This hearty vegan cream of celery soup tastes just like the classic, yet without dairy. It’s rich, creamy, and pure vegan comfort food! Using a few simple ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen; this easy soup is a family favorite! Rich creamy classic comfort food like mom used to make... only made vegan!
This vegan cream of celery soup is gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and can be made soy-free too.
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🧾 Ingredients
- Broth - I like to use the Not Chick’n broth cubes because my family likes that flavor, but any vegetable broth will work.
- Celery - Because it's cream of celery soup.
- Garlic powder - for flavor. You can also use onion powder or fresh garlic.
- Nutritional Yeast - For a savory slightly cheesy flavor (optional). You can learn more about nutritional yeast in this detailed post.
- Salt and Pepper - to season the soup. I like to add a dash of red pepper flakes for more flavor and a little heat.
- Turmeric - For color and nutritional benefits.
- Plant-Based Milk - Any plain flavored plant-based milk will make it creamy. You also may want to use unsweetened milk if you don’t want it too sweet. I like to use soy milk or oat milk in this soup since they are thick and creamy, but you can also use almond milk or any other you prefer.
- Fat - Any neutral-flavored oil or vegan butter or margarine will work to make a vegan roux.
- Flour - Regular all-purpose flour will work well to make a vegan roux to thicken the soup. If you need it to be gluten-free, I find the gluten-free flour mix from Trader Joe's works the best for making a gluten-free roux. You can also omit the roux method and make your soup fat-free and gluten-free by using corn or potato starch to thicken it.
🔪 Helpful tools
- 2 soup pots - One for making the broth and 1 for making the roux.
- A ladle - For scooping up the broth.
- Whisk - For stirring the roux.
🥄 How to make vegan cream of celery soup
Step 1 - Heat the broth and some spices in a soup pot.
Step 2 - Add chopped celery stalks to the pot and simmer.
Step 3 - Once the celery is soft, add the plant-based milk of choice.
Thicken the soup by making a roux.
Step 4 - Heat oil or soy margarine in a separate soup pot.
Step 5 - Add flour to the oil and stir the mixture with a whisk until smooth. It will start to bubble and thicken slightly and look like the picture below.
Step 6 - Skim off ladles full of the broth out of your soup, leaving large pieces of celery behind.
Step 7 - Add the hot broth from the celery soup one ladle at a time, stirring well between each scoop.
Step 8 - Add the remaining soup with the celery once most of the broth has been incorporated into the roux.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- When you first add the broth to the oil and flour mixture, it will become very thick at first and look like a paste. (Like the picture below). Don’t worry, it will thin out and be the right consistency once you add all the broth.
- Be sure to stir it well between each ladle of broth to keep it smooth.
- Use a spoon to scrape the bottom corners of the pan to make sure to get any of the roux that has stuck to the corners.
❓Frequently asked questions
You can make a roux using gluten-free flour instead of wheat flour. Just be sure to use a gluten-free flour mix that does not contain sorghum flour. When I tried it using any mixes with sorghum flour, it had a weird slimy texture. I usually use the general gluten-free flour mix from Trader Joe’s and it works well for me every time.
If you want this soup to be fat-free, simply thicken it with cornstarch (or potato starch) and water. (Use ¼ cup cornstarch dissolved in ½ cup cold water and then add it to the hot broth at the end once all other ingredients have been added. Then heat it until it bubbles and thickens). This is still a delicious soup made this way, just not quite as rich and creamy as the roux method.
I haven’t found a person yet who doesn’t love this soup! It tastes great the next day too, so make a big pot and enjoy it in lunches too!
🥘 How to serve vegan cream of celery soup
Serve it with some vegan Caesar salad, vegan drop biscuits, vegan cheddar bay biscuits, vegan focaccia, or gluten-free vegan breadsticks, and make it a meal!
🥡 Storage and reheating
Refrigerator: The vegan cream of celery soup will keep well in the fridge for 3 - 5 days in a sealed container.
Freezing: This soup can be stored in the freezer for later, just be sure to use an airtight container or freezer bag and it will keep well up to 3 months in the freezer!
Defrosting: Allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Reheating: Reheat one serving at a time in the microwave for 3-4 minutes or in a pot on the stovetop until warm. You may want to add a few tablespoons of water if reheating on the stovetop to account for evaporation.
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Vegan cream of celery soup recipe
Vegan Cream of Celery Soup
Ingredients
- 6 cups water
- 2 cubes Not Chick'n Broth Or other veggie bullion or use vegetable broth instead of water
- 4 cups celery chopped (2 large celery hearts)
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 1/2 cup plain soy milk or other plain plant-based milk
For the roux
- 1/2 cup vegan margarine or oil
- 1/2 cup white flour or GF flour mix without sorghum flour
Instructions
- Bring the water or broth and spices (turmeric, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, nutritional yeast) to a slow boil in a medium-sized soup pot.
