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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 and enjoy it again and again, just like the other big-batch pots in my vegan soup recipes.
- 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 (14 ½-oz) can cannellini beans drained
- 8 cups vegetable stock divided
Instructions
- Place the cashews in a bowl, cover with hot water and soak for at least 20 minutes to soften.
- Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the potatoes, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, frozen vegetables, beans and black pepper. Add most of the vegetable stock, reserving some for the cashew cream, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
- Drain the cashews and transfer to a blender with the reserved stock. Blend on high until completely smooth.
- Stir the cashew cream into the pot and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Adjust the seasoning, ladle into bowls and serve warm.
Recipe Notes
- Blender Tip: Soak the cashews for at least 20 minutes, or longer if you don’t have a high-speed blender, so the cream blends completely smooth.
- Ingredient Swaps: Any frozen mixed vegetables work, such as carrots, peas, green beans, corn or broccoli. Baby gold potatoes or diced full-size potatoes work in place of the red, and homemade vegetable stock is great here.
- Instant Pot Method: Saute the onion and celery, then add everything but the cashew cream. Pressure cook on high for 5 minutes, quick release, and stir in the cashew cream on saute for a few minutes.
- Storing: Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze. The soup thickens as it sits, so thin it with a splash of stock when reheating.
Nutrition
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.
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This is definitely a comfort food recipe! The soup is creamy and flavorful. It hit the spot on a cold, rainy night. The recipe was straight forward and easy to follow. It was quick to make up. I like that you can customize the vegetables to change it up.
I’m glad you liked it so much. It has been a SGS community favorite this season. We’d love to hear more feedback about your thoughts on the other recipes, Holly.
This soup really surprised me with its creaminess. I’ve used cashews before for the creamy feel but for some reason this worked better than most so – yay!
We don’t use added oil so sautéed in broth to start and had an issue with our cannellini beans so subbed in chickpeas. I don’t think either adjustment made enough of a difference to matter.
The only thing I will for sure change next time is just to up the seasoning. The flavor was good but we’d like a little more of it. Oh! And those 4 people eating this soup must have some mighty big appetites! We have some left for lunch tomorrow, a batch frozen for later and a batch to share with a neighbor. Not a bad problem to have but a LOT of soup!
Yes, it makes a lot of soup. What a great idea to share it with neighbors, Denise.
Creamy Vegetable Soup was easy to make. I thought it needed some more pizzazz, so I added more Italian seasoning, a splash of vinegar and some tabasco sauce. Off to a great start!!
I’m glad you were able to customize it your to taste, Elizabeth. My husband is always doing that with recipes. Keep rawking!
This is SO easy and SO good! The only thing I added was to top the soup with California pepper. I really like that I can customize with the veggies I prefer. But I LOVE that I can freeze this deliciously cream soup! I will make this soup often so I can have a steady supply for my freezer.
It is a favorite freezer soup. Thanks for trying it and leaving feedback.
This was nice, creamy & hearty. Also fairly fast and simple. I subbed in regular russet potatoes because they needed to be used up. I also added the frozen veggies halfway through the simmer time because my family likes veggies barely cooked.
Three of four family members liked it, but my youngest gets super picky about soup unless it’s tomato based. I had some as is and some with bacon bits as garnish. The spouse added bacon bits and quite liked it. My eldest (adult and vegan) liked it.
I think I might want to try this using mushrooms instead of potatoes. (The spouse said it was fine as is when I mentioned that to him.)
Hi Erika. Thanks for the feedback. If you do make it with mushrooms, we’d like to hear your thoughts on that twist.