Cheesy leek soup is the soup we make when we have hungry people at the table and no appetite for compromise. 500 g beef mince, two thick sticks of leek, grated Cheddar, crème fraîche and double cream. The result is a soup that no one treats as a starter.
We have been making this recipe for many years, mostly in autumn and winter when leeks are firm and sweet again. In the beginning we had the same problem many Thermomix® cooks face: the mince got blended in the mixing bowl instead of browned. We now know exactly which setting to use so the mince stays in crumbly pieces that are still visible in the finished soup.
Cheesy Leek Soup with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 13 ✓
- 150 g Cheddar
- 1 onion
- 20 g ginger
- 20 g rapeseed oil
- 500 g beef mince
- 2 sticks leek
- 600 g beef stock
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp dried marjoram
- 10 g lemon juice
- 200 g crème fraîche
- 200 g double cream
Instructions 0 / 7
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1
Grate the cheese.
Cheddar into the mixing bowl, grate for 6 seconds / speed 8 and set aside.
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2
Chop the onion and ginger.
Peel the onion, peel the ginger, add both to the mixing bowl, chop for 5 seconds / speed 5 and scrape down with the spatula.
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3
Brown the mince.
Add the oil and beef mince and cook for 5 minutes / Varoma / reverse direction / speed 1 without the mixing bowl lid.
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4
Prepare the leek.
In the meantime, wash the leek, trim it and cut into rings.
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5
Cook.
Add the leek with the beef stock, salt, pepper, marjoram and lemon juice and cook for 17 minutes / 100°C / reverse direction / speed 2.
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6
Finish the soup.
Add the Cheddar, crème fraîche and double cream and warm through for 3 minutes / 100°C / reverse direction / speed 2.
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7
Serve.
Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.
Tip: Try a vegetarian version of this soup. Simply swap the minced beef for diced potatoes.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Reverse direction is not a detail here, it is the main rule
The entire recipe depends on one single setting: reverse direction. In normal direction we would end up with 500 g of minced beef puree after five minutes. In reverse direction the blades run with the blunt side forward. The mince is moved, turned and brought into contact with the hot bowl base without being cut. That is exactly what we would do in a pan with a wooden spoon, except we can wash the leek at the same time.
We run the mixing bowl without the lid during the five browning minutes. The reason is simple but important: beef mince releases water as it heats. With the lid on, that water would stay in the bowl, the contents would steam rather than brown and the soup would later turn slightly grey and cloudy. Without the lid the liquid evaporates and the mince picks up a proper browning note. If the splatter guard is included, put it on. If not, loosely lay a piece of kitchen paper over the top to catch any large splashes.
Just as important as reverse direction for the mince is reverse direction for the later cooking stage. 17 minutes at 100°C with the leek and 600 g beef stock, all on reverse direction speed 2. If we cooked on normal direction we would end up with a blended leek cream. What we want instead is leek rings in the soup that still have bite and curl around the spoon. That is the character of this soup.
Cheddar instead of processed cheese, and why it brings more flavour
Most cheesy leek soup recipes use processed cheese from a plastic tub. That works, but it tastes neutral to salty and has the typical processed cheese aftertaste. Instead, we grate 150 g of Cheddar directly in the mixing bowl, 6 seconds at speed 8. Cheddar brings a distinct savouriness and a lightly nutty note. Combined with the 200 g crème fraîche and 200 g double cream we get the same creamy body as with processed cheese, but a flavour worth seeking out rather than covering up.
When finishing the soup we stick strictly to 100°C and speed 2 for three minutes. We must not go higher, otherwise the double cream will split in contact with the lemon juice already in the stock. The Cheddar also needs time to distribute evenly in the hot liquid. Anyone who gets impatient and switches to speed 4 will end up with streaks of cheese in the soup rather than a smooth, consistent finish.
