This fennel leek soup started as a salad. I love fennel with leeks and apples, scattered with toasted walnuts. A warm version of that combination felt like a natural next step. The walnuts get blended right into the soup, which gives it a creamy, substantial texture without any dairy. Turmeric adds a slightly bitter warmth and turns the whole thing a gorgeous deep gold. Even the folks who think they don’t like fennel tend to come around on this one. It pairs beautifully with my arugula fennel salad if you want to lean into the fennel theme.

The site of the gorgeous color alone makes this fennel leek soup worth it! That said, the flavor is what keeps people coming back. It’s slightly sweet, anise-forward, a little nutty, with the apple adding just enough brightness to keep it from feeling heavy.

One reader told me she grows fennel in her garden specifically to make this soup. That kind of commitment says it all.

I like to finish each bowl with a fine drizzle of maple syrup, a few fennel fronds, and more toasted walnuts on top. It sounds like a lot but it all belongs there. It’s nice to get a little texture with every bite. The velvety texture with a little sweetness and crunch is heaven.

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Fennel Leek Soup with Walnuts & Turmeric

A creamy, golden vegan soup with fennel, leeks, apple, walnuts, and turmeric. The walnuts blend directly into the soup for a rich, dairy-free creaminess. Ready in under an hour.

4.93 from 26 reader reviews

Print Recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 50 minutes mins

Servings 4 -6

Ingredients

Soup

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 leeks, white and light green parts chopped (discard green tops or use them for stock)
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
• 1 medium fennel bulb, cored and chopped
• 1 medium apple, peeled, cored and chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• ½ cup walnut halves, toasted
• sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• 4 cups vegetable stock

To Serve

• maple syrup
• freshly ground black pepper
• chopped fennel fronds
• more toasted walnuts, chopped

Equipment

• Blender

Notes

• This is a pretty simple soup! Of course, I always think homemade vegetable stock is ideal, but especially with a soup with limited ingredients like this one.
• To clean leeks, split them down the middle and run your fingers through all the layers under cold water. Use only the white and very light green parts for this soup. Save the dark green tops for vegetable stock.
• To prep the fennel, cut the bulb in half, lay it flat, and slice. No need to be precise since everything gets blended. Save the fronds for garnish.
• Keeps in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days. This soup also freezes well.

Instructions

• Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium. Add the chopped leeks and thyme. Stir and sauté the leeks until they are a bit soft, about 4 minutes. Add the chopped fennel and apples. Stir everything up a bit. Add the turmeric and stir to coat all of the vegetables evenly. Sauté the vegetables until the fennel is starting to soften, another 4 minutes. Add the walnuts and stir them in. Season the whole thing with salt and pepper. Add the vegetable stock and stir.
• Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Simmer until all of the vegetables/apples are very soft, about 12-15 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat. Carefully blend the mixture in batches in an upright blender until totally smooth. Check the soup for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
• Pour the puréed soup back into the pot. Bring the puréed fennel walnut soup to a boil and then serve hot with little drizzles of maple syrup, fresh black pepper, fennel fronds, and more toasted walnuts if you like.

Author: Laura Wright

Course: Main Course, Soup

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan

Keyword: creamy fennel soup, fennel leek soup