Creamy Celery Soup

This soup season, give celery the star treatment it deserves with this simple but delicious creamy celery soup. Celery, potatoes, and fresh herbs are cooked until tender in broth before pureeing until smooth. I’ll be eating this one on repeat all season long.

This post is sponsored by Dandy^®.

For most recipes, celery is a supporting actor of an ingredient. It lends a hand by offering some additional flavor, but seldom is celery the star of a recipe – except when it comes to this delicious creamy celery soup recipe! The secret to making this simple creamy celery soup really shine is to use high quality celery – which is why I’ve partnered with Dandy for this recipe. 

I loved that Dandy celery is naturally sweeter and crispier than other brands of celery – perfect for this easy soup recipe where celery is center stage. I used a package of their washed and ready-to-eat large snack celery sticks to make the prep work for this soup even easier. 

Why You’ll Love this Vegan Celery Soup Recipe

• A satisfying and delicious soup recipe with simple ingredients. 
• You would never guess this creamy soup is dairy free! Canned coconut milk is my secret for making vegan soup recipes taste rich without using heavy cream. 
• This soup is versatile. We like to make a pot of this creamy celery soup to serve as an easy work from home lunch paired with a grilled cheese. Not only that, this soup can be a great make-ahead side dish or appetizer for holiday gatherings. 

Ingredients for Creamy Celery Soup

• Olive Oil: adds healthy fats to this soup and helps cook up the onions at the start of this vegan celery soup recipe. 
• Onion: adds flavor to compliment the celery in this easy recipe.
• Celery: the main ingredient for this delicious and creamy soup. Celery adds an herbaceous flavor that pairs well with the fresh herbs and lemon used to finish this soup.
• Potatoes: help add creamy texture and thicken the soup. I prefer to use yukon gold potatoes because their skins are thin and you can skip peeling them. However, you can use russet potatoes or red skin – just peel before adding to the soup.
• Garlic: adds flavor to this soup. If you don’t have fresh garlic, substitute with 1 teaspoon garlic powder. 
• Vegetable Broth: use a vegetable stock with good flavor since there aren’t a lot of ingredients in this simple soup.
• Coconut Milk: my secret ingredient for creating creamy soups without dairy. Don’t worry, I promise you can’t taste any coconut in the finished soup. It just adds rich consistency to the soup so don’t skip it! Full fat coconut milk is my favorite, but you can use lite coconut milk for a lower fat and lower calorie soup.
• Baby Spinach: the baby spinach in this recipe is optional – but it gives the finished soup a pretty green color. (Of course, you can’t go wrong with extra nutrients provided by spinach either.)
• Dill & Parsley: add these fresh herbs near the end of cooking to preserve their flavor and color. Use fresh dill rather than dried for the best flavor.
• Lemon: the little bit of acid in the lemon brightens up all the flavors in this soup.

Variations

Use Cashews: although you can’t taste the coconut milk (I promise), you can also add creaminess to this celery and potato soup with cashews if you prefer. When you add the potatoes and garlic to the soup, add ½ cup of raw cashews. For the liquid, replace the coconut milk with an additional 1 ½ cups of vegetable broth. The cashews soften as the soup simmers and blend smooth in the pureeing step.

Add Beans: add some protein to this soup by stirring in a can (drained and rinsed) of white beans or chickpeas after pureeing the soup. 

Add Cheese: you can add some cheesiness to this soup by stirring in 2-3 tablespoons of nutritional yeast in the simmer step. You could also top the finished soup with vegan parmesan or shredded mozzarella for serving. 

How to Make Creamy Celery Soup

What to Serve with Creamy Celery Soup

• Topping options: I love serving this soup with crusty bread for dipping, some homemade croutons or crumbled crackers stirred in and a few sprigs of fresh dill for garnish. 
• Sandwich: for a quick meal, pair this creamy celery soup with a sandwich like a grilled cheese, tofu egg salad, or a wrap like this tempeh wrap with peanut sauce. 
• Salad: soup and salad is a classic combo. You could pair this simple celery soup with one of these: vegan kale caesar salad, white bean pesto salad, and pear arugula salad.

Storage

Fridge: allow soup to cool to room temperature then store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a saucepan on the stove or for a couple of minutes in the microwave.

Freezer: store cooled soup in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months. Allow frozen soup to thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.