Vegan baked potato soup

5 from 10 votes

This hearty & warming vegan potato soup is piled high with seitan bacon, non-dairy cheese, and green onions. When the weather outside is frightful, this cozy soup will keep the chills away.

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Total Time30

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Keyword: comfort food, dairy free

Servings: people

Calories: 422kcal

Author: Cadry Nelson

Ingredients

4 ½ cups water divided
¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons raw cashews*
2 teaspoons avocado oil or other neutral-flavored oil, divided
1 ½ cups chopped yellow onions
2 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon, no chicken base or 1 vegetable bouillon cube
2 pounds Russet potatoes cut in 1-inch pieces (About 4 medium-sized potatoes. Peeled or unpeeled - your choice)
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
1 ½ teaspoons salt divided**
Dash of pepper
¼ cup chopped seitan bacon
¼ cup green onions sliced
¼ cup non-dairy cheese shredded
¼ cup vegan sour cream or vegan cream cheese

Instructions

In a high-speed blender, blend ½ cup water and raw cashews until completely smooth.
(Don't have a high speed blender? See the notes below.)
Set the liquid aside for later use.
Bring a soup pot to a medium heat with one teaspoon of oil. Saute onions and garlic until they become translucent and fragrant.
Add remaining 4 cups of water to the pot, along with bouillon, potatoes, thyme, rosemary, one teaspoon of salt, and a dash of pepper.
(If you prefer a very thick soup, use 3 ½ cups of water instead of 4.)
Bring the water to a simmer. Once it is simmering, lower the heat, and cook for about 10 minutes, until the potatoes can easily be pierced with a fork.
Once the potatoes are soft, use an immersion blender to blend the soup. Depending on your preferences, you can blend it until totally smooth like a puree, leave it chunky, or go somewhere in between.
(Don't have an immersion blender? Carefully move the soup to a regular blender, in batches if necessary, to blend until smooth. Then transfer it back to the soup pot.)
Add the cashew cream from the blender to the pot. Stir to combine.
If the soup is at your desired thickness, it's ready to serve. If it's too thin, allow it to cook a little longer. If it's too thick, add a splash of water.
Taste for salt and add remaining half teaspoon, if needed.
Bring a non-stick skillet to a medium heat with remaining 1 teaspoon of oil. Brown seitan bacon in skillet. Stir with a spatula to get it evenly browned all over.
Ladle the soup into four bowls and top each one with your choice of toppings: browned seitan bacon, green onions, non-dairy cheese, and/or vegan sour cream.

Video

Notes

Standard blender instructions

If you don't have a high-speed blender, you'll need to help the raw cashews to blend completely for the cashew cream.

Use ONE of the following options:

Grind dry raw cashews in a clean coffee grinder until they become the texture of flour. Then add them to the blender with ½ cup water.
Soak raw cashews in water for about 4 hours. Drain and add to the blender with ½ cup water.
Boil raw cashews in water for about 15 minutes. Drain & add to the blender with ½ cup water.

Storage & reheating

Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Store the soup separately from the toppings. It will last about 4 days.

Vegan potato soup also freezes well. Thaw in the refrigerator when ready to use.

Reheat on the stove in a pot or in the microwave.

Nutrition