Creamy, classic potato soup goes dairy-free! This vegan potato soup is easy to make, totally meal-worthy, and super comforting. Perfect for dinner on a chilly night!
My mom's potato soup was one of my favorite things when I was growing up! I went vegetarian pretty young and it was one of those meals that could be pretty easily tweaked to suit my diet: just replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth.
I recently got a craving for that soup and decided it was time to veganize it. Fortunately, that's pretty easily done with just a few simple swaps!
My vegan potato soup turned out just as delicious as Mom's original version. This soup was cozy, comforting, and you'd never know it was dairy-free!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Vegan butter. This ingredient is normally sold near the regular butter at the supermarket. Look for brands like Earth Balance and Miyoko's.
- Veggies. Potato soup isn't just about potatoes. This version is made with onions, celery and carrots.
- Garlic.
- Flour. This helps thicken up the soup. I've only tested the recipe myself with all-purpose wheat flour, but I've heard from readers that it works with gluten-free blends as well.
- Vegetable broth.
- Non-dairy milk. We're using this instead of dairy milk, for a rich and creamy base. I used Silk cashew milk for this batch. Oat or almond milk would also work well. Be careful with using soy milk, as the vinegar could cause some separation. For an extra rich and creamy batch of vegan potato soup, use a cup or so of full-fat coconut milk (the kind in a can) combined with another non-dairy milk. Check out my guide to dairy-free milk if you need help choosing a variety!
- Russet potatoes. Feel free to substitute with red or gold potatoes if you prefer.
- Herbs. Thyme and bay leaves add depth of flavor to our potato soup.
- White wine vinegar. For just a touch of tartness to balance out the flavors. Trust me, this makes the soup! Regular white vinegar can be substituted if that's what you have on hand.
- Salt & pepper.
How It's Made
- Melt your vegan butter in a large pot, then add your veggies and cook them up for about 10 minutes, until they begin to soften. Add the garlic and let it cook for just another minute, until very fragrant.
- Sprinkle in the flour, just a bit at a time. Stir the veggies to coat them with the flour, and continue cooking and stirring everything for about a minute.
- Pour in your broth, just a bit at a time, whisking frequently to break up any lumps that form from the flour.
- Add the milk, herbs, and potatoes. Bring everything up to a simmer and let it cook until the potatoes and veggies are tender, about 30 minutes.
Tip: Test your potatoes for doneness by checking to see if you can easily pierce them with a fork. If you can, the soup is ready.
Grab a bowl and dig in!
Tip: Vegan potato soup is excellent on it's own, but it's also great with toppings! Try shredded vegan cheese, vegan sour cream or cashew cream, hot sauce, tempeh bacon, chopped fresh parsley, scallions or chives.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftovers of this soup keep great! Store them in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The soup may thicken up over time — add a bit more non-dairy milk when you reheat it if needed.
I don't recommend freezing your vegan potato soup, as freezing can alter the texture of potatoes.
More Vegan Soup Recipes
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Classic Vegan Potato Soup
Creamy, classic potato soup goes dairy-free! This vegan potato soup is easy to make, totally meal-worthy, and super comforting. Perfect for dinner on a chilly night!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup vegan butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 cup diced celery (about 3 stalks)
- 1 cup chopped carrots (about 3 carrots)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ cup vegetable broth
- 2 ½ cups unflavored non-dairy milk
- 1 ¾ pounds Russet potatoes (about 4 medium potatoes), scrubbed, peeled, and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 ½ teaspoons white wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
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Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat.
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Add the onion, celery, and carrot. Sweat the veggies until softened, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
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Add the garlic to the pot and cook it for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
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Begin sprinkling the flour into the pot, a bit at a time, stirring between additions so the flour coats the veggies. Cook the veggies and flour for about a minute, stirring frequently.
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Begin adding broth to the pot, a bit at a time, whisking each addition in to eliminate any lumps formed by the flour.
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Once all the broth has been added, stir in the milk, potatoes, bay leaf and thyme.
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Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil.
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Lower the heat and allow the soup to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the base thickens a bit and the potatoes are tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.
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Remove the pot from heat. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Stir in the vinegar and season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
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Ladle into bowls and serve.
So I made this recipe tonight.....wow!! We absolutely LOVED IT!!! It turned out perfectly and tasted like soup from a nice restaurant. This will stay in a normal rotation for us.
Potato soup is one of my favorite comfort foods. I made this today and it looked and tasted so good! I couldn’t find any flour in my house so I substituted gluten free pancake mix which worked great. I think it would work great w any gluten free flour and that’s on my grocery list. Next time I make this I think I’ll half the Thyme...it’s a little strong but this is a great recipe. I’ve only started cooking since I can’t go out much due to the Pandemic. I appreciate that vegan recipes are available! Thank you!
Made this twice now….my family loves it. I used coconut milk and it was great! Thank you for sharing this recipe!!!
5 stars for sure. Delicious!
I just mash some potato to thicken. Flour isn't necessary at all.
I made this in the Crock-Pot today with small pieces because I just had surgery on my tongue. I simply threw everything in the crock pot and let it run all day, took my immersion blender and Blended some of it up to thicken it at the end. I did add a fresh green pepper from my garden. Super yummy! Thank you.
