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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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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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.
Delicious!! I love the bowlful of veggie goodness. (I used the Little Potato Company bag of tiny red potatoes…so easy to chop!)
I made this soup as part of the 5 day soup challenge. Very easy to make and delicious. I’ve never used the cashew cream in place of dairy before this recipe and I am pleased with the result. Even my picky husband thought it was good.
I thought this soup had great flavor and I really enjoyed the creaminess obtained by the cashews. And being dairy free, I love this alternative. I will say the only adjustment I made was I reduced the vegetable stock from 8 cups to 6. I like my cream based soups a little thicker and I thought 8 cups might be too much. I was happy with the result and it was not too thick using just 6 cups and it did yield enough for 4 servings. I also needed to add some salt.
Delicious and simple to make, also a great way to add lots of veggies into your day.
Half of my household has dairy sensitivities, so that makes it hard to bring variety to batch cooking soups. I made this soup as part of the 5 Day Soup Challenge and the cashew cream was a game changer. I had tasted the soup prior to adding the cashews to test the spice level, and hadn’t been overly impressed by it. But once I added the cashew cream it was such a huge difference. My picky teen took a bite from my bowl to taste and then took my whole bowl.
I halved the recipe and followed it closely, only changing it up for the frozen vegetable addition. I added frozen green beans, corn and carrots. The corn adds a nice sweet pop of taste and the green beans made it feel homey.
Excellent recipe and definitely going into my cooking rotation after the challenge.
Very simple and comforting, taste as you go when making it for salt and spice levels. I love to add barely to this soup or have it as a side to a meal.
This was a perfect lunch on a cool, crisp day. The cashew cream adds the right amount of flavor. This soup is so clean, yet hardy. I will definitely be making this again.
This recipe is delicious and easy to make. I did use cashews, and surprisingly they really added to the flavor profile. I always have fresh veggies in the fridge, so I used them in the soup. Guess I’m used to doing a lot of chopping.
I was inspired to make this soup as part of the Simple Green Smoothies 5 Day Soup Challenge, and wow, am I glad I did! ✨
I made this soup last night and brought some for lunch today, and it’s absolutely delicious! This was my first time experimenting with a cashew cream base. I’ve always been a little intimidated by making my own cashew cream, but this recipe made it simple and totally doable. The soup turned out rich, creamy, and satisfying, all without a drop of dairy! . I’ll definitely be adding this to my favorites and making it again soon!
It was bland for my taste. I used unsalted vegetable broth so maybe I needed to add salt. I added salt once I tasted but it was still bland. Maybe red pepper flakes? Any advise?
After seasoning to taste with S&P I stir in a couple, or more, teaspoons lemon juice right before serving to brighten all the flavors. Some chopped fresh parsley or dill would be nice too.
This soup was easy to make and tasty. I now have leftovers for lunch later in the week. I topped it with some crunchy croutons. Next time I will add one of the suggested add-ins, like barley.
This will be going into my soup rotation. I make a batch of soup every weekend to have lunch for the week.
Adding the cashew cream really makes this extra delicious! I used carrots, green beans, and cauliflower for the veggies. Next time I’ll likely add mushrooms too. Definitely one to make again!
Didn’t see the stars when I first posted. Definitely gets five stars!
My family loves thus recipe. I had some dying carrots and celery in my fridge so I used some and saved some for the ginger carrot recipe coming up.
I found this recipe full of possible variations. It was the first time soaking cashews for me. I love trying new things. Recently I was reminded that one should have a goal to eat protein(cashews), veggies (mixed veggies) and a grain (quinoa or rice fillet suggestion).
I also like to ribbon cut a green like spinach or kale or top with fresh herbs to add color.
Yum! Thanks for the challenge and versatile recipes!
I purchased ingredients for doubling all five recipes. I can’t wait to freeze leftovers and share with friends.
Thanks!
I like that I can adapt this recipe to whatever I have on hand. Doesn’t matter what frozen vegetables I have – or which potatoes, this will work! I also like implementing cashews for creaminess instead of a heavy cream.
This soup was easy to make and so good. I made it yesterday and had it for breakfast this morning. Next time I will definitely add more veggies.