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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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
This soup is delicious! I ended up using fresh broccoli, green beans and carrots with frozen peas.
Th addition of the cashew cream adds depth and creaminess to this vegetable soup. Healthy with a bunch of different frozen veggies.
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!
Very good. I cleaned out my fridge so didn’t use frozen veggies and worked perfectly. The recipe is versatile and simple.
Used vegetables on hand: potatoes, onion, garlic, carrots, zucchini, red bell pepper, baby lima beans instead of cannelini, beef broth, greek yoghurt instead of cashews. It was quite good.
Used dried basil and great northern beans because that’s what I had on hand. Don’t usually use frozen veggies they were kind of chewy. Next time I’ll try sauteing fresh veggies with onions & celery. Rainy day here great day to try a new soup.
Oops! Didn’t realize the challenge started today and not on Friday.
Reheated this today for our small group, but added kielbasa! Unbelievable!
Woo hoo! So happy you’re participating! Thrilled you loved it that much. Keep us posted, Nathan!
Good flavor. I used a frozen bag of flamed grilled provencal mixture that brought a smokey flavor. I would have thought it was a little thicker or creamier because of the name. 4 stars.
Glad you tried it. Thanks for the smokey flavor suggestion, Brett.
This soup was so easy to make and tastes delicious. I plan on taking it for work lunches this week.
Great idea. Thanks for trying it and glad to have you in the soup challenge. Not “IN” the soup challenge, but as a participant. LOL
A good recipe, very easy to make. I didn’t have frozen carrots so used fresh and added them at the beginning. Since I live alone and plan on making soup every day this week, I made half the recipe. It turned out very well. I’ve never made a creamy veg soup before and I’m sure I will make it again. Thank you!
We’re so happy you liked the soup, Keren. Thanks for participating and keep us posted on how you’re liking the other recipes.
I absolutely loved this soup! It was a chilly, rainy day and it was a perfect soup to eat. So glad I joined the soup challenge, it pushes me to try new recipes .
Yes! Yes! We just love having you join us. I am so glad you enjoyed this tasty, comfort food, Margarita.
The Creamy Vegetable soup was really good. I added more italian seasoning and garlic powder to the soup. Would make it again.
Love that you made it your own, Phyllis. I’m a sucker for garlic so it sounds like a fund addition to try.