This Vegan Potato Soup is ultra creamy, comforting and ready in 30 minutes! It’s best loaded with all the toppings: vegan sour cream, green onions, vegan cheese and vegan bacon bits.
You know those rainy days where the only thing you feel like doing is curling up with a blanket and a hot bowl of comforting soup? Well, I just so happen to have the perfect recipe for the cold and blustery days ahead!
Easy Vegan Potato Soup is so easy to make and comes together in under 1 hour. Naturally gluten and nut free, all you need are a handful of simple ingredients. You can whip up a batch either on the stovetop, in your Instant Pot, or in a slow cooker.
What’s the secret to creamy vegan soup? Coconut milk! Just 1 can of this secret ingredient will give this soup a velvety smooth finish and epic levels of creaminess without the coconut flavor.
Enjoy my vegan potato soup recipe for family dinners, or reheat the leftovers when you’re craving a bowl of comfort. Don’t forget to top each bowl with crumbly vegan bacon bits (you make your own, or these bacon bits are already vegan), roasted potato chunks, or a scoop of homemade vegan sour cream. A little shredded vegan cheese would be good as well, as well as chopped green onions.
Ingredients Needed (with substitutions)
- Olive oil
- Onion and garlic
- Carrots
- Russet potatoes – Or any type of white, yellow, or red potatoes if that’s what you have at home.
- Dried thyme – You can add in a bay leaf, oregano, or parsley if you wish.
- Vegetable broth – Or water if needed, but broth will add more flavor.
- Full fat coconut milk – This is the secret to this soup’s awesome creaminess! It doesn’t make the soup taste like coconut at all. If you don’t have any, use 1 cup of raw cashews and blend with a few cups of the soup instead.
- Salt
How to Make it
You will love how easy this family-friendly soup is to make!
Sauté the onion and garlic with the oil in a large soup pot on the stovetop over medium heat.
Add the rest of your vegetables, thyme, and broth. Increase the heat and bring the soup to a boil.
As soon as it boils, lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. It’s ready when the potatoes are fork tender. Pour in the coconut milk and add the pepper.
Use a blender to blend a bit of the soup, or an immersion blender to smooth out the soup to your desired consistency. You can also simply use a potato mashed to mash some of the potatoes right in the pot.
Season with salt to taste and serve with all the toppings!
Instant Pot Instructions
Begin by using Sauté mode on the Instant Pot to cook the onion and garlic in the oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Briefly turn off the Instant Pot and in add the carrots, potatoes, thyme, and vegetable broth. Stir, then secure the lid and cook on High Pressure for 9 minutes.
Release the pressure manually once it’s done, using a towel to prevent any burning. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until it’s as smooth as you wish, and stir in the coconut milk. Season with salt and add your desired toppings!
Crock Pot Instructions
Let your slow cooker do all the work by adding all of the ingredients (except the coconut milk and salt) into the bowl. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours. Once the potatoes are fork tender, go ahead and blend the soup with an immersion blender to your desired smoothness, and stir in the coconut milk. Season with salt and serve.
Tips for Success
- When preparing the potatoes, chop them into small pieces rather than large. They’ll be easier to eat and will cook faster.
- You don’t have to use a full can of coconut milk. You could just add a little, or half the can until the soup is as creamy as you like! It’s very customizable.
- Pureeing the soup is optional. If you like your soup to have more texture, don’t bother blending or mashing the cooked potatoes. Personally, I like it more chunky!
- If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can add the soup in batches to a regular blender. Alternatively, use a potato masher to mash some of the potatoes and vegetables in the pot. I prefer the potato masher!
- Serving a crowd? Leave out small bowls with tons of toppings so your guests can customize their flavors.
- Is the soup not thick enough? Stir in a tablespoon of all-purpose or gluten-free flour.
How to store leftovers
Leftover potato soup will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 3 days. Store the leftovers in a sealed container or in individual portions for an easy grab-and-go meal.
The soup will thicken as it cools, so go ahead and thin with a little more broth or water upon reheating. You can heat to soup in the microwave for a few minutes or over medium heat on the stovetop.
More vegan recipes featuring potatoes
- Vegan Potato Salad
- Vegan Cheesy Broccoli Twice Baked Potatoes
- Vegan Scalloped Potatoes
- Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
- Oven Roasted Breakfast Potatoes
- Oven Baked Potato Wedges
Easy Vegan Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into small chunks
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 13.5 ounce can full fat coconut milk
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- salt, to taste (1/2-1 teaspoon depending on your broth)
Recommend toppings
- Vegan Sour Cream
- Vegan Shredded Cheese I used Violife shreds
- "bacon" bits
- chopped green onions
Instructions
Stovetop
- Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Now add the carrots, potatoes, thyme and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Once the potatoes are tender, pour in the coconut milk and add the pepper. Use a potato masher to mash some of the soup, or blend some of the soup with a blender or immersion blender until somewhat smooth. I prefer to leave a bit of chunky texture.
