Reviewed: Mar. 28, 2008

This quickly became a family favorite after the first time I made it. The recipe is outstanding as is, though I have to make a double batch for my large family! The people calling it bland.... well, their tastebuds must work differently than mine do, because there is nothing bland about this soup. Smoky bacon (key: get good bacon), hearty potato (standard russet is the best!), the yummy oniony flavor of the leeks....how is that bland? Plus, the salt from the bacon and broth means you do not need to season this at all! Perhaps some might like some black pepper. I do always mash most of the potatoes, as we like this creamy, but that is the only change I make. You could make this lighter with 1/2 and 1/2. But personally, I think any recipe that starts with bacon and ends with cream HAS to be a winner! ;-)

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DUSKYJEWEL

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Reviewed: Mar. 10, 2008

This recipe came out very bland and tasteless. I used whole milk instead of cream, but otherwise followed the recipe. Won't make this again!

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Sue G.

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Reviewed: Feb. 27, 2008

Very good and easy to make. This one's a keeper!

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jill

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Reviewed: Feb. 17, 2008

This is a very simple, hearty, comfort-type of soup. We have made this several times. The only change we make is using ham insead of bacon. It is an excellent soup for using leftover holiday ham. Otherwise, we use the exact recipe and it is simply delicious!!

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VCASSIDY

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Reviewed: Jan. 29, 2008

this was good but not great

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Vadie

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Reviewed: Jan. 24, 2008

YUMM! I used half of the bacon and fat free half and half and this soup was great!

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CandaceK

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Akron, Ohio, USA

Living In: Montgomery Village, Maryland, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 24, 2008

So good!

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MAEZEN

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Reviewed: Jan. 15, 2008

This is a easy and delicious recipe. I omitted the bacon and sauteed the leeks in olive oil. The flavor of this soup is so wonderfully simple. I highly recommend this recipe to anyone!

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Princess of her Castle

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Jan. 14, 2008

Excellent. I lightened it up with 2% milk. 1/2 lb Low salt bacon and about 1 cup of cubed lean ham. This basic recipe easily accepts variations.

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Sanzoles

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Reviewed: Jan. 13, 2008

This is a keeper. I just realized I bought half-and-half for this, but forgot to put it in! It was still great. I reserved half the fried leeks, pureed everything with an immersion blender, then added the leeks and bacon. Also, i used turkey bacon.

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MITCHB2

Home Town: Warren, Ohio, USA

Living In: Sterling, Illinois, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 11, 2008

This is a very good recipe and the only reason I don't give it a 5 is because I used several of the suggestions from other reviews. We try to make healthier meals for everyday dinners. This is what I did and it worked out wonderfully. 1.used 1/2 the recommended bacon and used turkey bacon WONDERFUL 2. used 6 potatos 3. used 6-8 cups of chicken broth to make it to my taste otherwise WAY TOO thick 4. when cooking the leeks I added salt, pepper, 1 shallot and garlic salt. 5. pureed half the soup and lightly mashed the rest of the potatoes so they weren't so big.

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Rocky

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Sacramento, California, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 2, 2008

Well, unfortunately we didn't really enjoy this soup much at all. I tweaked the recipe a little to accommodate our personal preferences. I added 3 medium cloves of garlic to the leeks; I used whole milk instead of cream and I added 2 packs of chicken bouillon while the potatoes were boiling (for added flavor). I also pureed the soup using my hand blender. The end result was a very rich soup which I ended up having to add another can of chicken broth to as the finished product was still really thick. The flavor of the bacon overpowered the flavor of everything else. So while the soup is very quick and easy to prepare, we probably won't make it again.

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kelcampbell

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Smiths Falls, Ontario, Canada

Living In: Kemptville, Ontario, Canada

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Reviewed: Dec. 28, 2007

I can see how some people would call this recipe "bland." After adding one clove of pressed garlic, 1 tsp. savoury, and pepper to taste, the flavor of this soup was still very mild and delicate. I found that it was very important to let the soup cool somewhat before eating it. When it was hot, the flavors were overpowered by the heat. Overall though, I thought that the flavors in this recipe worked together well, although it will not likely become a family favorite.

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rebeccal

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

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Reviewed: Dec. 21, 2007

I thought this looked excellent and gave it a try. I used 2 leeks and 1/2 lb bacon, about a tablespoon of chopped shallot, 1 clove garlic and 1 tsp thyme as well as salt and pepper. Delicious! Even better today! I also added a tablespoon of sherry to a bowl today. Yummy.

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LaConner Cook

Cooking Level: Professional

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Reviewed: Dec. 5, 2007

This soup has a great taste but turned out more like runny mashed potatoes with lumps. Will try again to see what went wrong.

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drv00

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Orland Park, Illinois, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 27, 2007

My mom, who swore that she hated leeks, absolutely flipped over this when I made it. I adjusted absolutely nothing, and this was amazing. Perfect for a cold winter day, and soooooo easy!

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Sue Bee

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Yonkers, New York, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 24, 2007

It's really good, very filling, but although i put it in more than twice the chicken broth, it didn't resemble soup. it was more just like creamy potatoes.

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kim

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Reviewed: Nov. 24, 2007

I thought the recipe was pretty good. I used veggie broth in place of water and I put in chopped Tofurky for some added flavor.

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new veggie

Cooking Level: Beginning

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Reviewed: Nov. 14, 2007

very nice! i'm a vegetarian and made some changes to the recipe: - used vegetable broth instead of chicken - substituted red potatoes (kept the skins on) for the regular ones - sauteed some minced garlic in oil before sauteeing the leeks - tossed in some bite-size pieces of fried tofu right before serving i also found myself a little broth-less, so i added a cup of hot (but not boiling) water and a dash of garlic powder, salt, and pepper for taste.

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Byron and/or Zarrin

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Washington, D.C., USA

Living In: Atlanta, Georgia, USA

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Reviewed: Nov. 10, 2007

Was very good. I used an extra cup of chicken broth, only 5 strips of bacon, only 1/2 cup of skim milk (wanted to reduce fat), and added some salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Like other's suggested, I blended about half of the soup and added it back in - this helped to thicken the soup a bit. Very good!

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