off, remover a layer or two. Then wash them very well taking special care of the endings where sand and other impurities tend to accumulate. Chop leeks almost ¾ in, leave the green tails for the end. Once you have chopped both leeks, wash the green tails and remove another layer or two. Chop those as well.
- Peel and chop both the potatoes and butternut squash. Place them in a bowl of water after peeling so they don't turn brown. Cut butternut squash in slices, clean them from seeds. Then chop both squash and potatoes roughly in cubic inch size. Be careful with the butternut squash as it is not as soft as the potatoes and you need a certain level of skill to peel it and chopping it off. A sharp knife helps.
- Saute leeks in butter in the pressure cooker. Stir occasionally so they don't stick to the bottom. Then add chopped potatoes and butternut squash. Saute couple of minutes together as well and stir to mix it all up.
- Add salt, pepper, thyme and 4 cups of water. Mix well.
- Close the IP, choose the soup setting and let it cook on high for 25 minutes.
- De-pressurize following safety instructions, pour the soup into a blender and blend until smooth. If you have an immersion blender that makes this step a lot easier. Adjust for salt if needed.
- Serve like that if you don't like toppings or add 1 tbsp of heavy cream and 0.5 tbsp of pumpkin seeds to each bowl of soup (or as desired). Enjoy:)). You'll definitely want seconds.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Label
Nutrition
If you would like to save this recipe for later, please pin the below image to Pinterest. I really appreciate all the messages I got during the hurricane and I’m happy we are safe and didn’t get affected this time and I’m deeply saddened about the Bahamas and all the states up North going through this storm right now.
Instagram: mediterranean_latin_love or Twitter: MediterrLatin or Facebook: Mediterranean Latin Love Affair.
Other Fall Inspired Recipes:
Note: Recipe was first published September 5th 2019 and updated with video and better pictures September 9th, 2020.
Nisha
Healthy hearty soup , love the beautiful color as well!
Sonila
Thank you Nisha:))
Jenny
I made this the other night, it is the nicest soup I have tasted for a long time, absolutely delicious! I added a touch of oyster sauce and a tiny bit of cayenne pepper. Thanks for the recipe.
admin
Thank you so much Jenny:)). I’m glad you liked it and I love your additions. I’ll definitely try it with those two ingredients myself.