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 pretty easily done too, with just a few simple swaps!
Vegan Potato Soup Ingredients
This dairy-free soup is made with pretty simple ingredients that you might already have in your kitchen.
Vegan butter. This replaces the dairy butter in mom's version. 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. For a flavor punch.
Flour. This helps thicken up the soup.
Non-dairy milk. We're using this instead of dairy milk, for a rich and creamy base. Just about anything unflavored and unsweetened will do. I used Silk cashew milk for this batch.
Vegetable broth. This adds some savory flavor to our base.
Herbs. Tyme, bay leaves and black pepper add depth of flavor to our potato soup.
Potatoes. Obviously!
White wine vinegar. For just a touch of tartness to balance out the flavors. Trust me, this makes the soup!
How to Make Vegan Potato Soup
Start by melting some vegan butter in a large pot. Now 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.
Now 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.
Now you can add your broth. Pour in 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.
Grab a bowl and dig in!
Vegan Potato Soup Tips & FAQ
- 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.
- Can this soup be made gluten-free? Probably, but I haven't tested any gluten-free versions of the recipe. I think, based on reader comments on similar recipes, that you could replace the flour with an all-purpose gluten-free blend. But no promises. Please let me know how it turns out if you try it!
- Variations: try switching up the seasonings in your potato soup. Fresh chives and/or dill would be great instead of the thyme and bay leaf the recipe calls for (add fresh herbs when the soup has finished cooking). You could also add your favorite veggies or use red potatoes or gold potatoes instead of russets.
- Choose a non-dairy milk with a neutral flavor for this recipe. Some varieties end up tasting funky in savory recipes. Cashew or soy milk would both work well in this recipe.
- Want to try a vegan potato soup recipe with a twist? Try my green curry potato soup, dill pickle potato chowder, or vegan zuppa Toscana.
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Classic Vegan Potato Soup
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!
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.
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)