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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.
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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.
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.
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 Souper Cubes Freezer System 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.
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
Jen HansardVideo
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.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Equipment
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.
I was a bit suspicious – this recipe didn’t call for blending. And frozen veggies, hmm? And although I have used cashew cream for vegan fettuccini alfredo, I wasn’t sure about in a soup. But this soup is the real deal!! Delicious! I love it!!
I prepped the night before: I was soaking the cashews while sautéing the onions and celery. When done, I cooled the sauté and put it in a baggie in the fridge. Then I made the cashew cream and put it in the fridge.
So today, here at the office, I quartered the potatoes, and put everything in instant pot, except the cashew cream. I set it to cook at high pressure for 15 minutes (then promptly got pulled into a meeting for an hour!). When I got out of the meeting, I put in the cashew cream and simmered for about 15 minutes. Oh man, this is soooo good!! It really does taste creamy and wonderful! I ate 2 big bowlfuls!
The only addition I made was some rosemary that a friend gave me – even more delicious!
Wonderful. Thank you for taking the time to type that out for us. And the rosemary tip is a good. So happy you loved it. Keep rawking, Sandra.
Great recipe! I tweaked it a bit and cooked in my Instapot. I sautéed the onion and celery in the avocado oil on sear until soft then added two cloves of minced fresh garlic and a minced small jalapeño. (I like spice) for a minute. I added the potatoes, frozen organic corn and frozen organic peas with the beans and Italian spices and pepper. Stirred everything together and added the half of the vegetable stock. Cooked on “soup” setting for 15 minutes. While that was cooking I prepared the cashew cream and added after the Instapot was done (steam manually released). I put the lid back on and cooked another 2 minutes on steam. DELISH!! The soup thickened after letting it set outside of the cooker.
Love to hear it. Don’t you just love avocado oil, that buttery richness? You did awesome, Dawn!
Recipe was easy to follow and it came out has expected . I would try again.
Love to hear it. Glad you enjoyed it, Anya.
I made this last night. It was a little bland so I added 1 1/2 tsp of salt and blended a portion of the potatoes for a thicker consistency. It was even better today for lunch! My husband even enjoyed it. Thank you for the recipe!
Great news! I’m glad you both enjoyed it. And yes, salt soups to taste for sure. Rawk on Debbie Casper.
I didn’t have mixed veghies like I thought I did so I used broccoli, peas, and corn. I also added a little bit of turmeric for anti-inflammatory benefits and some sea salt. The cashew cream was an interesting addition to the soup. Nice, simple, nutritious, and pretty quick to cook. It was not a heavy soup so qould even be enjoyable on a warmer day. I would make it again.
Love that. Quick, nutritious, and tasty. Love that you used the ingredients you had on hand. Great job creating something delicious.