Description
This dairy-free version of “creamy” potato soup packs in so many nutritional elements it will leave you feeling really good about dinner and about your healthy choices!
Ingredients
- 1 cup carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 4 cups russet potatoes, peeled and diced (about 1 1/2 pounds)
- 3 cups cauliflower florets, plus extra for final garnish
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds, skinless
- 4–6 cups water
- Hot sauce, optional
- Garlic oil or other infused oil flavor, optional
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Set a large, heavy bottom pot over medium-heat. Add olive oil and warm. Once warm, add carrots, onions and celery along with dried thyme and salt and pepper. Saute until softened and onions are translucent, stirring often.
- Add potatoes, cauliflower and almonds and stir to combine, then pour in the water. Use just enough to come right to the top of the veggies. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer gently until all the veggies are extremely tender, about 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your dice. Potatoes should fall apart when you pierce them with a fork. Add more water as necessary, but not too much as we don’t want our final soup to be too thin.
- Once veggies are extremely tender, remove pot from heat. Use a ladle to scoop the soup into a blender. You will likely have to work in batches. Remember to always use caution when blending hot liquids. Make sure the speed is set to low and the lid is on tight before turning on the blender. Starting at a low speed, if your blender offers adjustable power, slowly increase speed until the soup is blending well. Add more liquid from the pot as necessary. Pour pureed soup into a separate bowl and repeat with the rest of the veggies until everything is blended.
- FYI – with potatoes, you want to blend only as much as necessary to get a smooth texture. Blending them too long can make them gummy.
- Once all the soup is pureed you can pour it back into the pot and rewarm, or simply scoop and serve! I love to top mine with mini cauliflower florets to add crunch and texture, as well as some hot sauce and a flavored oil. Nuts, croutons or a small crumble of goat cheese would also be good!
Notes
Normally I blend soups with my hand-held immersion blender right in the pot, but because I use almonds in this recipe, I prefer to use my Vitamix to blend the soup really smooth. If you don’t have a good blender, no worries, use an immersion blender and just know you’ll have a little more texture. Or, leave out the almonds to get a smoother texture even with the hand-held.
looks great!
★★★★
Looks yummy, but I’m allergic to cruciferous veggies.(and dairy) How might I adapt this?
Hi Bunny – thanks for asking. There is no dairy in the recipe, so that’s good there. As for the cauliflower, you can just leave it out. Use extra potato instead. Simmer until the potatoes are really, really soft – like, falling apart, and then give the puree a head start by mashing everything with a potato masher first. That way you don’t have to blend the potatoes as long and they won’t get gummy. I hope you enjoy!
Thanks Emily! Can I use my Vita Mix in place of Food processor as well as blender in recipes?
Can’t wait to try lots of these!!
Hi Bunny – you have to be careful when trying to blend potatoes in a food processor or blender. They can become very gummy. In the case of the potato soup here, the cauliflower and almonds help off set that tendency. If you are doing just straight potatoes, I would use a handheld blender before a vitamix. If you only have a vitamix, blend very quickly, and in small doses to keep a close watch. Good luck! I hope you enjoy.
Wonderful recipe!!