Creamy Vegan Pot Pie Soup
A healthy and cozy pot pie soup that is made completely dairy-free, making this vegan and gluten-free. Easy to make and loaded with 6 different fiber-rich vegetables in a delicious creamy broth.
If you are a lover of the ever classic North American pot pie you will probably fall in love with this soup. Pot pies usually have a meat based creamy filling made of chicken or beef in a creamy mix of vegetables and is then topped with a flaky pastry crust. This filling, has inspired me to make a plant based soup version with a fun way to still enjoy the crunchy feel of the flaky crust on top whether you eat gluten or not.
Why You’ll Love This Healthy Pot Pie Soup
- Thick and creamy without cream or dairy. This helps make this meal completely dairy-free and vegan and also helps keep the saturated fat in this recipe really low making it more heart protective.
- Packed with veggies and plant-based protein. This soup packs in 6 different vegetables plus beans for a fiber-rich, nutrient dense meal.
- Easy to make. No complicated ingredients, just cook down your vegetables and when the soup has cooked through, blend a portion of it to help make the soup creamy.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
- Veggies: Carrots, celery, cauliflower, Yukon gold potatoes, and peas along with the onions count for 6 veggies. Feel free to add some more veggies in based on preference, just note appropriate cook times for them may vary so change cautiously.
- Aromatics: Yellow onions, shallots, and garlic. Feel free to use only yellow onion if shallots are not available. This soup also works really well if using leeks, just make sure to wash them well before using.
- Herbs: Sage and thyme. I love the depth of flavor sage adds, but feel free to swap with a handful of parsley or a sprig of rosemary if that is more readily available.
- Beans: I used white beans for some protein, but feel free to swap for chickpeas or a vegan chicken alternative.
- Umami Ingredients: This includes the nutritional yeast and vegetable bouillon. These ingredients help to add more savory flavors to this soup since we aren’t using meat. If you need to go without the nutritional yeast, feel free to swap for a tablespoon of soy sauce.
- Plant-Based Milk: Use unsweetened plant-based milks only. I personally like to use either unsweetened oat milk or soy milk to add to the broth.
How to Make Creamy Vegan Pot Pie Soup
Heat a large soup pot and warm your oil. Add in the onions and shallot with a pinch of salt and sauté until softened. Add the carrots and celery and sauté again until softened. To the pot add the garlic and sage and sauté until fragrant.
Add in the cauliflower, potatoes, white beans, milk, water, bouillon cube and nutritional yeast. Give the pot a good stir to combine then add the thyme and bay leaf and bring to a low simmer, cover with a lid to cook for 15 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through.
Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs then take 2 cups of the soup and place in a blender to blend until smooth then pour back into the pot along with the frozen peas. Stir in the vinegar and adjust the salt and pepper to taste.
Expert Tips
- Do not add cold plant based milk to the boiling soup. You want your milk and soup to be at similar temperatures before adding the milk to the soup. If you add cold milk to the soup it will cause it to separate and curdle. Oat milk tends to be the most stable plant based milk to use as it doesn’t tend to curdle when you’re cooking with it. For more tips, this article is very helpful.
- If your milk does curdle, scoop up the top portion of the soup that has the floating milk chunks and use that to blend up in the blender. Blending will smooth this portion of the soup and it will be good to add back to the rest of the soup.
- For the best potato taste, use Yukon gold potatoes. When cooked, they give that classic potato taste known in comfort food.
- If you want to mimic the classic feel of pastry dough on top, you can try two different ideas. If you are gluten-free, top your soup with some almond crackers for that buttery and crispy texture on top. If not gluten-free, consider using a vegan puff pastry and cut it into squares then brush with plant based milk and place in the oven at 400F and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden then place on top of the soup like croutons.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Feel free to opt for another legume like chickpeas or use a vegan chicken alternative like Daring Foods to mix into the soup for more texture. I would cook the chicken separately and then add to the soup after you have blended a portion of it. Do note that the white beans do help to add creaminess to the soup when they are blended.
Allow the soup to cool, then place in an airtight container. You can store this in the fridge for up to 5 days, just note that the soup will continue to thicken as it cools.
