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    Home » Recipes » Recipes

    Published: Feb 21, 2021 · Modified: Sep 25, 2023 by Anina Belle Giannini

    Potage aux Légumes (French Vegetable Soup)

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

    Potage aux Légumes is a French vegetable soup that has been blended until there are no visible chunks left. It can also be known as soupe passée or soupe moulinée. Similar to a creamed soup, except that there does not need to be any cream. My French Grandmother-in-law loved to serve a potage soup to her family. There is something so nurturing about it. Your tummy is not feeling well? Here, I made you a Potage. You are sad? Have some Potage. Paired with a crusty baguette and some cheese, it is the quintessential French meal.

    Potage aux légumes
    Potage aux Légumes

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    Mireille Guiliano, author of the book, French Women Don't Get Fat (I highly recommend!) has a great Basic Vegetable Soup Recipe as well that was passed to her by her mother.

    two bowls of French vegetable soup with a fresh baked baguette and cheese

    I first started to cook Potage aux Légumes years ago as a knee-jerk reaction to throwing out too many vegetables at the end of the week. I hated to see beautiful, fresh vegetables go to waste at the bottom of my fridge whenever I didn’t have the time or energy to cook as much as I had expected. Since then, making a French Vegetable Soup has become a ritual to me. I always make sure to have bouillon cubes on hand to make a potage soup whenever the mood, or the need, strikes!

    If you like Potage au Légumes you will also enjoy Magical Leek Soup.

    Magical Leek Soup is a delicious and healthy soup made with leeks. Magical Leek Soup is not a new trend but a generations old weight management trick from French women. Leeks, of the onion family, are very good for you and also are a known diuretic.

    a bowl of leek soup with sauteed leeks as a garnish

    Equipment Needed to Make French Vegetable Soup

    • Soup Pot – I use this 8 QT Le Creuset stock pot for my potage soup
    • Immersion Blender. Yes, you can use a regular blender for this soup as well but I find it is always so messy. I use my immersion blender on a weekly basis.
    making Potage aux légumes ingredients: tomatoes, zucchini, potatoes, carrots, garlic and bouillon

    Here is one example of a Potage aux Légumes that I love but please experiment with whatever you have in your fridge! It is nearly impossible to make a bad Potage!

    Recipe ingredients

    • 1 large tomato
    • 2 cups cherry Tomatoes
    • 1 bunch of carrots (about 7 carrots)
    • 3 medium potatoes (or 5 small potatoes)
    • 3 small zucchini
    • 2 Cloves of Garlic
    • 1 bouillon cube (vegetable or chicken - your preference)
    • 2 tbsps olive oil
    • 4 cups of water
    • a pinch of salt (to taste)

    How to make French Vegetable Soup (Potage aux Légumes)

    making Potage aux légumes vegetables in a stock pot
    1. First, Peel the potatoes and the carrots. Roughly chop all the vegetables into halves or quarters. The soup will be blended at the end so precision is not necessary.
    2. Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a soup pot.
    3. Add the garlic to the hot oil. Let sear lightly.
    4. Add in all the veggies at once.
    5. Pour enough water to cover (or vegetable broth if you prefer, then just make sure you are not adding in a bouillon cube as well). This is KEY! Too much water and the soup is no good. I love a nice, thick soup. You want to barely cover all the vegetables. If needed you can add more water at the end.
    6. Heat to medium. Let simmer on medium heat for about a half hour until all the vegetables are cooked through. The potatoes should break apart with your spoon.
    7. Turn off the heat.
    8. Mix with a mixing wand until smooth. Adjust the seasoning if needed.If you don’t have a hand mixer, I recommend the investment. They are much easier to use than a food processor when making soup. I have used my kitchen aid immersion blender for over 8 years now for everything from guacamole to baby food to French potage.
    making Potage aux légumes what the vegetables look like after they have boiled for French Vegetable soup

    How to serve French Vegetable Soup

    Serve as is or with a drizzle of olive oil over the top for a light meal.

    Potage aux légumes, French Vegetable soup in a serving bowl with a fresh baked baguette

    Freshly baked baguette (my baguettes for beginners makes it easy to have Fresh baked baguettes at home) and cheese is the perfect accompaniment to a good Potage for a typical French déjeuner (lunch) or souper (dinner).

