This dairy-free potato soup has been one of my favorite soup recipes for decades. It’s light, yet creamy, and has an amazing rich flavor. The recipe is from my flagship book, Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook, but I’ve decided to share it online, too. It’s perfectly nourishing to help you weather the cold seasons ahead.
The Best Dairy-Free Potato Soup with Two Secret Ingredients
I credit two secret ingredients for making this the best dairy-free potato soup. The first is miso, which adds umami to the flavor and complements yellow potatoes so well. It makes this more of a creamy potato miso soup, if you want to be more specific. The second is a touch of cashew butter to smooth the taste and texture without making the soup heavy. Nevertheless, I do have alternative ingredient options and tips in the FAQs below.
Where Do I Find Miso?
It’s actually sold in most grocery stores! Depending on the brand, it can be sold refrigerated or shelf-stable in the Asian food section. If you don’t see it, ask an employee at the store for guidance.
Isn’t All Miso Soy?
Most miso is made with soy, and the type I buy is made with soy. But there are some versions that are soy-free, like Miso Master Chickpea Miso. If you’re concerned about soy for health reasons, see my post called Is Soy Healthy? It addresses fermented products like miso specifically.
How Can I Lower the Sodium?
You can use lower sodium broth and reduce the amount of miso, to taste.
What Can I Substitute for the Miso?
It won’t round out the flavor as well, but you can use salt, to taste, in place of the miso in this creamy dairy-free potato soup.
Would Another Nut or Seed Butter Work in Place of the Cashew Butter?
A creamy and savory nut, like pine nuts, could work well. But I don’t personally recommend almond, peanut, or sunflower seed butter for this dairy-free potato soup recipe. They each have a flavor that’s a bit too pronounced.
What Can I Substitute for the Cashew Butter?
Technically, you can omit it if absolutely needed. But if you want to smooth out the texture and add a light creamy finish, I would add about 1/4 cup coconut milk, coconut cream, or a cream alternative, like Silk, Country Crock, or Califia Farms. Just a little “cream” will lend richness to the potatoes without overwhelming the taste or consistency.
Special Diet Notes: Creamy Potato Soup
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, peanut-free, optionally soy-free, optionally vegan, and optionally vegetarian.
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 cups chicken or vegan no-chicken broth
- ¾ pound Yukon gold potatoes, diced into ½-inch cubes
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon cashew butter
- 1 tablespoon white miso (gluten-free or soy-free, if needed)
- 1 teaspoon dried or chopped fresh chives
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Crispy won ton strips, tortilla strips, or crackers, for serving (gluten free, if needed; optional)
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
- Add the broth, potatoes, and onion powder. Increase the heat to medium and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let the soup cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Transfer the soup to your blender (in batches, if needed) and blend until smooth, about 2 minutes (see Note below).
- Return the soup to your pan. Add the cashew butter and miso and whisk until smooth. Stir in the chives and black pepper.
- Divide the soup between 2 bowls and top with crunchy strips or crackers (if using).
- Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
6 Comments
Does this recipe freeze well? If I where to put portions in the freezer would they come out fine?
I’m not big on freezing meals, but if you typically freeze meals, this soup will freeze as well as any other!
First time i ever used miso, they loved it! We did not use the nut butter, as DS is allergic, it was voted to leave some potato chunks in next time.It had been a long time since we had potato soup with all of DS’s allergies
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it so much Angela! And definitely, potato chunks aren’t a bad thing. You can add a little more potato if you want to leave some chunky.
Delicious! I made this for lunch today, and both my 2-year-old daughter and I are enjoying it. I used tahini instead of cashew butter, and Korean dwenjang paste instead of light miso. If anyone else makes this with dark miso or dwenjang, you might want to add a tad bit of salt to make up for using less of the seasoning
What creative swaps! So glad you both enjoyed it Harmony, and thank you for sharing your version.