- Taste, and add more salt as desired. Serve with toppings of choice and enjoy!
To make in an Instant Pot
- Push the sauté feature on the Instant Pot. Add the olive oil, chopped onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion in translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
- Briefly turn off the Instant Pot, and add the carrots, potatoes, thyme and vegetable broth. Give it a little stir, then place the lid on, seal and cook on high pressure for 9 minutes. Release pressure manually, using a towel to prevent any burning. Blend or mash as desired and add coconut milk, pepper and salt to taste.
To make in a Crock Pot
- Add all of the ingredients except the coconut milk to the crock pot and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours. Once the potatoes are fork tender, blend the soup with an immersion blender to desired smoothness, then stir in the coconut milk. Season with salt and serve.
Video
Notes
- Try serving with crumbled tofu bacon or tempeh bacon.
- If you don’t want to use coconut milk, you can blend a few cups of the soup with a cup of raw cashews instead for creaminess. Or omit completely for a lighter soup.
- Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for about 3 days and freezes quite well if needed.
Nutrition
*This recipe was first published in October 2018 and has been updated to make it even more delicious!
I’m going to make this today. I only have coconut cream though. Can that be used instead of coconut milk?
Yes! That would work well! Enjoy!
Nora… When I became vegan 9 years ago at 60, I bought stacks of vegan cook books and tried all the recipes I could find. Gradually, I settled comfortably into checking with you first, and rarely do I wander. Your recipes are so easy, low impact to my kitchen, and always pure, clean and delicious. I have loved every recipe of yours I have tried.
Yesterday, I noticed I had the end of a sack o’ potatoes laying around and saw your Easy Vegan Potato Soup recipe and made it. It was so fast and easy. First of all, this is a great “Fridge Cleaner Outer” recipe. It called for pretty much all I had remaining in my fridge. I had my food processor out for other reasons, so I used it to chop/slice the veggies and that was a breeze. I sauted the veggies that needed that while I processed the rest. In just 5 min. I had all the veggies in the pot coming up to a gentle boil. I didn’t have any broth, but I had almond milk that was gettin’ old and used it instead. That worked great! I added 1/4 cup flour to the coconut milk as thickener, and that was the perfect amount to thicken the broth. In fact, I didn’t need to blend or mash the ingredients. I was pleased how the almond milk seemed to boost the flavor of the coconut milk and gave it a slight Malaysian flair. Another thing I love about your recipes is that they lend themselves to using what one has on hand, and can be personalized to ones tastes. Thank you always !
Thank you SO MUCH Peter! I appreciate your feedback a lot. And I’m glad you enjoyed this potato soup recipe; it is a great “fridge cleaner outer” recipe!
So Delicious and easy to make!! Great for the cold days!! Thank you!!
You nailed it!! AGAIN!!! I make at least 3 of your recipes every week! This one does not disappoint! I added some spinach and it was perfect!! Thank you Nora!
You are welcome, Amanda! I’m so glad you love the soup! The spinach addition is a great idea! Thanks for sharing your fabulous feedback! I am thrilled you are loving my recipes, and appreciate you choosing them in your culinary adventures! Happy cooking!
So good! And easy to make. We used the cashews instead of coconut milk and it turned out great! Thank you!
I had a bunch of potatoes I needed to use up, a can of coconut milk, and a dream. Added fresh ginger & a small sweet potato that I needed to use up, and swapped cherry tomatoes for the carrots since I was out. This is mild and lovely and absolutely perfect for a cloudy day. Thank you so much for the inspiration, will definitely make potato soup with coconut milk again!
I just made this and it is so great. I only added a few dots of the vegan sour cream and my son ate it just as it was made(which was also delicious). I did use gold potatoes because they are my favorite and the immersion blender. Just enough so it was creamy with a good bit of texture. Thank you for this recipe!
You are welcome, Sylvia! I’m thrilled that you and your son love the soup! I appreciate your wonderful review and feedback! This soup is always such a cozy meal! Wishing you happy cooking!
Another winner. I made this for my mom who loves potatoes. Needless to say I will be making this again.
One of my favorites soups as well, Brooke! I’m glad the soup was a hit! Thanks for your wonderful review and fun feedback!