Where the ginger comes in, and why only 20 grams
20 g of ginger in a minced beef and leek soup might sound like a typo. It is not. In the finished pot the ginger is not recognisable as an Asian note; instead it works quietly in the background against the heaviness of the dish. Cheese, double cream, crème fraîche and fatty mince are a rich combination that quickly becomes cloying without something to balance it. 20 g of ginger, chopped together with the onion at speed 5, is precisely the amount that keeps the dish fresh without the ginger flavour breaking through. Go up to 30 g and you taste it. Drop to 10 g and you lose the effect.
We would never leave out the 1 tsp of marjoram. Marjoram has a firm place in German home cooking alongside leek and mince, comparable to parsley with potato. It does not taste intrusive, but its absence is immediately noticeable. Fresh marjoram is hard to find in winter, so we use dried. During the 17-minute cooking stage it draws in well.
What almost always goes wrong the first time
Mince clumps into large chunks. This happens when the minced beef is placed in the mixing bowl in one solid block straight from the packet. Reverse direction can turn, but it cannot break apart a 500 g lump. We tear the mince into walnut-sized pieces with our fingers before adding it. That way it crumbles cleanly.
Soup turns too salty. Cheddar, beef stock and 1 tsp of salt together carry a certain risk. We would keep the salt light on the first attempt and taste after finishing. Adding more salt is always possible; rescuing an oversalted pot is rarely successful. Anyone using industrially produced Cheddar (often saltier than a matured block) can reduce the teaspoon to a half.
Double cream splits. The most common cause is heat above 100°C. Some TM6 models show slight temperature fluctuations at speed 2. If the soup is still bubbling hard before finishing, switch back to speed 1 briefly and let the heat drop before adding the Cheddar, crème fraîche and double cream.
Leek is gritty. Leeks often have soil trapped between the layers that a quick rinse will not remove. We cut the leek lengthways once, fan out the layers and rinse under running water. Only then do we cut into rings. Skipping this step means the finished soup will crunch.
Other ways we make this soup
Vegetarian with potato. Instead of 500 g mince we use 400 g waxy potatoes cut into 1 cm cubes. We add the potatoes to the mixing bowl together with the leek; they cook through in the 17 minutes. Here we swap the beef stock for vegetable stock and the Cheddar gets more room to shine.
With processed cheese, when the classic version is requested. For the classic party soup version, replace 100 g of Cheddar with 200 g of herb-flavoured processed cheese. We keep the remaining Cheddar (50 g) for the savouriness. That way we get the classic body and still some character.
With chicken instead of beef. 500 g chicken mince works just as well, tastes milder and suits guests who do not eat red meat. We swap the beef stock for chicken stock.
Spicier with chilli. Add 1 small dried chilli to the mixing bowl together with the ginger. It gently infuses during cooking and gives the soup a warming note that suits winter better than any pepper.
What we do with the leftovers the next day
Cheesy leek soup improves on the second day because the Cheddar and double cream fully come together and the marjoram continues to infuse. We transfer leftovers to a sealed container and refrigerate; the soup keeps for three days. When reheating, never use the microwave and never bring it to a rolling boil, otherwise the cream will break. We warm it in a saucepan over a medium heat with occasional stirring, or in the mixing bowl at 80°C, speed 1, reverse direction, for five minutes.
Freezing does not work in this form. The double cream and crème fraîche lose their consistency on thawing and the Cheddar develops a grainy texture. Anyone who wants to batch cook should freeze the soup before finishing, that is, after the 17-minute cooking stage with leek and stock. When reheating, thaw, heat to 100°C and then add the Cheddar, crème fraîche and double cream.
What goes well on the table alongside it
Serve with: bread rolls and sourdough bread.
The soup is filling enough to work on its own as a main course. Anyone serving bread alongside should choose something neutral that does not overpower the soup. We like to serve a baguette made in the Thermomix® or our spelt baguette. If a second warm dish is wanted, potato soup works well as an option for vegetarians at the same table. For the next soup evening we often make tomato soup, which is the textural opposite of this hearty cheese and leek version.
More soups from our mixing bowl are in our soups collection. Anyone looking for more hearty main courses can browse our main courses section.
