How Many Calories Are in Leek and Potato Soup?

Leek and potato soup is not only tasty, inexpensive and filling, but it can also be a healthy meal option depending on the ingredients.

While pre-made leek and potato soup can be hard to find on the shelf, the homemade version is fairly simple to make and allows greater control over the nutritional content. The total calories in potato soup will change depending on the ingredients, so choose recipes and ingredients carefully.

Recipes will contain slightly different nutritional values depending on the ingredients used. Almost all recipes will include some amount of potatoes, leeks, celery, shallots, onion, salt and pepper. Recipes designed to be health-conscious may include olive oil, chicken stock, and various herbs and spices. Those with only flavor and texture in mind may use rich ingredients such as butter, milk, cream and cheese.

Remember that the more high-calorie ingredients in the soup, the higher the soup's overall calorie content. Using chicken broth and pureed potatoes instead of cream can lower the calories in your soup, as can limiting or eliminating high-calorie add-ins like cheese and bacon.

Find out how many calories are in a bowl of potato soup whether it's canned, store-bought, from a restaurant or homemade.

A basic leek and potato soup will have potatoes, leeks, olive oil and reduced-fat milk. A one-cup serving contains 101 calories as well as 2 grams of fat, 20 grams of fat and 2 grams of protein, per the USDA.

When dining out or looking for a recipe that is rich and flavorful, leek and potato soup can be a delicious choice. Gourmet recipes that contain ingredients like cream, butter and oil, will have a much higher calorie count.

For instance, one serving of the potato and leek soup at the chain restaurant Au Bon Pain contains 190 total calories with 21 grams of fat, 22 grams of carbs and 3 grams protein.

Imagine Foods makes a boxed organic potato leek soup that contains potatoes, onions, leeks, vegetable oil, sea salt, garlic, onion powder and other spices.

One serving contains 90 total calories, 3 grams of fat, 14 grams of carbohydrates and 2 grams of protein.

Baxter's makes a canned potato leek soup that contains potatoes, leeks, onions, skim milk powder among other ingredients.

One 100-gram serving contains 51 total calories, 1.8 grams of fat, 7.6 grams of carbs and 1.4 grams of protein.

Campbell's Condensed Cream of Potato Soup packs 90 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 16 grams of carbs and 2 grams of protein.

Potato soup made from scratch at home can vary greatly in calories depending on the recipe you choose. A potato soup recipe made with cheese has around 245 calories per 1 1/4 cup.

You can further reduce the number of calories by nixing the cheese and using cauliflower in place of half of the potato.