Easy Creamy Vegetarian Potato Soup is a warm, comforting bowl of melt-in-your-mouth potatoes that’s made without bacon.
The one-pot, simple prep makes a great light meatless dinner at the end of a busy weekday.
It’s a budget-friendly meal, with only 4 core ingredients, that’s delicious on its own, but feel free to top it with a generous sprinkle of melted cheese.
This creamy potato soup is wonderful on cold winter days and makes a terrific, quick meatless dinner any time of the year.
And leftovers are just as delicious.
You can easily prep this ahead, reheat it on the stove or in the microwave, and even pack it for a budget-friendly lunch at work.
And since there is no bacon in this dish, it’s pork-free.
And milk has nutritional benefits!
And check out potatoes!
A little about potatoes
The potato is a perennial, starchy tuber, a root vegetable, that is native to the Americas.
Potatoes contain health benefits and are an excellent source of fiber, vitamins, and nutrients and provide fuel for the body.
Potatoes are gluten-free and very filling. In addition, they are a good source of antioxidants—some more than others—and they contain resistant starch. However, their nutritional content depends on the type of potato. Much of a potato’s nutrition is in the skin of the potato, and peeling them reduces their nutritional value.
Adding fattening toppings, such as sour cream or butter, adds calories and fat.
Different potatoes are considered to work best with different recipes, but overall, they can be used in a variety of delicious meals for recipes from all over the world.
There may be over a couple hundred varieties of potatoes in the United States, but there are only 7 main categories. The most popular of these are the red, white, yellow, and russet.
Fun Facts
- Potatoes were first cultivated in Peru by the Incas.
- Potatoes were introduced to Europe (Ireland) toward the end of the 16th century.
- Potatoes began to be planted in the colonies in the early 1700s.
- Potatoes are the #1 vegetable crop in the United States and 4th most consumed in the world.
- Idaho is the largest grower of potatoes.
- The potato was the first vegetable to be grown in space.
Some useful cooking terms
What does it mean when recipes say “to taste” about an ingredient?
When recipes say “to taste,” it means that you can put in as little or as much as you like to your own taste. Some recipes have many ingredients that a cook can adjust to their own taste when cooking (not so much when baking, though).
The best way to calculate what your taste is with a recipe that you are not yet familiar with is to first taste the dish and then add the “to taste” ingredient GRADUALLY, a little at a time—a splash of this or a pinch of that—until the dish is just the way you like it.
Make sure to stir the ingredient after each time you add it so that the flavor will distribute evenly and become part of the dish. Then taste again. Repeat until you reach your personal preference.
Note: If you plan on using the recipe again, it is highly recommended to make a note of what and how much you added so that you can refer to it next time.
What does it mean when a recipe says that an ingredient is “optional”?
If an ingredient is “optional,” it means that you can add it in or not based on your own preference. An optional ingredient can be flavor-related (i.e., salty, sweet, spicy, etc.), appearance-related (garnish), or even something like nuts or chocolate chips in baking.
What does “savory” mean?
“Savory” refers to foods that are not sweet, such as foods that taste salty, spicy, or herbal.
What does “sauté” mean?
To cook quickly in a small amount of oil or fat in a frying pan on a relatively high heat that causes a slight browning of the food on the outside.
What does “dice” mean?
To cut into small cubes.
What does “chop” mean?
To cut into small (bite-size) pieces.
What some measurement expressions really mean:
Drop – ¹/₆₄ teaspoon (or less—it’s however a literal drop comes out)
Smidgen – ¹/₃₂ teaspoon
Pinch – ¹⁄₁₆ teaspoon (what you can grab between your finger and thumb)
Dash – ⅛ teaspoon (what comes out when you shake out of a shaker or bottle)
Tad – ¼ teaspoon
Dollop—a glob on a spoon (like with mayonnaise or ice cream)
Scant—a scant cup is almost a cup, just below the line.
Heaping—above the line of the spoon (teaspoon, tablespoon)*
Everyday pantry essentials to keep in your kitchen (suggested)
I have found that having ingredient “essentials” on hand in my kitchen saves me time and allows me to make a large variety of dishes with little notice.
Seasoning and flavoring:
- salt (my recipes use regular table salt)
- ground black or white pepper
- granulated garlic or garlic powder (I prefer granulated)
- onion powder
- sweet paprika and/or sweet pepper flakes (paprika is ground dried red pepper, pepper flakes are crushed dried red pepper)
- hot paprika, hot pepper flakes, or cayenne pepper (moderately spicy dried ground chili pepper) for those occasional spicy dishes
- ground turmeric
- ground cumin
- ground cinnamon
- ground ginger
- ground nutmeg
- ground cloves (for pumpkin flavors)
- sugar (granulated)
- brown sugar
- chicken consommé powder / beef bouillon powder (regular or vegetarian)
- onion soup mix
- onion flakes (substitute for fresh onion—3 tablespoons for 1 medium onion).
- various herbs
- additional spices to adapt taste to preference
Misc:
- oil / margarine / butter / cooking spray
- coconut cream as a dairy-free cream substitute
- flavorless milk substitute as a dairy-free milk alternative
- cornstarch as a thickening agent
- flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- bread crumbs or cornflake crumbs (you can make these with your blender or food processor) for coating
- condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce
- tomato sauce/tomato paste/canned tomatoes—diced or crushed/pasta sauce
- soy sauce (makes a great flavoring for savory foods)
- ready-made pie crusts and dough (to just add filling)
We always have eggs in the fridge and onions, rice, and potatoes on our shelves, as well as pasta.
In addition, having some fresh vegetables in the fridge, such as carrots, celery, tomatoes, bell peppers (various colors), etc., can be very useful when putting together a quick but delicious meal.
What is actually needed to have on hand to make this creamy vegetarian potato soup?
milk
potatoes, diced small
flour
butter
salt and pepper
shredded cheese for topping (optional)
Love soup?
Try these!
- Easy Vegan Split Pea Soup
- Easy Vegetarian French Onion Soup
- Vegetarian Egg Drop Soup
- Easy Barley Beef Soup
- Vegetarian Israeli White Bean Soup
Easy Creamy Vegetarian Potato Soup
Creamy and delicious potato soup.
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk
- 2 medium potatoes, diced small
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup butter
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Pour milk into a pot and add the butter and diced potato.
- Bring to a boil.
- Lower heat to medium low (if it is too hot, the milk could burn).
- When the potatoes have cooked through (approximately 15 minutes or so), remove approximately 1/4 cup of the mixture and place in a bowl.
- Then slowly add half of the flour mixing well to create a slurry.
- Place back into the pot and mix the slurry in well.
- Cook for 5 minutes or so allowing the soup to thicken (if the soup isn't thick enough to your liking, repeat steps 4 and 5 with a little more flour).
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
If your soup becomes too thick, add a little milk until you reach your desired consistency.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 657Total Fat: 38gSaturated Fat: 23gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 790mgCarbohydrates: 61gFiber: 4gSugar: 15gProtein: 21g