Creamy Vegan Vegetable Soup (Healthy, Cozy & Dairy-Free)

So I’ve been making this creamy vegan vegetable soup for about three years now, and honestly? It took me way longer than I care to admit to get it right. The first few attempts were basically expensive vegetable water with some sad cashews floating around. But once I figured out the secret—which is really just proper blending technique and not being stingy with the good fats—this became my go-to comfort food that happens to be completely dairy-free.

How I Accidentally Became a Vegan Soup Person

Look, I’m not even vegan. I just got tired of heavy cream making me feel like I needed a nap after lunch, and my neighbor Sarah kept bringing over these incredible plant-based soups that made me question everything I thought I knew about comfort food. She finally shared her basic technique after I literally begged her for the recipe outside our mailboxes one Tuesday morning.

The thing is, most creamy vegan vegetable soup recipes online are either weirdly complicated or they promise this rich, velvety texture and then deliver something that tastes like sadness. I wanted something that actually felt indulgent without requiring seventeen specialty ingredients I’d use once. After probably six failed attempts—including one disaster where I tried to use silken tofu and ended up with something that looked like chunky baby food—I finally cracked the code.

This version gets its creaminess from cashews and a good amount of olive oil, plus the starch from properly cooked vegetables. It won’t fool anyone into thinking there’s actual cream in here, but it doesn’t need to. It’s rich and satisfying in its own way, and my lactose-intolerant sister-in-law practically cries tears of joy every time I make it.

Ingredients Creamy Vegan Vegetable Soup

Okay, here’s the deal with ingredients for this soup—quality matters, but you don’t need to break the bank. The cashews are doing most of the heavy lifting for texture, so get decent ones. Everything else is pretty forgiving, and I’ve successfully made this when I was missing half my planned vegetables and had to improvise with whatever was lurking in my crisper drawer.

The key is getting vegetables that cook at roughly the same rate and contribute to the overall creaminess once blended. Root vegetables are your friends here. I’ve tried adding leafy greens before, but they just turn the whole thing an unfortunate gray-green color and add a weird bitter edge.

Raw Cashews (about 1 cup)

These are what make the magic happen. Don’t use roasted ones—they’ll make everything taste nutty in a weird way. I buy mine in bulk from the health food store because they’re way cheaper than the little packages. Soak them for at least 2 hours, or if you’re like me and forget to plan ahead, pour boiling water over them and let them sit for 15 minutes. This softens them so your blender doesn’t sound like it’s dying.

Olive Oil (3-4 tablespoons)

Don’t skimp here. This adds richness and helps everything blend smoothly. I use regular olive oil, not the fancy extra virgin stuff—save that for drizzling. If you’re worried about calories, you can cut it back to 2 tablespoons, but honestly, the texture suffers. Sometimes good food just requires some fat, and this is one of those times.

Yellow Onion (1 large one)

Sweet onions work too, but regular yellow ones are fine and usually cheaper. I dice mine pretty roughly since everything’s getting blended anyway. If you hate chopping onions as much as I do, those pre-diced frozen ones from the freezer section work in a pinch. Just don’t tell my mother-in-law I said that.

Carrots (3-4 medium carrots)

These add natural sweetness and help thicken the soup once blended. Baby carrots work, but regular ones that you chop yourself taste better. I don’t even bother peeling them—just scrub them clean and chop. Life’s too short to peel carrots for soup that’s getting blended anyway.

Celery (3-4 stalks)

The holy trinity of soup base wouldn’t be complete without celery. It adds this subtle depth that you don’t really notice until it’s missing. Use the leaves too—they’re flavorful and everything’s getting blended. If you only have celery salt in your spice cabinet, that’s not the same thing and won’t work here.

Russet Potatoes (2 medium potatoes)

These are the secret weapon for thickness. Russets break down beautifully and create that creamy, substantial texture without any dairy. Yukon golds work too, but russets are usually cheaper and get fluffier when cooked. Peel these ones—potato skins in soup weird me out, but you do you.

Garlic (4-5 cloves)

Fresh only. The jarred stuff tastes like sadness in this recipe. I mince mine, but honestly, since everything’s getting blended, even rough chopping works fine. If you accidentally use too much garlic, I’ve never found that to be an actual problem in soup. More garlic just means more flavor.

Vegetable Broth (6-7 cups)

Low-sodium is better because you can control the salt level. I like the Imagine brand, but honestly, even the store-brand stuff works fine here. You can use water and add more salt, but broth gives you more depth. If you’re feeling fancy, homemade vegetable broth is amazing, but who has time for that on a weeknight?

