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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.
Free 5-Day Soup Challenge
Get cozy with 5 of my most flavorful, plant-based soups that’ll help you feel lighter, nourished, and totally satisfied. Let’s soup it up!
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.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! It was super easy to make and tasted great. I followed the recipe exactly and it was simple. Never used cashews to thicken a sou, but it was great!
We’re so happy you enjoyed it. And yes, the cashews add the smooth texture and a good bit of protein as well.
Quick and easy to make. Tasted great. Next time I might use more cashews or beans to make it creamier.
The cashews really do the trick. Glad you enjoyed it, Shivani.
This soup was super yummy! It rained today in San Francisco and it was perfect!! LOVE the cashew cream. I did put mine a bead bowl with a little bit of butter and it was truly delicious!!
Ohhhhh, I would eat anything if you put it in a bread bowl. It sounds like a perfect fit for this creamy soup, Aja.
I made the creamy vegetable soup ! It was really good ! My daughter came over for dinner and loved it she took some home! Haha!
Wonderful. I love it when we can introduce delicious plant-based foods to others. Thanks for sharing, Liz.
Yum! This was perfect on a cold rainy NE day!
Oh, yes! I’m glad you think that too, Erin.
So tasty! I am always surprised at cashews and how creamy they can be. I appreciate these challenges because they get me to try different ingredients and new recipes to add into my rotation. This was delicious.
Yay. You’re approach to new things is fantastic. Glad you enjoyed the texture and flavor, Marni.
I like the creaminess of the soup but wish there were stronger flavor punch. What can I use instead of Italian seasoning… dill? Pepper flakes?
Both of those sound fun to try. Sometimes, just a bit of salt and pepper add enough flavor. You could also try a bit of cayenne if you wanted a bit of heat.
This soup is amazing! Definitely perfect for a cozy fall evening. I love that it has so many vegetables in it. I did frozen peas and carrots and then cut up some fresh green beans. On the potatoes I used red as well as some purple ones I got at a farmer’s market. This recipe will definitely be on rotation.
Perfect! Just love that you enjoyed it this much. Love that you used purple potatoes, Ashley.
I’m so glad I made a double batch! Some went to a sick friend, some was shared with my daughter’s family. . . But I’m keeping the rest. Delish!
I was intrigued about the use of cashew cream in this recipe. I had to substitute making the cream with raw sunflower seeds due to a nut allergy. As far as I know it turns out like the cashew cream? It did give the soup a creaminess, although not quite the same effect or flavor as using dairy. I used rutabagas instead of potatoes (potato allergy) and the rutabagas turned out nice and tender with a mild yellow color that added to the aesthetics of the soup. I used frozen corn and pole beans as the additional veggies. I did find the overall flavor to be bland for my taste. I do like the basics of this recipe so I will plan to make it again but will play with the seasonings to achieve my personal flavor preference.
Way to make it your own. Glad you found ways to make substitutions. We’d love to hear an update when you make it again with different seasonings, Liz.
For sure. You enjoy several of those servings yourself, Anne.
Delicious! I had to add salt as it was a little bland for my tastes at first, but then Voila! I added some Pepitas and Hemp seeds for some added protein.
A bit of salt can add so much flavor to veggies! Thanks for letting us know what you thought.
This soup is so creamy and delicious! My non plant based eaters even raved about how amazing this soup tastes!
Isn’t that THE BEST! I love it when that happens. Glad they and you enjoyed the recipe!
Not my favorite of Jen’s soups. While it is filling, it is bit too bland for me — I added a few shakes of nutritional yeast to give it a little more depth. I’ll try it again with a few shakes of rosemary – I think that would do the trick! I also found that this soup really spiked my glucose levels. I may try with again with cruciferous veggies and fewer starchy veggies.
Thanks for this feedback, Amy.
Good soup! I brought it to a family dinner and everyone loved it.
I used fresh corn and string beans in place of frozen veg and fresh herbs from my garden in place of Italian seasoning. I also made this in my Instant Pot so I omited about 2 cups of broth for a thicker soup. I think I would add some lemon at the end next time for some flavor depth.
I’ll be saving this recipe to make again.
This recipe could be fun to play with and I’m glad you’re doing so. Way to make it your own.
I love the cashews instead of a dairy product. I was surprised by the creaminess, and loved the flavors of this soup. It will go into rotation on my menu. Perfect for a cool autumn day when I’m needing a little warmth.
Oh yay, Wendy. I’m glad you enjoyed it enough to put on the roatation. Thanks for trying it out.
This was the perfect comfort food for an autumn day. Creamy, yet light on the stomach and full of veggies. The best part was that it was so easy to make. My husband did the dicing and chopping, my kids did the measuring and pouring, and I supervised :). A recipe the whole family can help out with and enjoy!
That’s such a picturesque scene. LOVE.
This was easy to put together and good flavors and texture. It makes a lot of soup so I will be freezing the leftovers. I do wish it was a little thicker.
If you cut the broth portion down it will make it thicker. When you warm it back up, leaving the top off of the pot will thicken some of the leftovers. Thanks for the feedback, Susan.
I really liked the flavor. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about the cashews! I’m not sure if it was supposed to be a thinner broth or if I did something wrong and it didn’t thicken right. I will definitely make it again and see how it goes!
Hi Kellie. If you would like it to be thicker, cut down that broth amount. Thanks for posting your feedback. Keep us posted it you make it again.
This soup is delicious! I ended up using fresh broccoli, green beans and carrots with frozen peas.
Nice. So many wonderful vitamins in that mix, C, K, and all the B’s to name a few. Glad you enjoyed it, Deb.
Th addition of the cashew cream adds depth and creaminess to this vegetable soup. Healthy with a bunch of different frozen veggies.
That’s it, right there. Great description! Glad you enjoyed it so much, Susan.
The soup was yummy and VERY filling! The serving size is 3 cups but we could only eat half that amount. It’s rich, thick and veggie packed. My husband can’t eat creamy soups made with dairy products. He. did not believe this soup was dairy free so I had to show him the recipe. Thanks for a great soup recipe!
Whoa!!!! That’s awesome. I love that you had to show him the recipe to prove there was no dairy in the soup. Just love that, Joanna.