This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I can earn a small commission from items you purchase (at no cost to you).
If you haven’t made my creamy vegetable soup yet—you’re missing out. This is a “lazy day recipe,” using a TON of vegetables, sneaking in some plant-protein and requiring minimal prep. It’s dairy-free, yet still delivers that rich, silky texture you’ll love. Pair this soup with crusty bread, a kale caesar salad, or those “biscuits in a can” the kids all love and be in awe.
Table of contents
What is Creamy Vegetable Soup?
Creamy vegetable soup is a classic, comfort food made with simple ingredients like potatoes, beans, and frozen vegetables simmered in a flavorful broth. Instead of heavy cream or cheese, my recipe uses blended cashews to create a silky, dairy-free base that tastes rich and indulgent while staying light and nourishing. It’s hearty enough for a full meal, quick enough for weeknights, and can be frozen and enjoyed later, too.
Ingredients You’ll Need
To make this creamy vegetable soup you’ll need a few basic ingredients you can find at any grocery store:
- Cashews: The base of this soup is raw cashews, blended into a silky cream that keeps this soup dairy-free, high in protein and sooooo creamy.
- Onion + celery: The classic aromatic duo that builds depth of flavor. If you have extra, save it to use in my Cabbage Soup recipe.
- Potatoes: baby red or gold potatoes give this soup body and creaminess. You can swap half out for cauliflower, like I did in my Vegan Potato Soup, if you’re trying to cut down on carbs.
- Garlic powder + Italian seasoning: Together, they add a savory, herb-filled flavor that you’d recognize in most cream-based soups.
- Frozen mixed vegetables: time-saving, cheap and versatile; use carrots, peas, corn, beans, or whatever you’ve got.
- Cannellini beans: These silky beans add plant-based protein and a creamy bite. These are my favorite beans to use in soups.
Recipe Tips
• Use a medley of frozen carrots, peas, corn, green beans, or broccoli for variety.
• You can use larger potatoes— just dice them small to cook quick.
• Add a splash of lemon juice or top with fresh parsley for brightness.
• Stir in cooked quinoa, rice, or barley for an even more filling meal.
Free 5-Day Soup Challenge!
Get crave-worthy recipes loaded with flavor & seasonal ingredients to help you feel lighter this Autumn.
How to Make Creamy Vegetable Soup
Soften the cashews. Soak raw cashews in hot water while you prep everything else.
Build the base. Sauté onion and celery in avocado oil until softened.
Add the heartiness: Stir in potatoes, seasonings, frozen vegetables, beans, and black pepper.
Simmer the soup: Add most of the vegetable stock, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until the potatoes are fork-tender.
Make the cashew cream: Blend drained cashews with the remaining broth until completely smooth. Works best in a high-speed blender (not an immersion blender).
Finish creamy: Stir the cashew cream into the pot, simmer a few minutes longer, and adjust seasonings as needed.
Storage Suggestions
Leftover creamy vegetable soup tastes even better— so double this recipe so you can enjoy it again and again.
- Fridge: Store in airtight containers for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Freeze in 1-cup Souper Cubes for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- Reheat: Warm gently on the stovetop or in the microwave, adding a splash of broth or water if it thickens too much.
Freeze Your Food + Save Your Money
Souper Cubes make it easy to portion and freeze leftovers, helping you reduce food waste, save money, and save time with ready-to-heat meals whenever you need them.
If you make this creamy vegetable soup recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment box below. Your feedback helps me and all the readers in this community. And if you’re interested in more plant-based recipes (and exclusive content), sign up for my weekly recipe newsletter.
Creamy Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 cup yellow onion diced
- 1 cup celery rib diced
- 16 ounce baby red potatoes quartered
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, ground ground
- 3 cups mixed vegetables frozen
- 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans drained
- 8 cups vegetable stock divided
Instructions
- Place cashews in a bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside to soften while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
- Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
- Stir in the potatoes, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, frozen vegetables, beans, and black pepper.
