Creamy vegan potato soup (dairy free)

This creamy vegan potato soup recipe is fully loaded with all of your favorite toppings. It’s like a baked potato in soup form.

With seitan bacon, vegan cheddar, non-dairy sour cream, and green onions, it’s a full meal in a bowl!

If you love a baked potato piled high with all of your favorite toppings, you are going to adore this creamy vegan potato soup.

Standard baked potato soup tends to be a heavy affair. It’s laden with cream, cheese, and animal products aplenty. 

This dairy-free potato soup recipe nixes those ingredients. 

But you still get the experience of a warming, filling soup that will dampen the howling winds outside.

This full-bodied vegan potato soup gets its creaminess by way of raw cashews. They are blended with water to make a thick cashew cream.

It’s packed in the soup with onions, garlic, rosemary, and thyme.

But what really makes this dish special occasion-worthy is the toppings.

Cover your soup with decadent toppings like shredded vegan cheddar, vegan sour cream, green onions, and crispy seitan bacon.

Creamy vegan potato soup is one of those dishes that surprises you with its deliciousness.

It’s definitely worth of adding to your holiday menu.

Everyone can load up their bowls with the toppings of their choosing.

Plus, this quick, homemade soup is ready in just 30 minutes!

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you will need for this vegan baked potato soup recipe.

Raw cashews: Raw cashews give this soup its creaminess.

I recommend buying raw cashew pieces, as they’re less expensive than whole. Look for them with the other nuts in the grocery store.

Avocado oil: Any neutral-flavored oil will work here.

Onions & garlic: Yellow onions and garlic add a delicious base of flavor.

Bouillon: I like to use Better Than Bouillon, no chicken base. Vegetable bouillon cubes will also work.

Russet potatoes: Russet potatoes have wonderful body & creamy texture for this hearty soup.

You can leave the peels on for added nutrients. Or remove them for a brighter color.

Dried herbs: Rosemary & thyme add fragrant wintery flavor.

Seitan bacon: Smoky seitan bacon adds bite and crispiness to this comforting soup.

Herbivorous Butcher & Upton’s Naturals are my favorite seitan bacon brands. 

Green onions: Mild green onions really bring home that baked potato experience.

You can use both the green and white parts.

Vegan cheese: Cheddar-style cheese is my preferred option. There are loads of brands out there like Daiya and Violife.

Vegan sour cream: There are lots of vegan sour cream options like Trader Joe’s, Kite Hill, Follow Your Heart, or Tofutti.

Or you can use a dollop of vegan cream cheese. Miyoko’s is a good one!

Water, salt & pepper: These staples round out the recipe.

Step by step instructions

Here’s how to make this easy potato soup recipe at a glance.

For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.

Make the cashew cream.

Combine the following in a high speed blender:

Blend until totally smooth. Then set aside.

(If you don’t have a high speed blender, see the notes section of the recipe card for workarounds.)

Saute onions & garlic in a soup pot with oil.

Once they are translucent & fragrant, add the following:

• Water
• Bouillon
• Potato chunks
• Thyme 
• Rosemary
• Salt
• Pepper

Bring to a simmer.

Then lower heat & cook until the potatoes are fork tender.

Once the potatoes are soft, use an immersion blender to blend the soup until it has reached your preferred viscosity.

Make it a totally smooth pureed soup, leave it chunky, or go somewhere in between.

(If you don’t have an immersion blender, carefully move the soup to a stand blender. Blend in batches if necessary. Then transfer back to the pot.)

Stir in cashew cream.

In a non-stick skillet, brown seitan bacon pieces in oil. 

Ladle soup into bowls.

Top with the following:

• Seitan bacon
• Green onions
• Shredded vegan cheddar cheese
• Vegan sour cream

Make it your own

Make this soup your own by varying the ingredients, cooking methods, or amounts.

• Add more veggies with the onions like celery or carrots.
• Instead of bouillon + water, use vegetable broth for the soup base.
• Replace dried herbs with fresh. Use ½ Tablespoon each of fresh rosemary & thyme.
• Replace seitan bacon with tempeh bacon (from The Full Helping), coconut bacon, smoky Soy Curls, or the vegan bacon of your choice.
• Instead of chopping the seitan bacon, rip it in pieces by hand for a rustic look with varying textures.
• Omit vegan sour cream or replace it with vegan cream cheese.
• Vary the type of vegan cheese.
• Replace the green onion topping with chives.
• If you peeled your potatoes for the soup, use the air fried potato peels as a crispy topping!
• Instead of fully blending the soup, leave it chunky. Or roughly smash the potatoes with a potato masher or fork.
• Change up the toppings for a festive melted snowman soup.

Can I make it gluten free?

Yes!

This soup can easily be gluten free with a couple of simple substitutions.

1. Make sure that your bouillon is gluten-free.
2. Then top it with a gluten-free vegan bacon.

Storage & reheating instructions

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. (Store the soup separate from the toppings.)

Vegan potato soup will last for about 4 days.

It also freezes well. Store in freezer bags or other freezer-safe containers. 

When you’re ready to enjoy it, thaw it in the refrigerator or with the defrost function on the microwave.

Reheat in a pot on the stove or in the microwave. Then top with your preferred toppings.

More vegan soups

Here are more vegan soup recipes you’ll love!

Content, photos, and recipe updated November 18, 2022. Originally posted November 9, 2017.