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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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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.
Super yummy!!!
Although my soup looked grainy from the cashews, it didn’t taste that way at all. Super creamy and comforting! I did add a little bit more salt and pepper for taste. I am absolutely gonna do this recipe again, this time round I use standard veggies, including Delicata squash. Next time I think I’m gonna do more mushrooms and other fun ingredients. This is the perfect rainy day and stay at home watching a movie kind of a soup.
Yes to the mushrooms!!! More earthy goodness. Thanks for the comment, Cassandra. Keep us posted on how you are liking the soups.
Oh my, this is heavenly. Going to be a favorite through the winter. Easy prep and easy cook. There are so many combos you can. The homemade sourdough was a fantastic compliment to this soup.
The sourdough addition sounds like the perfect pairing. We’re so glad you’re on this soup discovery journey with us, Jenna. Keep the feedback coming.
I used to not like soups. I would only eat Campbell’s chicken noodle soup growing up. However, after discovering your site years ago, I have enjoyed so many of your recipes (including soups). I was not expecting to like this one, but it was very good. My husband who doesn’t usually like dinners without meat thoroughly enjoyed this soup & rated it five stars out of five. I will be adding the leftovers to the freezer.
Thank you for being a longtime participant! Love that. And we’re so glad you are enjoying this recipe. Husband, too!
oh my God, this soup was absolutely amazing. I truly enjoyed it. One of the best creamy soup I have had. It was loaded with vegetables, which I love. it was so easy to make and for a flavor.
I would have never thought to blend cashews to thicken and add protein. Brilliant! I love cannellini beans so that added great texture. The convenience of frozen mixed veggies added ease and a great variety of flavors. Again a food (frozen mixed veggies) I never use. My husband and I really liked it alot.
The cashew elevated the soup from a regular vegetable soup to an outstanding vegetable soup. So good and creamy.
This soup was delicious. I would have liked it to be just a bit thicker.
I love this soup! It was so easy to make but so delicious. And perfect on this very rainy day!
This creamy soup is a five-star winner! My choice of veggies were carrots, cauliflower, and string beans. My choice of Italian seasonings were oregano and rosemary from my garden. The tsp. of freshly ground black pepper gave a subtle kick that I really appreciated. I had never added blended cashews to the soup stock before. This was a creamy delight that I can’t wait to share with my grandson and repeat again and again.
Thanks for the challenge!
This is delicious but I expected the cashew cream to make it thicken up a little more than mine did. The only variation I made to the recipe was to add some frozen peas. I will definitely add this to my “keep” folder. Perfect dinner for a chilly, cloudy day.
This creamy soup is a 5 star winner! My choice of veggies were carrots, striingbeans, cauliflower. My choice of Italian seasonings were oregano amd rosemary from my garden.
I really enjoyed the subtle boost that the tsp. of black pepper gave to the soup.
This was my first time using blended cashews to add to the soup broth. I can’t wait to share this delightful bowl of golden yumminess with my grandson.
This soup comes together easily with pantry staples. I try to use up any veggies that are starting to get a little soft or extras from the garden. We especially love peppers, mushrooms and kale in this soup. The baby potatoes and velvety cashew cream really push this soup over the top and make each bite so cozy. I save a little of the cashew cream to pour over the soup before serving – just to add that little extra something on top. YUMMMMM!
Quick and easy to make after work on a weeknight! And it was kid approved. Used a variety of ends of frozen veggies and it all worked well.
Amazing recipe! My husband and I were able to get all the ingredients, cook this together and enjoy our lunch on this rainy day in the east coast US. I was a bit hesitant with this being all plant based ingredients and thought it would taste bland, but isn’t bland at all. It is a lot for us – 2 people – so we did have leftovers. Overall would recommend!
I have made this soup before. I loved it the first time and still love it. It comes together quickly with whatever veg you have in your fridge. I didn’t have cannelini beans today but I did have a bit of leftover fennel salad with butter beans and tomatoes-in it went. Every batch of this soup is different. I gave it 4 stars because I would have loved a bit of crumbled bacon on top!
This soup was super simple to make and was delicious! Doubled the batch to have some to freeze and ended up getting 10 very large servings. I did have to add a lot of salt to get it where I wanted it. Will definitely be adding this to the regular rotation! I’m vegan but even my non vegan, somewhat picky family enjoyed it