Creamy Vegan Potato Soup

The creamiest vegan potato soup served with smoky tempeh crumbles. An easy to make weeknight meal that will leave you satisfied.

Close up view of a bowl of potato soup topped with vegan sour cream, tempeh crumbles, and scallions.

You want something cozy, filling and easy to make. This Vegan Potato Soup has it all and can be cooked in 30 minutes for a quick and easy weeknight meal.

Why You’ll Love This Loaded Vegan Potato Soup

  • It’s loaded. While the base of the soup is perfect on it’s own, I love serving this soup with some smoky tempeh crumbles to make this meal even more filling and protein-rich.
  • Made with simple flavorful ingredients. The base of the soup is made with budget-friendly potatoes, which we use to help layer on flavor.
  • Customize it to your preference. Feel free to adjust the recipe to your liking. Blend more of the soup to make it creamier, change up or add to the recommended toppings. Make this soup your own!
Cauliflower, shallots, potatoes, old bay, flour, garlic, thyme and nutritional yeast.

Key Ingredients and Substitutions

  • Potatoes: For the best potato flavor, I love to use Yukon gold potatoes or red potatoes. Just note that Yukon gold potatoes will make the soup appear more yellow compared to using other potatoes.
  • Cauliflower: This is optional, but I love adding cauliflower to this as an easy way to get in some extra fiber.
  • Flour: One of the components of the soup that helps to thicken it.
  • Nutritional Yeast: Many traditional potato soups will add in something like cheese for extra flavor. We are swapping that out for some umami-rich nutritional yeast instead.
  • Seasoning: For the soup we’re using Old Bay Seasoning and thyme. Then, for the tempeh we are using smoked paprika, fennel seeds, and coriander.
  • Tempeh: I love the unique flavor of tempeh in this especially tied with all the smoky flavors. If you are not a fan of tempeh or hesitant and want to use something else, I’d recommend trying this with crumbled tofu or even coating some beans like chickpeas to roast with the spices in the oven instead.
  • Sun-Dried Tomatoes: I used the type that is packed in oil. I feel it adds a lovely bite and taste to the tempeh. This can be omitted if you don’t have it on hand.
  • Milk: For soups, I tend to go with cashew milk or soy milk.
  • Vegetable Broth: Make sure to use a good quality vegetable broth. My favorites include the carton variety from Pacific Foods or dissolving some Better Than Bouillon Paste in equal amounts of water to use in the soup.

How to Make Loaded Vegan Potato Soup

For the tempeh. Crumble the tempeh with your hands into small chunks onto a baking sheet then top with the sun-dried tomatoes, oil, tamari, syrup, vinegar, smoked paprika, fennel seeds, and coriander. Toss everything to evenly coat and then spread out into a single layer on the tray. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Now start the potato soup. To a medium pot over medium heat add the oil and warm it through. Add in the shallots and sauté for 2-3 minutes until softened then stir in the garlic and Old Bay Seasoning and sauté until fragrant. Sprinkle in the flour and nutritional yeast and mix it into the onion mixture, sauteing for about 2 minutes. Pour in a 1/2 cup of the milk and stir into the flour mixture until a paste forms.

Add the potatoes, cauliflower, vegetable broth and the remaining milk and stir well to combine then bring to a simmer. Note, if the soup starts to boil, you may notice the milk start to separate (this is okay especially since we will be blending it later).

Allow the soup to simmer for 12-15 minutes or until the potatoes and cauliflower are fork tender. With an immersion blender, blend about 1/3 or more of the soup based on your preference in consistency. If the soup is too thick, feel free to adjust by stirring in an extra 1/2 cup to 1 cup of vegetable broth.

Serve the soup topped with some vegan sour cream, the tempeh crumbles and some spring onions and enjoy.

Expert Tips

  • Swap out the tempeh. If not a fan of tempeh, just swap it for some tofu or chickpeas. Season and bake up similar to the tempeh for a fun protein rich topping to enjoy with your soup.
  • Blend your soup to the consistency you like. To save on dishes I like to use an immersion blender to blend about 1/3 of the soup in the pot. You can blend the whole pot to get a nice smooth soup to your liking or leave some chunks of potato and cauliflower like I love to do.
  • Reserve extra vegetable broth. You can use leftover broth to help adjust the consistency of the soup to your liking after you blend it. If the soup is too thick, just stir in extra broth to help fix it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the top of my soup look grainy after cooking?

This can happen if your plant based milk comes to a high boil. However, this is okay because the soup will be blended. Once blended, the chunks that appear to separate will smooth out and you’ll end up with a uniform soup again.

How do I make this gluten-free?