    Potage aux Légumes also makes for a great first course for a family meal. (I love a first course that you can cook in advance! It takes the pressure off when entertaining)

    Storage Instructions

    Potage aux légumes can keep up to 5 days in the fridge or else freezes beautifully. I often make Potage aux Légumes as part of my Freezer Meal Batch Cooking.

    To reheat the soup from frozen simply defrost in a soup pot (with a little bit of water in it) or in the microwave.

    Baby Led Weaning Hack: I take a couple vegetables out of the soup before mixing to feed my baby (once they have cooled, of course!) as part of Baby led Weaning.

    What is the difference between Soup and Potage?

    In French, a Potage is a thick soup cooked in a pot that is usually blended. The origin of the word is from Medieval France where many homes had a "Potager" or Potage Garden that was used to grow vegetables to cook in the pot.
    Soup, in English, covers all types of broths, chunky soups and blended soups.

    What other veggies can I add to this soup?

    You can add as many veggies as you would like to this soup! I often like to add cauliflower, broccoli or spinach. A turnip adds a nice bit of bite to the soup and yellow potatoes are great for adding sweetness and a rich orange color. I would advise against adding celery however as it doesn't blend well and you still end up with stringy fibers in your soup.

    How can I make this soup creamier?

    The beauty of a well made Potage is that it has a natural creaminess from the potatoes. You can, of course, add heavy cream to the soup for extra creaminess. I suggest pouring in a ¼ cup of cream halfway through blending the soup. I also like to decorate the bowl with a little drizzle of cream too. Bon appétit!

    More Le Chef's Wife Soup Recipes

    You can find all of my favorite Soup Recipes here: Soup Sunday

    Including:

    Soupe au Pistou

    Soupe au Pistou is a hearty yet summery vegetarian bean soup packed with mixed vegetables, pasta and LOTS of basil. The perfect meal in a bowl , ideal meal prep to get you through the week.

    French Lentil Soup

    Fancy Cream of Cauliflower Soup

    French Onion Soup Gratinée

    I have been toying with the idea of creating a corn potage recipe - would you like one?

    Did you make this recipe? Let me know by leaving a comment and a star rating on the recipe. I greatly appreciate it and respond to every comment!

    Au plaisir,

    Le Chef's Wife

    Le Chefs Wife logo a big blue stock pot next to the sea with lemons

    ABOUT LE CHEF'S WIFE

    Bonjour! I am Anina Belle. I translate the fancy cooking of my Michelin-star trained French Chef Husband, Le Chef, into easy to make dishes that busy people with no culinary training (like me!) can make at home. We have two young kids (5 and 2) and I have a full time job in hospitality in addition to this blog. I strongly believe that even busy people deserve to eat well at home.

    We were just recently featured on the TODAY SHOW for our recipes of French Onion Soup Gratinée and Moelleux au Chocolat. You can watch our full segment here:

    I share our home cooking on Instagram, pinterest and tiktok. Sign up for my newsletter to be the first to receive my new recipes and have advance access to cooking classes. I look forward to cooking with you!

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    Potage aux légumes

    Potage aux Légumes Recipe

    5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews
    • Author: Anina Belle Gianini
    • Prep Time: 5 minutes
    • Cook Time: 30 minutes
    • Total Time: 35 minutes
    • Yield: 6
    • Category: Soup
    • Cuisine: vegan, vegetarian, diet, healthy
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    Potage aux légumes is a French vegetable soup that has been blended until there are no visible chunks left. Nourishing and flavorful, a good potage is a great way to eliminate food waste and also a French woman's secret weapon for keeping slim.


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 1 large tomato
    • 2 cups cherry Tomatoes
    • 1 bunch of carrots (about 7 carrots)
    • 3 medium potatoes (or 5 small potatoes)
    • 3 small zucchini
    • 2 Cloves of Garlic
    • 1 bouillon cube (vegetable or chicken - your preference)
    • 2 tbsps olive oil
    • 4 cups of water


    Instructions

    1. Peel the potatoes and the carrots. Roughly chop all the vegetables into halves or quarters. The soup will be blended at the end so precision is not necessary
    2. Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a soup pot
    3. Add the garlic to the hot oil. Let sear lightly.
    4. Add in all the veggies at once.
    5. Pour enough water to cover. This is KEY! Too much water and the soup is no good. You want to barely cover all the vegetables. If needed you can add more water at the end.
    6. Add in the bouillon cube.Let simmer on medium heat for about a half hour until all the vegetables are cooked through, stirring occasionally. The potatoes should break apart with your spoon.
    7. Turn off the heat

    8. Mix with a mixing wand until smooth. Adjust the seasoning if needed.If you don’t have a hand mixer, I recommend the investment. They are much easier to use than blenders when making soup. I have used my kitchen aid immersion blender for over 8 years now for everything from guacamole to baby food to soups.

