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 sounds like an amazing flavor combination! Your photos make it look beautiful as well!
The color of that soup is what makes the pictures pop so much and makes me want to grab a spoon right away and dig in.
Now if only you could pass that cool fall NY weather down here to Texas… ugh.. dying down here in the heat. But still eating soup… because gosh darnit its stinking fall and soup is “my jam” in the fall!
Loving this dish Gina, seriously can’t wait to make it!
Wow, Gina! This soup is so beautiful and vibrant! Such a great combination of my favorite flavors…but honestly, I’d have never thought to put this all together…I can’t wait to try it! Pinning to make for dinner tomorrow night! I’ve got everything I need to make it!
wow, the colour of this soup is an absolutely mystery to me — I better have a chat with my under-performing leeks ;-). Love the play between the green and your gorgeous walnut-cranberry garnish.
I would never have thought of this combination, but it sounds lovely, and leek is a vegetable I just do not use often enough. We had it a lot when i was in England, but since i moved here, I pretty much forgot about it. I love that green! What a beautiful color!
LOL, well I think it’s gorgeous! I always have that experience — the wake-up call between what I imagine something will look like and what I actually end up with.
What a great combo of flavors, and I am always looking for new soup recipes! Love it.
I love leek soup, this looks so tasty and comforting!
The fact that I was not invited to drink soup in front of the fire with you both is upsetting. I want this soup in my life!
I love the color! Wow, so vibrant and awesome! Sounds amazing, Gina. Pinned!