Traditional potato soup is typically made using a roux made of a mix of fat and flour. To make this gluten-free, omit the flour and whisk a tablespoon of cornstarch into the milk before adding to the pot. You can also replace the flour by stirring in 1/4 cup vegan sour cream at the end of cooking. It will help give you a lovely thick and rich-flavor to the soup without the flour.

Mixing a bowl of potato soup topped with vegan sour cream, tempeh crumbles, scallion slices and chili oil.

Storage Recommendations

Once the soup cools, add to an airtight container and place in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also freeze this soup for up to 3 months. When ready to reheat, stir in a few tablespoons of water to the soup then warm through on the stove top or in the microwave.

How to Balance This Meal

The best part about this soup is that it contains all of the nutrients I normally recommend to create a balanced and filling meal. We have the complex carbohydrates from the potatoes, protein from the tempeh crumbles on top and some vegetables in the form of the cauliflower. The protein and fiber from this meal will help keep you feeling full and satisfied between meals.

If not serving this as a full meal you can serve a smaller portion of this soup and enjoy with a salad or half a sandwich. Choose a hearty salad like this Kale Crunch Salad or this Green Goddess Salad Sandwich.

More Healthy Soup Ideas to Try

Large cozy bowl of vegan potato soup topped with crispy tempeh crumbles, scallions and vegan sour cream.
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Close up view of a bowl of potato soup topped with vegan sour cream, tempeh crumbles, and scallions.

Creamy Vegan Potato Soup

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  • Author: Catherine Perez
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Soup
  • Method: Stove Top
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

The creamiest vegan potato soup served with smoky tempeh crumbles. An easy to make weeknight meal that will leave you satisfied.


Ingredients

Scale

Crispy Tempeh Crumbles

  • 1, 277g block of tempeh
  • 3 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes, drained from oil and diced
  • 1 tbsp avocado oil, or the oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp tamari, or soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander

Potato Soup

  • 12 tbsp avocado oil
  • 2 shallots, finely diced
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour***
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 2 cups unsweetened cashew milk or soy milk
  • 4 medium (about 1 pound) Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and diced into cubes
  • 2 cups cauliflower florets
  • 2 cups good quality vegetable broth (I use Better Than Bouillon vegetable bouillon paste dissolved in water)
  • 1/2 tsp dry thyme or 6 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed
  • Salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425F and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Crumble the tempeh with your hands into small chunks on to the baking sheet then top with the sun-dried tomatoes, oil, tamari, syrup, vinegar, smoked paprika, fennel seeds, and coriander. Toss everything to evenly coat and then spread out into a single layer on the tray. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, flipping halfway through.
  2. Meanwhile, start the potato soup. To a medium pot over medium heat add the oil and warm it through. Add in the shallots and sauté for 2-3 minutes until softened then stir in the garlic and Old Bay Seasoning and sauté until fragrant. Sprinkle in the flour and nutritional yeast and mix it into the onion mixture, sauteing for about 2 minutes. Pour in a 1/2 cup of the milk and stir into the flour mixture until a paste forms.
  3. Add the potatoes, cauliflower, vegetable broth and the remaining milk and stir well to combine then bring to a simmer. Note, if the soup starts to boil, you may notice the milk start to separate (this is okay).
  4. Allow the soup to simmer for 12-15 minutes or until the potatoes and cauliflower are fork tender. With an immersion blender, blend about 1/3 or more of the soup based on your preference in consistency. If the soup is too thick, feel free to adjust by stirring in a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of extra vegetable broth.
  5. Serve the soup topped with some vegan sour cream, the tempeh crumbles and some spring onions and enjoy.

Notes

Swap out the tempeh. If not a fan of tempeh, just swap it for some tofu or chickpeas. Season and bake up similar to the tempeh for a fun protein rich topping to enjoy with your soup.

Blend your soup to the consistency you like. To save on dishes I like to use an immersion blender to blend about 1/3 of the soup in the pot. You can blend the whole pot to get a nice smooth soup to your liking or leave some chunks of potato and cauliflower like I love to do.

Reserve extra vegetable broth. You can use leftover broth to help adjust the consistency of the soup to your liking after you blend it. If the soup is too thick, just stir in extra broth to help fix it.

To make gluten-free omit the flour and whisk in 1 tablespoon of cornstarch into your milk or stir in 1/4 cup vegan sour cream into the soup at the end.

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

This post contains affiliate links which means I will make a small commission if you purchase from those links. I only recommend and share products that I know, trust and personally use myself!

2 Comments

  1. Delicious! As someone from the DC area who grew up eating blue crabs with Old Bag, I’ve missed the taste of Old Bay. Loved getting a chance to use it in this recipe! I also always love finding a hearty soup that isn’t tomato based.






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