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This Vegan Baked Potato Soup is creamy, cheesy, smoky & fully loaded with veganized classic toppings. It's pure comfort in a bowl!
If you're a potato lover like me, you must make this Vegan Baked Potato Soup Recipe! It has all the flavors of a fully-loaded baked potato, except it's in soup form. What could be better?
I must confess though, I didn't bake the potatoes for this recipe. I did try it, and it tasted delicious, but I found it to be more time consuming than anything. Cooking the potatoes in the pot yielded similar results, so I went with the easier and quicker route.
The method is similar to my Vegan Potato Leek Soup recipe, it just has different flavoring and toppings. It takes about 25-30 minutes on the stove too, so it's perfect for weeknight meals.
INGREDIENTS FOR VEGAN BAKED POTATO SOUP
A typical non-vegan baked potato soup recipe is cooked with bacon, bacon grease, butter, cream cheese, and heavy cream. Holy heart attack! This makes it over-the-top rich, super thick and definitely unhealthy. The ingredients provide a smoky, cheesy and creamy soup, but these flavors and textures can be created in a healthier way.
Take a look
For the cream base, I used unsweetened soy milk and raw cashews. When blended together, it creates a super creamy and slightly thickened consistency. That's all the soup needs since the potatoes become thick and creamy when blended.
I prefer soy milk for this soup, but you can use any non-dairy variety. Also, If you can't have cashews, you can substitute the soy and cashew mixture with full-fat coconut milk instead.
For the smoky bacon flavor, I added a small amount of liquid smoke and smoked paprika. The flavor is very subtle and won't overpower the soup. If you're not a fan of liquid smoke, you can omit it altogether. You can always add ¼ teaspoon more of the smoked paprika.
To give the soup base a cheesy and umami boost, I added a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast (a.k.a nooch). It also adds a nice golden color to your delicious soup. For the cheesy tang, just squeeze some lemon juice in at the end.
I think russet potatoes have the best consistency for this recipe. Some potatoes can become slightly gummy when blended and that isn't fun.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN BAKED POTATO SOUP
To start, you'll have to soak the cashews in water for 2-4 hours. Alternatively, you can soak the cashews in very hot water. Boil water in a small pot. Remove from heat, add cashews, and cover for 15-20 minutes until they're softened.
Now blend the soy milk & cashews (discard soaking water) together until very smooth and creamy. Set aside.
In a large pot, heat oil & butter over medium heat. Sprinkle with salt. Now add onion and sauté until translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add minced garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Now add potatoes, smoked paprika, thyme, salt, and pepper. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
Pour in the vegetable broth to cover potatoes and add bay leaf. Stir in nutritional yeast and *optional liquid smoke. Raise heat so it starts to boil. Now reduce heat to a medium simmer. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
Remove from heat and stir in cashew cream. Taste for seasoning and add more if needed. Stir in lemon juice if desired (*1 tablespoon at a time). Using an immersion blender (or regular blender), blend until creamy and smooth. You can leave a little texture if desired.
TOPPING IDEAS
Load it up with your favorite toppings! I added vegan bacon, chives, vegan cheddar cheese shreds, and vegan sour cream. Fresh green onion adds a nice flavor too.
Alright potato lovers, let's do this!
I’d love to hear from you
If you make this Vegan Baked Potato Soup Recipe, I’d love to hear what you think in the comment section below. It would really make my day. You can also follow me on Instagram and share your creation with me. Just tag me @veganhuggs and hashtag #veganhuggs so I don’t miss it.
Vegan Baked Potato Soup
Ingredients
Cream Base (see note for alternative)
- ¾ cup soy milk , unsweetened (or any non-dairy milk)
- ½ cup raw cashews
Soup
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil , or preferred oil
- 1 small yellow onion , diced
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 5 medium russet potatoes , peeled & cut into ½" chunks (about 2 lbs)
- ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon sea salt , more to taste
- Fresh cracked pepper to taste
- 5 cups vegetable broth , reduced sodium
- 1 Bay leaf
- 1-2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke *optional
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice *optional
Toppings
- Vegan bacon
- Chives
- Vegan sour cream
- Vegan cheddar cheese shreds
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
Cream Base
- If you don't have a high-powered blender (like a Vitamix), you will need to soften the cashews first. To soften, boil water in a small pot and remove from heat. Add cashews and cover for 20 minutes.
- Now drain, rinse and discard soaking water. Place the cashews in a blender along with the ¾ cup soy milk. Blend on high until very smooth. Set aside.
Soup
- In a large pot, heat oil and butter over medium heat. Now add onion and sauté until translucent, about 2-4 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and sauté for 30-60 seconds until fragrant.
- Add potatoes, smoked paprika, thyme, salt, and pepper. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Pour in the vegetable broth and add bay leaf. Stir in nutritional yeast and *optional liquid smoke. Raise heat so it starts to boil, then reduce heat to a medium simmer. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Remove the pot from heat and discard the bay leaf. Now stir in cashew cream. Using an immersion blender (or regular blender), blend until creamy and smooth. Taste for seasoning and add more if needed. Stir in lemon juice if desired.
- Top with sour cream, chives, vegan cheddar shreds and vegan bacon bits. Enjoy!
Notes
- Cashew Cream - You can replace the cashew cream (soy milk and cashews) with 1 cup of full-fat canned coconut milk.
- If you're using the rice paper bacon, top it on the soup last. If it sits too long in the soup, it won't be as crispy.
- Yields about 7 ½ cups of soup.
- Nutritional info doesn't include toppings.
Courtney R
Made this recipe again (apparently I made it last year but I don’t remember!) and I can hear my hubby in the other room just “Mmmmmm! Mmmmm! I’m gonna have another bowl!”. We loved it, again!
Melissa Huggins
LOL, that is exactly the reaction we want! Thanks for trying the recipe Courtney. 🙂