Creamy Vegetable Soup

Nothing is more comforting than a bowl of creamy vegetable soup. Not only is this creamy vegetable soup recipe easy to make, but it also cooks in one pot in under 30 minutes!

A hot bowl of soup is comforting and satisfying when the weather starts to get chilly. So, today, I made a creamy vegetable soup with a savory broth and many vegetables. Since I prefer to use all fresh vegetables when possible, I chose various colors to make my creamy vegetable soup recipe as hearty and healthy as possible.

Jump to:

• Soup Ingredients
• Soup Ingredient Substitutions
• Frozen vs. Fresh Vegetables
• Cooking Soup in Layers
• How to Make the Soup Creamy   
• Storing Suggestions
• Serving Suggestions
• Recipe FAQs
• Tips
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

Although I used cashews for my vegetable soup's creaminess, I also provided a nut-free cooking option. Of course, there are a few special tips for making creamy vegetable soup without overcooking the vegetables because no one likes soggy vegetables.

Soup Ingredients

• Yellow Onion: Yellow onion has a mild, savory flavor.
• Garlic: I prefer fresh garlic cloves when possible.
• Celery: Celery gives the soup a fresh flavor while maintaining its structure, staying a little crunchy even after its cooked.
• Mushrooms: Mushrooms, when sautéed with garlic and onion, stay firm even when browned, and they are meaty and delicious in this creamy vegetable soup recipe.
• Baby Red Potatoes: Red potatoes are particularly healthy because of the thin, nutrient-filled skins, which are loaded with fiber, B vitamins, iron, and potassium. Half of the fiber of a potato comes from the skin, so leave the skin on. On red potatoes, in particular, the skin is already super thin, so it doesn't detract from the taste or texture
• Broccoli: Broccoli is high in many nutrients, including fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, iron, and potassium. It also boasts more protein than most other vegetables.
• Carrots: Carrots provide more antioxidants when boiled or steamed than when eaten raw.
• Asparagus: Asparagus is also known to help the kidney and bladder cleanse itself.
• Fresh Rosemary: This woodsy aromatic herb has notes of evergreen, citrus, lavender, pine, sage, pepper, mint, and sage.
• Fresh Thyme: Thyme has a delightful flavor balance that dances between earthy and minty, minty and citrus-laced, savory but also sweet, and slightly woodsy but also flowery, with traces of lavender or toned-down rosemary.
• Herbs de Provence: Herbs de Provence is an aromatic mixture of dried Provençal herbs and spices, which traditionally includes thyme, basil, rosemary, tarragon, savory, marjoram, oregano, and bay leaf.
• Garlic Powder: Garlic powder is made from garlic cloves that have been dehydrated and ground into fine particles. The flavor is garlicky but vastly different than fresh-chopped garlic. It tastes sweeter and much less assertive than fresh garlic but without the deep undertones you get from roasted or sautéd garlic.
• Parsley: Parsley gives the soup a fresh earthy garnish.
• Cashews: Cashews are blended with vegetable broth to create creaminess in the soup. However, there is an option below for a nut-free option.

Soup Ingredient Substitutions

• White onion often replaces yellow onion in recipes.
• Use jarred garlic when fresh garlic isn't available.
• Try fennel instead of celery for a crunchy component; however, the flavor of fennel is quite distinctive. When cooked, its licorice flavor dulls down but still tastes strong.
• There isn't an herb blend that directly substitutes herbs de Provence. But if you don't have the mixture, you can easily make your own. This could mean mixing a few pinches of thyme, rosemary, and tarragon for a roast chicken or savory basil and marjoram in creamy vegetable soup.
• Choose any mushroom. If you don't like mushrooms, choose another vegetable, such as cauliflower or additional broccoli.
• Substitute sweet potatoes or cubed butternut squash n place of carrots.
• Instead of asparagus, try green beans.
• A general rule of thumb for the dried-to-fresh herb ratio: Use one-third the amount of dried herb for the fresh herb called for in the recipe. For example, it converts fresh sage to dried sage in a recipe that calls for 1 Tbsp. Of fresh sage, use 1 tsp. Of dried sage instead.
• For a nut-free option, use sunflower seeds, soak and blend with the vegetable broth instead of cashews. Or, use white beans or silken tofu, and reduce the vegetable broth by half. For another nut-free option, blend ¼ cup flour with the vegetable broth.

Frozen vs. Fresh Vegetables

Although I chose to use fresh vegetables in this particular creamy vegetable soup, frozen vegetables work as well.

In addition, many frozen vegetables come in various packages, including 5-6 vegetables.

So, if you are looking for an inexpensive way to make creamy vegetable soup or combine fresh and frozen vegetables, both options will work. 

If using frozen vegetables instead of fresh vegetables, cook the frozen vegetables for the amount of time specified on the package at the end of cooking the soup. As a result, the vegetables remain crunchy.

Cooking Soup in Layers

To ensure you don't overcook your vegetables, I find it best to cook in stages or layers of vegetables, which I will explain in my cooking directions. 

Like my vegan Minestrone soup, vegan creamy vegetable soup is cooked the same way. When cooking fresh vegetables in one pot, follow a particular order so the vegetables cook perfectly. I call this layering or cooking stages. 

For instance, I saute the garlic, onion, and celery before adding the mushrooms.

Then, add the mushrooms until browned, and then add the potatoes.

The next step is to add enough vegetable broth to cover the top of the potatoes, add nutritional yeast, herbs, and spices, and bring it to a boil.

Finally, cover the soup pot and reduce the heat to simmer for 20 minutes because the potatoes need to cook through.

How to Make the Soup Creamy   

Even though the vegan creamy vegetable soup recipe is cooked in "layers," as I like to call it, it only takes 30 minutes from start to finish. As a result, I made a hearty entree-style soup, which also packed well for the week's lunches. 

Storing Suggestions

If you don't like to eat the same soup all week long, by all means, freeze it. Here are some freezing and thawing tips:

• Always use a freezer-safe container with a secure top. 
• To prevent freezer burn, do not fill the container to the top. Instead, leave 1 inch of air space between the soup and the top. 
• When removed from the freezer, allow the soup to thaw completely in the refrigerator overnight before reheating. 
• If heating on a stovetop, cook in a saucepan or medium-low heat to cook slowly, to not overcook the vegetables.
• If you plan to use a microwave, use the reheat button rather than cooking on full power to avoid overcooking the vegetables.

Serving Suggestions

As an entree, this soup is very filling but could be served with a vegan Caesar salad or a piece of vegan cornbread, which is my favorite! 

Recipe FAQs

Tips

• The key to this creamy vegetable soup recipe is cooking the vegetables in layers based on density.
• If you don't want to use cashews for the creaminess, there are several other options for a plant-based creamy vegetable soup.
• Leave the skins on the potatoes for maximum nutritional value; however, scrub them well before cutting them.
• I love using Super Cubes to freeze soups in individual servings.
• Thaw soup in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
• If using the microwave, always use the reheat setting.

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