    Notes

    Chef's Wife Tips:

    Make sure the water doesn't completely cover the vegetables before cooking - it is the key to getting the right consistency of soup. You can always add more water at the end if needed

    Potage aux legumes can be made with any mix of vegetables. It is a great way to eliminate food waste. In my experience as long as I have a starchy vegetable like potato or sweet potato, the consistency has that creaminess to it that I love.

    Serve with a homemade French Baguette for an incredible French meal.

    Did you make this recipe?

    Share a photo and tag us — we can't wait to see what you've made!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Mrs. Todd says

      September 23, 2023 at 11:16 pm

      This soup is excellent! I make a big pot of it and freeze it in individual servings. When I want a quick meal, I pop a frozen serving in a bowl and microwave it for about 4 and a half minutes. A slice of bread on the side and a grate of Parmesan cheese in the soup - heaven! Thank you so much. The soup is so easy to make and very versatile.

      Reply
      • lechefswife says

        September 24, 2023 at 5:38 pm

        Bonjour, I can't tell you how happy this comment makes me! I love that our soup recipe brings you joy. I started making soup again yesterday and look forward to an autumn and winter full of nourishing, delicious soups! Thank you for taking the time to comment. Bonne journée, Anina Belle

        Reply
    2. Tl says

      November 28, 2022 at 12:45 pm

      Just a friendly fyi,

      On this page:
      https://lechefswife.com/healthy-potage-aux-legumes-french-vegetable-soup/

      In this paragraph, the Baby Led Weaning Links go to an error page (or maybe their site is down):

      Baby Led Weaning Hack: I take a couple vegetables out of the soup before mixing to feed my baby (once they have cooled, of course!) as part of Baby led Weaning.

      I love your blog! Great job. (You can delete this comment entirely if you’d like.)

      Reply
      • lechefswife says

        November 28, 2022 at 3:49 pm

        Thank you so much for letting me know! It helps to have comments like yours to keep my site updated. Thank you! I am glad you are enjoying my blog. Have a wonderful day! Anina Belle

        Reply
    3. Billie says

      November 27, 2022 at 9:54 pm

      Came across you on Instagram and this reminds me of the soup my mum makes. I’m going to do this tomorrow!

      Reply
      • lechefswife says

        November 28, 2022 at 3:51 pm

        Thank you so much for your kind comment and for leaving a star rating! I really appreciate it! How did your soup come out? Have a great day!

        Anina Belle

        Reply
    4. Roxana says

      August 01, 2022 at 4:21 pm

      I make this soup every other week and i enjoy it raw, without making it creamy. It's my go to easy peasy soup recipe. And the garlic it gives such a wonderful flavour.

      Thank you for all your tricks that help us to cook better meals for us and our loved ones. And I just love your pottery. Wish I had so many of them.

      Thank you again for all your work!

      Reply
    5. Heidi Leonhard says

      March 29, 2021 at 6:44 am

      I guess this recipe was written for Australians in February and not the places where it will be quite a while before local or regional tomatoes and zucchini are available in any area of the US or Europe.

      Reply
      • lechefswife says

        March 31, 2021 at 7:38 pm

        I agree Heidi, the soup is SO much better made with fresh, seasonal vegetables. I do like to make this soup all year round, however; usually with whatever vegetables I have leftover in the fridge. It is my preferred method of eliminating food waste and stocking healthy foods in my freezer. Thank you for your comment!

        Reply

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    Bonjour. If you are looking for French Recipes, made simple, you are in the right place! I translate the fancy cooking of my French Chef husband into easy-to-follow recipes that busy people with no culinary training, like me, can cook. From French Baguettes to French Riviera classic recipes, I invite you to learn French cooking with me.

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