Vegan Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Enjoy all the flavors of a loaded baked potato in soup form! This cold-weather staple is ultra savory, creamy, and completely dairy-free. Load it up with your all the classic toppings for a hearty and irresistible bowl of comfort.
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Servings: 6
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Equipment
- large heavy bottomed pot or Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter divided
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 1 medium carrot peeled and diced
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 pounds russet potatoes about 4-5 medium, or 3 very large potatoes
- 4 cups vegetable broth I use chick'n style bouillon
- 2 cups homemade cashew milk recipe follows; or sub unsweetened plant milk
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice from about 1/2 lemon
Homemade Cashew Milk
- 1/2 cup raw cashews soaked 4+ hours
- 1 2/3 cup water
Toppings (Optional)
- 1 batch crispy tofu bacon bits recipe here
- vegan cheddar-style shreds
- scallions or chives finely chopped
- nondairy sour cream
Instructions
Ahead of Time
- Prep the potatoes: Peel the russet potatoes and cut into roughly 1" chunks. You can keep them in a bowl covered with cool water until ready to use.
- Make the cashew milk: Drain the soaked cashews and place in a high powered blender with 1 2/3 cups fresh water. Blend until completely smooth.
Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Sauté aromatics: Heat a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add in 2 tablespoons vegan butter, along with the diced onions, celery, carrots, and garlic. Sauté for 4-6 minutes, until onions are translucent.
- Form the roux: Add in the remaining 2 tablespoons vegan butter. Sprinkle the all-purpose flour over the vegetables and stir to coat. Cook for about 1-2 minutes, stirring continuously, to cook out the raw flavor of the flour.
- Build the soup: Pour in the veggie broth slowly, whisking the whole time to break up any clumps of roux. Then add in the cubed potatoes, bay leaf, and nutritional yeast. Bring the mixture up to a boil, then reduce to medium-low to establish a rapid simmer. Simmer 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are very tender.
- Add milk: Stir in the cashew milk (or plant milk of choice) along with the lemon juice.
- Mash and/or blend the soup to thicken: Remove the bay leaf from the soup. Use a potato masher to roughly mash some of the potatoes in the pot to thicken the soup. Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender to partially blend the soup — pulse just a few times.
- Adjust: Give the soup a taste and adjust salt, pepper, and lemon juice to preference.
- Add toppings and serve: To serve, add vegan bacon bits and any of your favorite baked potato toppings, such as vegan cheddar shreds, chopped chives (or scallions), and nondairy sour cream.
Notes
Plant milk: If not using homemade cashew milk, I recommend something like store-bought oat milk or cashew milk, as these tend to be creamy and neutral in flavor. Almond milk tends to be watery and soy milk can leave an aftertaste. Full fat coconut milk is an option if you don't mind a coconutty flavor.
Chick'n bouillon: Better Than Bouillon Vegetarian No Chicken Base is great for a more savory and nostalgic flavor. Use 4 teaspoons (i.e. 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) and 4 cups of water. Or, use 2 bouillon cubes like the Not Chicken ones from Edward & Sons.
Vegan bacon: I like to make a batch of my Crispy Baked Tofu Bacon Bits to top this soup, but you're welcome to fry up a container of store bought vegan bacon, such as Lightlife's Smart Bacon or tempeh bacon.
Brand recommendations: While recipe testing, I prepared this soup with the Country Crock Homestyle Plant Butter, and topped it with Violife Cheddar-Style Shreds and Forager Sour Cream. All were delicious!
Did you make this recipe?We’d love for you to leave a review on the website! You can also share a photo on IG and tag @sarahsvegankitchen_ or #sarahsvegankitchen.