- Add vegetable broth (set aside 2 cups to use in step 5) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
- Drain the cashews and transfer to a blender with the remaining 2 cups of vegetable broth. Blend on high until completely smooth.
- Pour the cashew cream into the pot and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the soup thickens slightly.
- Adjust seasonings as needed. Ladle into bowls and serve warm.
Video
Helpful Tools
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review for a chance to win signed copies of my cookbooks!Frequently Asked Questions
Yes—swap in unsweetened coconut milk, oat milk, and some frozen cauliflower to make it a creamy texture, yet without cashews.
Not at all! Fresh veggies work great—just chop them into small, even pieces so they cook quickly.
Absolutely. Chickpeas, navy beans, or great northern beans are all good substitutes for cannellini beans.
Yes, it freezes beautifully. Just cool completely, portion into containers, and freeze for up to 3 months.
Add fresh herbs (like rosemary and thyme), a squeeze of lemon juice before serving, or top with nutritional yeast for extra cheesiness.
Light, creamy, and oh so satisfying. I used diced Japanese sweet potatoes in place of baby reds and served with a squeeze of lime.
A really comforting soup for a cold, rainy night! I’m allergic to dairy, so it was nice to have a creamy soup without it. All the veggies made it feel super healthy, too. Next time, I’ll use less broth. I tend to prefer my soups less brothy and more substantial in other ways.
I have never added cashews to a soup, my family enjoyed, I cooked sliced garlic in avocado oil to put on top.
Silky smooth richness in this delicious vegetable soup. I followed the recipe with no changes. The cashews blended nicely and when added to the soup, thickened perfectly as it cooled.
Hearty, creamy soup! I added barley cooked in vegetable broth, and we garnished with Parmesan reggiano and Italian parsley. I hadn’t made cashew cream before, and the Vitamix handled it with no problem. I did add broth to the cashews 1 cup at a time to ensure the nuts macerated completely.
I’m super excited about the Souper Cubes idea since two of my children are teachers and they don’t always have time to cook and eat healthy meals during the school year. I’m hoping to use the Souper Cubes will be a real game-changer to make easy healthy meals to the kids and then help them learn to prepare batch meals.
Looking forward to the next recipe!
I loved this soup. Even my picky husband liked it. I will definitely make this again. I don’t usually make creamy soups but this one is giving me second thoughts about that.
I knew I would love this soup because of the veggies and cashew cream. Yum!!! I also loved the simplicity of ingredients and preparation.
I’ve never made a creamy vegetable soup before. This was astoundingly good! Thank you!
Perfect soup for a rainy day like today!
I love how creamy it is without using cream. Perfect for people avoiding dairy like us.
I used it as a based and added more fresh herbs, veggies and some chicken for my husband.
Soup challenge Day 1…. The soup was delicious ! I was kind of nervous about using the cashews to thicken the soup but it worked out better than I expected.
I was not sure how the Cashews would work in the soup, but it was very tasty. On this cold stormy night it hit the spot.
So good! Everyone loved it. I used a mix of vegetables that I already had on hand. Very easy to make and incredibly flavorful.
A beautiful Tuscan-yellow colored comfort soup to revive the coziness of home on a rainy fall day in Northern California – yum! And I imagine it will be even better tomorrow!!
I was after thick and creamy, so I used 75% of the amount of store bought veggie broth, and, after making the soup, I pulled out and blended 1/4 of the soup in my VitaMix and tossed it back in for extra velvety creamy veggies goodness! Let it rain!
We enjoyed the combination of vegetable but felt like ratio of broth to veggies was off (more veggies). The flavor profile needed a bit more rounding out so that the soup didn’t taste like just vegetables in broth.
Soup Challenge – Day 1 = Success!
This soup is so delicious! I love that it tastes like a creamy, dairy-based soup but it’s totally not. Super quick to make and easy to prep, which was perfect since I got home later than planned. I added a little sea salt to bring out the flavor, and wow… 5 stars! Definitely adding this one to my favorites list of cozy, cold-weather comfort soups. Thanks, Jen!
Husband and I both loved it. We are light eaters, so for us, the recipe made 8 servings.