Vegan Cream of Potato Soup

This post is sponsored by The Little Potato Company.

This vegan cream of potato soup is lush, satisfying, and full of hearty chunks of potato. It’s everything a great bowl of cream of potato soup should be, vegan or not! Its simplicity lets the flavour and velvety texture of Creamer potatoes shine. Enhancing simple ingredients is key to a cream of potato soup that’s charmingly laidback, not bland or boring.

Cream of potato soup is a classic and endlessly adaptable soup. Having a go-to recipe that you can make your own is essential. If you haven’t already found yours, I hope you find that this recipe is “the one”!

Sometimes veganizing cream-based soups and sauces can be difficult to get just right. The easiest and most obvious option is to substitute non-dairy milk for cream. Depending on the brand and type of non-dairy milk, sometimes there’s a vague sweet or vanilla-y flavour, even with plain unsweetened varieties. It’s mild, but it quietly whispers, “This soup is vegan, isn’t it?”. It’s something you want to avoid in any case, but in an understated soup like cream of potato? It’s essential.

Combining a couple of elements to thicken and add creaminess tastes more subtle and doesn’t take away from key flavours. For cream of potato soup, that’s easy. Just blend some of the Creamer potatoes into the soup. Using Creamer potatoes, cashew cream, and a roux + broth to thicken and add creaminess, you can use less of each. That makes for a base that doesn’t taste vegetable broth-y, nutty, or vanilla-y with that hint of sweet. It will taste like potatoes though, this is a potato soup after all.

Coming back to the simplicity of cream of potato soup: the potato prep. Using Creamer potatoes cuts the usual potato preparation down to: opening a bag of Little potatoes and dumping them into a pot. Easy.

Little potatoes are pre-washed. Their skins are nutritious but also thin and delicate — no peeling required (even in recipes where potatoes are mashed or blended, like cream of potato soup!) They’re measured, right down to the millimetre, so that every Creamer in the bag is cooked to tender potato-perfection, all at the same time.

I used The Little Potato Company’s Blushing Belles but I’d also recommend Boomer Gold in this recipe. But you can experiment with any of their varietals if you like! Check them out on the Little potatoes’ Products Page.

Making the soup:

To start the cashew cream, soften raw cashews before blending them. Since I lack the foresight to plan meals ahead of time, I don’t soak raw cashews overnight. Just measure them into a bowl and cover them with plenty of boiling water (so that it stays hot). Set them aside to soften while you start cooking the soup. (Boiling the cashews on your stovetop affects the colour and texture more than this “quick soak” method.)

Simmer the Little potatoes until they’re just tender and then set them aside. In the same pot, sweat the mirepoix + garlic with vegan butter or oil. Stir in the flour and cook for another minute or two before gradually adding your favourite vegetable broth.

Blend the softened cashews with water (for cashew cream, use a 1:2 ratio) until creamy. Add some of the Creamer potatoes and blend them briefly. They don’t need to be perfectly smooth, don’t over blend them! How many Creamers you blend into the soup is up to you. Blend a quarter of them for a creamy soup with lots of hearty potato chunks, or up to a third for a thicker, potato chowder consistency.

Chop the remaining Creamer potatoes into nice, chunky pieces and add them to the pot. Give the soup a stir, a taste, and adjust the seasoning with salt to bring out the flavours and white wine vinegar to brighten them up.

Serving Suggestion:

For a nourishing lunch, serve a hot cup of potato soup with some grainy crackers and a big ol’ veggie sandwich or side salad. For something a little cozier and relaxed, ladle up a hearty sized bowl and serve it with a crusty buttered baguette.

More vegan potato soup recipes:

This post is sponsored by The Little Potato Company.

The Little Potato Company has a new Easy Peazy Recipe Seeker Tool! It’s perfect for deciding what to have for dinner tonight. My favourite feature is the “Goes with” filter to find recipes that go with tofu or veggies. Thanks for supporting the brands that support I Love Vegan!

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