This vegan potato soup is incredibly rich and creamy and consists of only 6 simple ingredients. The best part is that it's ready in 20 minutes making it the perfect speedy weeknight dinner option for the whole family.
It always amazes me how easily you can create indulgent, thick soups even with no cream or butter involved. Soups are such an amazing way to fuel up on veggies while not being overly filling.
This hearty vegan potato soup is a healthy spin on more traditional potato soup recipes. Similar to our vegetarian potato soup it's meatless but also dairy-free and low in fat.
For more vegan soup recipes check out Quick Tomato Soup, Healthy Mushroom Soup (without cream), Vegan Creamy Ramen.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- With only 6 ingredients, this creamy potato soup is super simple to make!
- You can prepare this soup using an electric pressure cooker or on the stovetop.
- Loaded with your favorite toppings of choice, it's super filling yet light and nutritious.
- It is also gluten-free, dairy-free and lower in fat.
Ingredients & substitution notes
- Onion: I prefer using white onion but red onion or shallots would work as well.
- Garlic: Could be replaced with garlic powder.
- Leek: Adds some amazing additional fresh taste. Could be replaced with green onion but the flavor won't be the same.
- Potatoes: We used Yukon gold potatoes in this recipe but any other type such as russet potatoes or red potatoes would work just as well.
- Vegetable Broth: Store-bought as well as homemade vegetable broth both do the job. Make sure to adjust the amount of salt when using store-bought veggie stock.
- Crispy Mushroom "Bacon" (optional topping): This vegan potato soup uses crispy baked mushrooms instead of traditional bacon as a topping. Could easily be omitted but I would give it a try! 🙂
How to make vegan potato soup
This comforting soup recipe can easily be turned into a stovetop recipe. The recipe steps are exactly the same but cooking time is longer though (around 20 minutes) and you might need to add some more broth along the way.
STEP 1 (optional): Mushroom "Bacon".
If you would like to add some crispy mushrooms as a topping (highly recommended!) then start by preparing your mushrooms first.
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). In a medium bowl, mix together all of the ingredients for the soy-maple sauce. Then add cleaned and sliced mushrooms and let them soak for about 10 minutes.
Drain any excess liquid and spread them evenly onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Step 2: Sauté onion, garlic & leek. Turn on the sauté function of your instant pot and add olive oil, diced onion, garlic and leek. Cook until onion is translucent and soft.
The pressure cooker will quickly become quite hot- make sure not to brown the onion. Stir constantly and have the potato cubes and vegetable stock ready.
Add the diced potatoes, veggie broth, salt and black pepper and close the lid (make sure the pressure release handle is set to "sealing" position.)
Set the instant pot on high and pressure cook for 10 minutes. It will take a couple of minutes for the instant pot to start so don't worry, just let it do its thing :-).
Do a quick release to release the steam. Move the release handle into "venting position". I usually use a knife or similar so that I don't need to touch the handle with my fingers and risk burning from the hot steam
Potatoes will be fork tender by then and soup slightly thickened.
With an immersion blender, blend about ½ of the soup so you'll end up with a velvety smooth soup that still includes some potato chunks. Alternatively, you could transfer ½ of the soup to a (high speed) blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Then stir the pureed soup back into the pot.
Topping Ideas
As with almost any simple soup recipe, it's the toppings that can make a huge difference and create an even more delicious soup. Below you'll find some of our favorite toppings.
- Vegan Bacon: While more traditional recipes call for regular bacon as a topping, we created our own vegan version made of mushrooms. You could of course use any bacon of choice though such as store-bought vegan bacon or any other.
- Roasted Lentils: Try our Crispy Roasted Lentils as a topping.
- Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream: Add a dollop of yogurt for some extra zingy taste and creamy texture.
- Vegan Shredded Cheese: Adds some cheesy flavors and goes extremely well with potato soup. Our favorites are sharp cheddar and parmesan but any other (strong flavored) cheese of choice would work here. Opt for vegan cheese to keep this recipe vegan.
- Leek: We used some of the raw leek as a topping. Could be replaced with green onions.
- Fresh Herbs: Such as fresh thyme or fresh chives make an amazing topping!
- Croutons: Homemade or store-bought would both taste great. They add some crunch and amazing texture to this soup.
