This leek apple cheddar soup is sweet, creamy and topped with chopped walnuts and cranberries.
I had a distinct vision of what this soup would end up looking like days before making it.
In my head it was a warm yellowy orange, a visual representation of the loads of cheddar melted into the apples and leeks.
But then I got to actually making it and realized puke green was a more likely outcome.
Good news is leeks, apples and cheddar taste nothing like puke and everything like warm fall deliciousness.
I was at Trader Joe’s yesterday (at noon on a Sunday, sometimes I question my sanity) which had gourds, pumpkins and mums galore in pretty much every crevice of the store tempting me every time I turned the cart up another aisle.
I somehow walked away with only three small white pumpkins and a $3.99 fall bouquet.
I came home, pulled the fall and Halloween decorations out of the closet, arranged my bouquet on the table and got this soup going on the stove while Ulysses lit the chiminea out on the deck.
We put on sweatshirts and wrapped our hands around a steaming bowl of this leek apple cheddar soup for dinner while Ginger chased acorn obsessed squirrels up trees in the backyard.
I can’t really say I love New York too often but right now with the weather, the leaves and this soup, I’m digging it.
Soup season is the best.
I’ve got plans to make either this copycat Panera tomato soup or creamy homemade roasted tomato soup (haven’t decided which one yet) this week too!
Leek Apple Cheddar Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 leeks, ends and tops trimmed, chopped
- 2 green apples, peeled and chopped
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
- salt and pepper
- 1 1/2 cups apple cider
- 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups packed grated cheddar cheese
- chopped walnuts for garnish
- chopped dried cranberries for garnish
Instructions
- Heat butter and olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add leeks and apples and cook for about 10 minutes until softened.
- Add flour to the pot, stir and cook 1 minute.
- Add turmeric, salt and pepper taste and stir to coat.
- Add the apple cider and vegetable broth, bring to a boil, stir then lower to a simmer and cook another 10-15 minutes until vegetables are very soft.
- Turn off heat and blend the mixture in batches in a blender until smooth. Or, you can use an immersion blender.
- Return soup to the pot, turn heat to medium and stir in cheese until melted.
- Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with walnuts and cranberries.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
This soup is delicious even without the cheese! Adding cranberries is a master stroke. It not only enlivens because of the color combinations but it taste wonderful. Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe!
I just made the soup and mine looks more yellow/orange (think orange squash soup); I halved recipe, but used 2 leeks and white sharp cheddar. Great flavor, topped with fresh chopped cranberries and nuts. Super easy
oh my gawd, love all the flavors you have going on here!! I think it’s time to upgrade my fave leek and potato soup!
Looks so comforting this time of year & I actually think the color is quite beautiful :)
xx
Elizabeth
http://www.adrian-james.com
This soup looks so comforting and living in AZ, I’m totally jealous of your fall weather!
Ooh, hooray! I love the idea of mixing up a traditional savory soup with a little apple. Sounds perfect with leeks and cheese!
i dont know how you guys deal with so much cold in NY..although the idea of soup, fall weather, and sweatshirt sounds very tempting.
haha. It sounds that way through the first snowstorm, then it gets old. Real fast. ;)
Sometimes I just don’t know how you do it. What an unusual – and totally delightful – combination of flavors. This may well be the perfect fall soup!
Thank you :)
That sounds like the perfect fall evening. This soup looks amazing. I love that you added sweet, tart apples. Pinned.