Yes! Store leftovers in the freezer for up to 3 months. To make it easier to reheat smaller portions, it can be helpful to store the soup in individual portioned out containers or use some souper cube containers to store your soup more conveniently in the freezer. Just remove the portion that you want and add to a pot when ready to eat. Heat the soup until it is nice and creamy again, adding a splash of water to thin out the soup to your desired consistency as needed.
How to Serve
I like to serve this soup with something crunchy on top to mimic the classic puff pastry crust on pot pie. To make it gluten-free just use gluten-free almond crackers to mimic the buttery taste of puff pastry. For those that can consume gluten, you can bake some puff pastry pieces in the oven until golden and place on top of the soup to enjoy it with.
More Vegan Soup Recipes
- Mushroom Wild Rice Soup
- Creamy Gnocchi Tomato Soup
- Roasted Tomato and White Bean Soup
- Smoky Chickpea and Kale Soup
- Chipotle Red Lentil Potato Soup
Creamy Vegan Pot Pie Soup
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A healthy and cozy pot pie soup that is made completely dairy-free, making this vegan and gluten-free. Easy to make and loaded with 6 different fiber-rich vegetables in a delicious creamy broth.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 shallot, sliced or diced
- 2 carrots, sliced or diced
- 3 stalks celery, sliced or diced
- 6–8 cloves garlic, crushed with a garlic press
- 8 leaves sage, sliced
- 2 cups cauliflower florets, cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 medium Yukon gold potatoes or 8 baby potatoes, cubed
- 1, 15 oz can white beans or chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups unsweetened soy or almond milk (heated on the stove top or in the microwave until hot)
- 4 cups water
- 2 vegan chicken/vegetable bouillon cubes
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 10 thyme sprigs
- 1 bay leaf
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar, optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
For Serving
- Almond Crackers or Baked Puff Pastry*
Instructions
- Heat a large soup pot and warm your oil. Add in the onions and shallot with a pinch of salt and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the carrots and celery and continue to sauté until softened. To the pot add the garlic and sage and sauté until fragrant.
- Add in the cauliflower, potatoes, white beans, hot milk, water, bouillon cube and nutritional yeast. Give the pot a good stir to combine then add the thyme and bay leaf and bring to a low simmer, cover with a lid to cook for 15 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through.
- Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs then take 2 cups of the soup and place in a blender to blend until smooth then pour back into the pot along with the frozen peas.
- Taste the soup and adjust to taste by adding salt, pepper and the white wine vinegar as needed. Serve topped with fresh parsley and some almond flour crackers as desired.
Notes
Do not add cold plant based milk to the boiling soup. You want your milk and soup to be at similar temperatures before adding the milk to the soup. If you add cold milk to the soup it will cause it to separate and curdle. Oat milk tends to be the most stable plant based milk to use as it doesn’t tend to curdle when you’re cooking with it. For more tips, this article is very helpful.
If your milk does curdle, scoop up the top portion of the soup that has the floating milk chunks and use that to blend up in the blender. Blending will smooth this portion of the soup and it will be good to add back to the rest of the soup.
For the best potato taste, use Yukon gold potatoes. When cooked, they give that classic potato taste known in comfort food.
If you want to mimic the classic feel of pastry dough on top, you can try two different ideas. If you are gluten-free, top your soup with some almond crackers for that buttery and crispy texture on top. If not gluten-free, consider using a vegan puff pastry and cut it into squares then brush with plant based milk and place in the oven at 400F and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden then place on top of the soup like croutons.
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.
★ Catherine
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This tasted really good, but the soup was nowhere near as creamy looking as the recipe pictures. I would have needed to blend a lot more than 2 cups of the soup.
Glad you enjoyed the taste of the soup. I’m going to update and make a note regarding the blending. It really depends on what the 2 cups of soup taken from the pot looks like. If you get way more potatoes and beans in that 2 cup portion the soup will be a lot creamier as the soluble fiber from both will have more surface area in the soup. Will definitely update so thank you for the feedback!
So YUMMY and a big hit with my kids. Love that we always have extra for the week. I used sage and rosemary with this one as well as two cubes of Edward & Sons “Not Chick’n” bouillon cubes with the four cups of water. So delicious and fragrant; really warms the soul from the inside out on these cold winter nights. Family fav! Definitely keeping!
Yes! Love that bouillon cube brand. So glad that you and your family have enjoyed this recipe. Means so much to me to hear that. Thank you Jo!