Bay Leaves (2 leaves)

These add this subtle background flavor that makes everything taste more sophisticated. Don’t forget to fish them out before blending—learned that one the hard way when I found bay leaf chunks in my supposedly smooth soup. If you don’t have them, the soup won’t be ruined, but it’ll taste a little flat.

Instructions Creamy Vegan Vegetable Soup

This is going to take about 45 minutes from start to finish, but most of that is hands-off simmering time. The actual work part is maybe 15 minutes of chopping and stirring. It’s the kind of recipe where you can prep everything, get it going, and then ignore it while you do other things. Just don’t actually ignore it completely—I’ve definitely let soup boil over while getting distracted by laundry.

The most important thing is getting your vegetables soft enough that they blend completely smooth. Nobody wants chunks of half-cooked carrot in their creamy soup. When in doubt, cook everything a little longer. You can always add more broth if it gets too thick, but you can’t un-chunk poorly cooked vegetables.

Get your cashews soaking first.

Put the cashews in a bowl and cover them with hot water. If you remembered to do this 2 hours ago, you’re ahead of the game. If not, use boiling water and let them sit for 15 minutes while you prep everything else. They need to be soft enough that you can easily mash one with a fork. This step is crucial for getting a smooth, creamy texture instead of gritty soup with cashew chunks.

Prep all your vegetables while the cashews soak.

Dice the onion, chop the carrots and celery into roughly equal pieces, peel and cube the potatoes, and mince the garlic. Everything should be bite-sized or smaller since it’s all getting blended anyway. This is a good time to pour yourself a glass of wine if that’s your thing. Soup always tastes better when you’re relaxed.

Heat the oil and start building flavor.

Put your biggest pot on medium heat and add the olive oil. When it’s shimmering and moves easily when you tilt the pan, add the onion. You want to cook this until it’s soft and translucent, about 5-7 minutes. It should smell amazing and the onion pieces should look a little glassy. Don’t rush this step—raw onion flavor in soup is not good.

Add garlic and don’t walk away.

Toss in the minced garlic and stir constantly for about 30 seconds until it smells incredible. Garlic burns fast and burnt garlic tastes bitter and awful, so stay right there and keep stirring. You want it fragrant and just barely starting to turn golden. If it starts getting brown, you’ve gone too far.

Add the rest of the vegetables and let them get happy.

Throw in the carrots, celery, and potatoes along with the bay leaves. Stir everything around for about 3-4 minutes. The vegetables should start to soften slightly and everything should smell like the beginning of something delicious. This step helps develop more flavor than just dumping everything in broth immediately.

Add broth and let everything get soft.

Pour in enough vegetable broth to cover everything by about 2 inches. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 25-30 minutes until all the vegetables are completely tender. You should be able to easily mash a potato chunk against the side of the pot with a spoon. The carrots should be soft all the way through, and the celery shouldn’t have any crunch left.

Drain the cashews and blend everything smooth.

Fish out the bay leaves first—trust me on this one. Drain your soaked cashews and add them to a blender with about 2 cups of the hot soup. Blend until completely smooth, then gradually add more soup until everything’s blended. Work in batches if you need to. The goal is completely smooth and creamy, no chunks anywhere. This takes longer than you think—probably 2-3 minutes of actual blending time.

Taste and adjust everything.

Pour the blended soup back into the pot and heat it gently. Taste and add salt, pepper, and maybe a squeeze of lemon juice if it needs brightness. The texture should be creamy but still pourable—if it’s too thick, add more broth. If it’s too thin, simmer it uncovered for a few more minutes. It should taste rich and satisfying, not watery or bland.

Tips & Variations Creamy Vegan Vegetable Soup

This keeps in the fridge for about 4 days and actually tastes better the next day after all the flavors meld together. It will thicken up in the fridge, so add a splash of broth when reheating. You can freeze it for up to 3 months, but the texture gets a little grainy after thawing. Still totally edible, just not as silky smooth.

If you want to make it heartier, add some white beans in the last 10 minutes of cooking. Fresh herbs like thyme or sage are amazing stirred in at the end. And honestly, if yours doesn’t look like those perfect Instagram soup photos, that’s completely normal—this is real homemade soup, not a professional food styling project.

Final Thoughts Creamy Vegan Vegetable Soup

Look, this isn’t going to fool anyone into thinking there’s actual cream in here, and that’s okay. It’s rich and satisfying and comforting in its own way, plus you won’t feel like you need a nap after eating it. My omnivore husband actually requests this now, which I definitely didn’t see coming.

Give this a try and let me know how it turns out. I’m genuinely curious if other people’s versions end up as thick as mine does, or if my blender just runs hot. Either way, it’s hard to mess up once you get the hang of it.