Side Dish Suggestions
While this soup can be enjoyed on its own as a starter or light meal you could also serve this vegan potato soup along with some side dish to feed even the hungriest crowd and turn it into a complete meal. Below you'll find some suggestions:
- Crusty Bread: Any bread would work great but I highly recommend trying toasted sourdough bread, (homemade) cornbread or (homemade) naan as a side dish.
- Sandwiches: Serve this soup alongside some homemade sandwiches to make it a satisfying meal. Our favorite picks would be grilled cheese sandwiches, grilled tomato and mozzarella sandwiches or this Guacamole Sandwich.
- Salad: Could either be enjoyed as a side dish or as a starter. Any type of salad works great such as this Roasted Asparagus Green Salad.
Optional Add-Ins
- Creme Fraiche: Add a tablespoon of vegan creme fraiche, cream cheese or sour cream. This will add some additional flavors.
- Coconut Milk: Instead of creme fraiche you could add ½ cup a coconut milk for an extra creamy soup.
- Other veggies: Feel free to add a handful of cooked chickpeas, fresh baby spinach or other veggies of choice.
Storage & freezing
- Store cooled soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- Gently reheat in a big soup pot or dutch oven on low-medium heat or reheat in the microwave (in a microwave-safe bowl).
- Freeze in an airtight container or ziplock bag for up to 3 months. Let thaw in the fridge or on the countertop before reheating.
FAQs
Our favorite ones for making this soup are Yukon golds but this recipe also works with other types such as russet potatoes or red potatoes. Don't use sweet
By cooking the potatoes, they release their starches which naturally thickens the soup. Additionally, by blending parts of it a thick and creamy consistency can be achieved even without the addition of heavy cream or milk.
Yes, this soup could be prepared ahead of time. Reheat in the instant pot by pressing the "keep warm" button and stirring every so often.
Yes, this recipe can easily be turned into a stovetop recipe. Cooking time is longer though (around 20 minutes) and you might need to add some more broth along the way.
The following recipe is made without butter, heavy cream or bacon making it healthier and lower in fat than more traditional recipes. Potatoes themselves are a good source of fibre and packed with antioxidants.
For best results and a smooth texture, I recommend using a stick blender or regular blender that is able to blend hot liquids.
More easy soup recipes
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Potato Soup (Instant Pot + Stove)
Ingredients
Potato Soup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 (yellow) onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 (1.6 inch) piece of leek
- 3-4 potatoes ,peeled & diced
- 2½ cups veggie broth
- salt, pepper
Crispy Mushroom "Bacon" (optional)
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika powder
- 7 oz Shiitake mushrooms (or white button) ,thinly sliced
Instructions
Potato Soup
- Finely dice onion, garlic and leek.
- Turn on saute mode on the instant pot and add olive oil, onion, garlic and leek.
- Cook for a couple of minutes until onion is soft and translucent (but not brown).
- Add diced potatoes, veggie broth, salt and pepper (the amount of salt needed will depend on how salted your vegetable stock is).
- Close the lid and make sure that the release handle is set to “sealing” position (see step-by-step photos).
- Pressure cook on high for 10 minutes (it will take the instant pot about a minute or so to start).
- Quick release the steam by pushing the pressure release handle to “venting” using a knife or similar so that the hot steam doesn’t burn your hand.
- Once all the steam is released, open the lid.
- Use an immersion blender to blend about ½ of the soup – don’t bend too much to make sure that there are some chunks of potatoes left.
- Then pour it back to the remaining soup in the instant pot.
- Load with toppings of choice and enjoy!
Crispy Mushroom "Bacon" (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350°F/ 180°C.
- Add all of the sauce ingredients to a medium bowl and mix until well combined.
- Add mushrooms and let soak for at least 10 minutes.
- Drain all the excess liquid, then transfer the mushrooms pieces to a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes.
Video
Notes
- Stovetop: This recipe can easily be turned into a stovetop recipe. Repeat the same steps but instead of an instant pot, you can use a large pot. Cover with a lid and let simmer on medium heat until potatoes are very soft, stirring occasionally. Cooking time is longer (around 20-25 minutes) and you might need to add more broth along the way.
- Blender: Alternatively, you could transfer ½ of the soup to a (high speed) blender or food processor and blend until smooth (make sure that you let the soup cool first).
- Topping Ideas: "Mushroom" Bacon (see recipe above), shredded cheese, fresh leek, fresh herbs, greek yogurt, sour cream
- Nutritional facts calculated without any toppings (potato soup only)
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