This easy creamy vegetable soup recipe is incredibly delicious and made in one pot with a short list of healthy ingredients.
I’ve been making this creamy vegetable soup for over 15 years. It’s a staple soup for my family, the one we turn to when we need a little comfort or an easy meal.
Our recipe below is for a blended vegetable soup. For a brothy veggie soup, see this Easy Vegetable Soup.
Key Ingredients
- Vegetables: I keep this vegetable soup really simple with onions, garlic, carrots, and celery. If you have other veggies in the fridge that need to be used up, feel free to add them. I’ve added zucchini, summer squash, and even winter squash cubes to this and loved it.
- Potatoes: Instead of using a roux made with butter and flour, we add a pound of potatoes to make this soup thick and creamy. I prefer thin-skinned potatoes like Yukon Gold and don’t peel them. You can substitute sweet potatoes.
- Broth: This recipe calls for vegetable broth or chicken broth. You can make your own or buy it. When looking for store-bought veggie broth, I go for the brands that include mushrooms (these tend to have more flavor).
- Thyme and Bay Leaves: I love these for their classic flavor. You can use fresh or dried.
- Something Creamy: When the soup is blended, I stir in something creamy to make things extra delicious. I love cream or half-and-half, but you can use dairy-free coconut milk or this homemade cashew cream.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make the Best Creamy Veggie Soup
Tip 1: Cut all the veggies to the same size. So that everything cooks quickly and evenly, chop your vegetables into similar sizes. Remember that this soup is eventually blended, so there’s no need for perfect cuts, though. I cook onions, carrots, and celery in a big pot until softened. Then, I add potatoes, garlic, broth, and herbs.
Tip 2: Remove your bay leaf before blending. The vegetables will be soft after simmering for 15 minutes. Then you will blend. Before you do, remove the bay leaf and thyme stalks (the leaves will have fallen off into the soup). Then, blend the vegetables into a creamy soup. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve forgotten a bay leaf before blending soup. The thyme stalks and bay leaf don’t soften well enough to blend in, so it really is best to remove them!
Tip 3: Finish with something creamy. The potatoes really make this soup thick and creamy, but I still love adding a splash of cream or half-and-half just before serving. You can skip it or use a dairy-free option like coconut milk. It’s amazing all by itself, but I love topping it with some homemade croutons.
More Creamy Soup Recipes
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Easy Potato and Leek Soup
- Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup
- Broccoli and Cheddar Soup
Easy Creamy Vegetable Soup
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
You will love this easy, delicious, and creamy vegetable soup recipe. Don’t worry too much about how you prep the vegetables. You should be fine as long as they are all of a similar size. Since this is a blended soup, you do not need to mince the garlic cloves. Just peel and cut them in half.
We have been making this soup for years. It’s simple to make, healthy, and comforting. Throw lots of vegetables into a big pot, add stock and herbs, and then simmer until done. Blend, and it is ready to eat. For a brothy soup, see this Homemade Vegetable Soup.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 large onion, chopped into ½-inch pieces
1 pound carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces, 4 to 5 medium carrots
4 celery sticks, chopped into ½-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt, as needed
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 pound thin-skinned potatoes, chopped into ½-inch pieces, 3 medium potatoes
3 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
3 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth (710ml)
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ cup half-and-half, cream, or coconut milk (60ml)
Directions
1Cook the veggies: Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Toss the onion, carrots, and celery around in the oil. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt and add the red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables sweat, soften, and smell sweet, 5 to 10 minutes.
2Add the potatoes: Stir in the potatoes, garlic halves, bay leaves, and thyme. Cook for 5 minutes. Add more oil if the pot seems dry.
3Simmer the soup: Pour in the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until you can easily pierce the potatoes with a fork, about 15 minutes.
4Blend the soup: Remove the soup from the heat. Take out the bay leaves and thyme sprigs and discard them. Use an immersion blender, stand blender, or food mill to puree the soup until smooth.
5To finish: Stir in the cream. Taste for seasoning and adjust with more salt and pepper if necessary.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also freeze it! Portion into freezer-safe containers or bags and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
- Reheating: Add to a saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until hot. You can also microwave it. Use a spoon or whisk to bring the soup back together if it is separated.
- Vegan vegetable soup: Use either homemade veggie broth or store-bought broth, and look for one that is heavy on mushrooms for the most flavor. Add full-fat coconut milk or cashew cream at the end.
- Substitute the potatoes: Try 1 can of drained and rinsed white beans. Once blended, they make the soup creamy and add a little extra protein.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We included ¼ cup of half and half in the calculations and assumed 4 servings. We omitted salt from the calculations since you will need to add it to your taste.
OMG I have been craving creamy vegetable soup and this was absolutely delicious.
Yay! Thank you for coming back to leave a review! 🙂
It’s really good!!!
I made this soup for my sister I blended it since she is on a full liquid diet following her surgery she absolutely loved it.
Great soup. Added sweet potatoes and cauliflower. No regular potatoes. Was excellent and seems very versatile. Thank you!
Delicious! I added some cauliflower and turnip to the other ingredients and reduced the amount of potatoes. Yummy!
I too had dental surgery and decided to try this soup. Excellent, very tasty, but next time I would peel celery…left some strings.