This soup is absolutely amazing, I love making it and its very versatile. I love adding different things to it to see how it comes out. Personally I love adding some smoked paprika it gives it a really good flavor.
Easy to make and a big hit with my granddaughters (5 and 7) and son. They LOVED it. They asked me to make it for them again.
YUM!!! I suck at following recipes to a T, I used red skin potatoes, added crushed red pepper and smoked paprika, and a bit of nutritional yeast (and extra veggie broth/cashew milk) and woooooow this is my new favorite soup!! So easy and SO good. Thanks for the recipe!!
Hi Emily - I went looking at the comments because I wanted to know if using other than russets would work. (I just bought a Costco-sized bag of Classic Baby Creamers and I need to use them!)Thanks for posting and for the recipe tweaks. Going to start on it now. And thanks to Alissa for sharing!
Thanks so much for this recipe! I made it tonight and forgot the vinegar, but it still tastes great! What does the vinegar do??
Glad you enjoyed it! The vinegar adds a little tartness to balance out the flavor.
Can we make this without flour?
Sure, it just won't be as thick.
Or just use extra mashed potatoes to thicken as someone stated above.
Looks amazing and I’m excited to try it! Can I substitute the white wine vinegar for regular white vinegar?
You can, but you might need to use a little bit less. Add a splash at a time and stop when you like the flavor. Enjoy!
This was the best potato soup ever. I normally go to Panera to buy their potato soup, but after making this one I won't be doing that again. My who family loved it. This one is one for the books.
Oh and I did not have white wine vinegar so I substituted it with rice vinegar and it was still great!
Made this tonight and my overly picky husband had a bowl full! It was delicious but I have to agree with another reviewer; next time I will only add half the thyme, a bit too strong for us. Otherwise this recipe is a keeper. Thank you!
You can use potatoes (think starch) for a thickening agent instead of flour. Just boil up some potatoes and send them thru a blender or food processor until they become smooth. Not only will this thicken the soup but it also adds more potato flavor.
Newly vegan and was craving some hearty soup. This was easy and most importantly...delicious. Minor change was adding a little extra veggie broth for a thinner consistency. Can’t wait for another cold day! Thanks!!!!
Really good. Next time I'd like to try it without the vegan butter (i.e. no oil) and mash some of the potatoes instead of using flour.
I’m a nanny and Oro food on Sunday for the week, so I’m hoping this reheats well! It tastes amazing now!! I added some organic frozen corn the last 10
Minutes and substituted rosemary for the thyme and it tastes amazing! The corn gives the palate a nice sweet surprise!!
I’ll let you know how it reheats!🤞
What kind of non dairy milk should I use?
Anything unsweetened and unflavored will work. I like soy or almond - Westsoy brand is my favorite!
Super tasty- I liked the thicker consistency and not just being a broth - but I do wish there were some other flavors, so I added some paprika & red crushed pepper with fresh dill. Otherwise, I will make this again!
Made it for us and another non vegan family. Very little left and finished off the rest tonight. I made my own tweaks. I added Natured Seasoning throughout and also a little less Seasonall. I also used Better than Boullion, no chicken base. I did salt and pepper throughout the cooking. Delicious, thanks for the recipe!
This was really great, even my non-vegan husband gave it high praises! It smells amazing while cooking. I added a few spices because we're all about that flavor: 1 TSP celery seed, sprinkle cayenne pepper, smoked salt, garlic salt + garlic powder (we love garlic), onion powder, and paprika. My husband said to make it again ... next time add kale. Woah.
(edit: forgot to give it 5 stars. DUH)
Delicious!!! Thank you for such a quick hearty recipe. Made for my husband and I.
Looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow.
DELICIOUS! I had to make a few modifications--didn't have garlic or the vinegar and it was still very flavorful. I also used coconut flour because it's what I had and it worked just fine. I already plan on making it again because I have most of the ingredients and it's so easy and tasty. Thank you so much for sharing!
Saw this recipe this morning on FB and had to make it. It was so delicious.
Just made this for my family and it was delicious! Made some tweaks.. didn't have celery so I put some zucchini in for green and added red chili flakes as my family loves spice. It was really tasty! We will be makin again.
Forgot my rating! 5 stars
Made the recipe as stated initially, except for using a little less vegan butter than recommended and substituting apple cider vinegar (as I didn't have any white wine vinegar handy.) After tasting, I also added some ginger water mixed with lemon (I keep a jar of this in the fridge as a flavor add). We like thyme, and I have fresh growing in the backyard. I also have rosemary, so looking forward to adding that as another flavor point. Overall, a hardy, satisfying soup that left my husband and myself feeling satisfied. Reheated well the next day.
Delicious soup! I wish I had read the comments first, but I didn’t want to be swayed in any direction. I wish now I had, because I agree with most, half the amount of thyme would have been plenty. It’s a little overpowering in the thyme department. Otherwise, perfect!
Will definitely be making again, thank you!
I followed this recipe perfectly and I was so disappointed. We love potato soup but we found this to be so bland. I saw that so many people loved it so I'm really wondering what in the world happened! I don't want to say anything bad about the recipe. Maybe the flavors didn't work for us! I actually felt like there wasn't enough thyme in the soup! Oh well!