I came across this recipe searching a recipe for a friend who is having dental work and is unable to chew. This recipe sounded ridiculously easy and I wondered, so easy, how good can it be? Well, SURPRISE! This soup is amazingly delicious! I added mushrooms, asparagus, and black pepper. I’m sure if I added nothing else than what the recipe calls for, it would be just as delicious! I can’t wait for my friend to try this. Thank you for a terrific recipe! I’m excited to explore your site for more recipes. With gratitude.
This was awesome and easy. I used sweet potatoes instead of white and whole milk. Was delicious, even my husband liked it 🙂
Excellent recipe…this soup is Great…Easy…healthy…my kind of soup !!! I added leftover pieces of brocoli..
Red peppers..I will continue to make this Great soup recipe.
Hello, can I use red potatoes? Would I leave the skins on Or should I peel them?
With red potatoes, I leave the skins on.,
I cooked this for dinner tonight & it was so delicious– thank you! Very easy for beginners.
I made this soup for 9 friends. They all loved it and asked for the recipe. It is easy to increase he quantities. Delicious, creamy, perfect for hot or cold days. I served it with parmesan olive ciabatta bread.
This soup is mouthwatering ngl, I didn’t quite follow the recipe (haven’t had garlic at home) yet it was still fire
Amazing taste and so easy to make.
Hi Lisa, I am so happy you enjoyed it!
This was absolutely the best creamed soup I have ever made. And I make a lot of soups.
Wow, what a compliment! Thank you for coming back, Donna.
SUPER!!! Merci
I added sweet potatoes – 2 sweet, 2 regular and a touch of brown sugar. This is good and was easy!
Wow, just delicious. I recently had surgery and needed a thin soup and this was perfect, can’t wait to try your other recipes
Hi Tabbie, I am so happy this soup worked well for your recovery. All the best!
Great flavors. Definitely a keeper! Thanks for sharing.
Hi – I just found your recipes and can’t wait to make these – I’m 67 and a vegetarian and live in Yakima and eat tons of Walla Walla onions and come to Walla Walla with our Yakima Pippins Baseball every summer God’s Blessings
What a delicious and flexible recipe. I opted for the vegetable stock, used an herbed oil for added flavor, one of my potatoes was sweet, added string beans, and chose the coconut milk. Didn’t use any salt and didn’t need it. Only pureed half of it to leave some chunky bits. Can’t imagine making this soup the same way twice! Thanks so much for this recipe. Can you really freeze it?
Glad you enjoyed it! Yes, this soup freezes well.
Just the thing for a still very much winter day! Love the bit of heat from the chili flakes. I added a red pepper, a bit of garam masala and squeezed a bit of fresh lime juice into the bowl 😊
This is such a great soup! I had a blended vegetable soup in Ireland and came home wanting to duplicate it. I found your recipe and it is wonderful! The best part is you can use any vegetables on hand to make a beautiful and healthy soup. I also added sweet potatoes, spinach, cauliflower, fresh rosemary and white beans. Absolute perfection and good healthy eating. Thank you so much!
Hi Dorothy, we are thrilled that you have our soup recipe a try! Thanks for coming back and letting us know how much you enjoyed it.
I made this soup today and subbed the potatoes for sweet potatoes and used coconut milk. Oh my goodness is it ever delicious. Thank you for the wonderful recipe, it will be on repeat in my house now.
This soup has been a lifesaver. My husband had dental surgery and this soup is amazing. Great flavor. Super simple. Love this recipe. Thank you for sharing
Used many leftover veg plus broccoli stalks. I added a 1/4 cup of sugar to take away from their bitter. Thank you for the tip of adding Parm cheese and chilli flakes! This is my lunch all week.
Oh, I used zucchini instead of potatoes, too. And a lot of cauliflower (which I don’t like raw, but I like it in this soup!)
This soup was an absolute life saver for me, due to the fact of my daughter-in-law turning up on Christmas Day and telling me she had turned vegetarian. The main meal was covered but I needed a quick and delicious soup recipe. This ticked all the boxes and everyone ended up having it as a starter. Made it tonight for the third time since Christmas. It’s one of my families firm favourites now. Thank you!
I love that you did this for her! Im the one that covers all the dietary bases for people at our gatherings. My sister does the meat based meal, I provide vegan, hispanic(with meat) and vegetarian. I also do the appetizers. I can never understand why my sister doesnt even try to accomodate? Anyway, Im sure this sould was highly appreciated!
This is an incredibly delicious soup. I added beets and parsnip. I think most root veggies would work. I also used oat milk instead of cram. Blended beautifully and is really good. Thank you for this great recipe.
What a delicious soup! Easy and quick to make with ingredients most of us always have in our kitchen. Thank you!
OMG! I just got done making this for my newly 1 year old baby boy. I haven’t giving it to him yet because it’s 12:30 am and he’s sleeping. Between work, the baby, sports, household duties, etc. I sometimes cook when everyone is sleeping so dinner is ready for the next day. However, I just had some to see if he’d like it and all I can say is omg! It tastes just the soup I was obsessed with when we’d go to restaurants while on vacation in Portugal with my grandparents. It brought back so many wonderful memories! I will definitely be making this many more times. I’ll be taking some to work tomorrow for lunchso hopefuly there will be enough for everyone for dinner..cant make any promises lol shh don’t tell no one! Thank you so much for posting this!
OMG soooo good! Just learning about making soups and this was a great start. I used beets and sweet potatoes in place of potatoes and it didn’t miss a beat. Not sure I needed half and half but it didn’t hurt! Thanks for this wonderful recipe 🙂