- Add the chopped celery and simmer at a slow boil for about 8 minutes until celery is tender.
- Add the plant-based milk of choice and turn heat to low to just keep warm.
To make the roux
- Heat the margarine or oil over medium-low heat and sprinkle in the flour.
- Stir with a whisk until it mixes completely and starts to bubble.
- Add celery soup one ladle at a time and stir well with the whisk between each ladle full. (Carefully try to scoop out the broth leaving the chunks of celery in the original pot until most of the broth has been added and the thickened broth is smooth and creamy).
- Continue to ladle a small amount of the soup into the roux stirring well between each scoop until all of the soup is now in the pot with the roux.
Notes
- To make this fat-free you can also use 1/4 cup of cornstarch mixed with 1/2 cup of cold water and add it to the soup at the end of cooking.
- The roux method is a little labor-intensive but well worth it for what it does for the richness and taste of the soup.
- Do not try this with gluten-free flour mixes that contain sorghum flour. For some reason, it gets a slimy consistency.
- To make this lower fat, you can reduce the oil in the roux to 1/4 cup.
Nutrition
*This recipe was originally published on May 16, 2018. It was updated on February 25, 2022, to include new images and more detailed information.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
What an amazing soup! Just like the Heinz celery soup one I had as a child, I have been looking for this for years. Thank you.
You're welcome! I'm so happy that you liked the recipe!
This recipe, for me, nailed what cream of celery soup should be. Easy to make too. This is just like the Campbell’s Cream of Celery soup out of a can that I used to have as a child, only significantly better. My non-vegan husband had seconds and thirds of this. Thanks for this great recipe!
I'm so happy that you and your husband like it. It is defiantly one of my family's favorites!
Can a roux be made without any oils or butter??
I can’t have either.
You could easily make this soup without oil or butter. It does help a bit flavour wise but I don't think it would be a huge difference. Just cook the veggies in the broth and use the ingredients you can consume. I am currently having to remove many things from my diet because of migraines and IBS but I have been pleasantly surprised when I use good quality ingredients how good I can make a soup. I like to partially puree the soups I make to make the veggie flavours more prevalent in the broth.
Roux without oil is not possible, but replacement with another thickening agent really is. Mix 1 tbsp corn starch, cassava starch or potato starch with very cold water, and pour into the soup (instead of adding it to the roux). Mix furiously for a minute so you don't get lumps, then let the soup come back to the boil for a minute or two. If it's still too thin, repeat until you are happy. Blessings...
It was wonderful as reviewed by many others! It seems hard to imagine it being so flavorful with so few ingredients, but was a big hit! Husband absolutely loved it!
I'm so glad that you and your husband liked the recipe! 🙂
This soup! It has become a family favorite and it's what I want when I have a cold or I'm feeling down. (No chicken soup for me!) I have made it a couple of times and today I made it with asparagus instead of celery and it was equally delicious. Yum, yum, yum! Thank you so much for the recipe.
You're welcome, Anne! I'm so happy that you like it! I could eat this soup every day! 🙂
This is a delicious soup! I made it exactly as outlined and it turned out perfectly. I like a lot of flavor in my soups, so I was concerned that this would be too bland. It isn't. It's perfection. This will become a regular in our meal rotations.
I'm so happy that you liked the recipe, Roxanne! 🙂
Hi Monica,
I just made the soup, It is so delicious.
I had some celery and bok choi at home, I had no idea what to prepare, Pinterest suggested your recipe.
I just added some nutmeg at the end
I love it, thank you
I'm so happy that you liked it, Dan. It is one of my family's favorite soups! I'm glad that you found my recipe! 🙂
Hi
Do you blend this soup? 🙂
No, I usually leave chunks of celery, but you can definitely blend it if you want it all creamy. Enjoy! 🙂
Possibly blend half (before thickening) and leave the rest intact. Any, all or no blending to your own preference is going to be amazing.
Thank you for your delicious Vegan Cream of Celery Soup recipe Monica. I enjoyed the quick easy prep of this recipe and it just seemed to disappear out of the pot after serving. The flavours are perfect and the celery was cooked to perfection in the instructed cooking time of only 8 minutes. Your recipe has been printed and will recreated many times over.
This soup is a favorite in our house too! I'm so happy that you liked it! 🙂
Tastes amazing and so easy to make
Thanks so much! I'm glad that you liked it! 🙂
This soup is delicious. Best celery soup I have ever made. I used potatoe flour and a dairy free pea beverage. Will definitely make again.
Lorraine
I'm so happy that you like it, Lorraine. This soup is a staple in our house! 🙂
Just made this yesterday. I've never made a cream soup before with a roux base and was apprehensive that I would have problems, however, I'm happy to report this soup was super easy! The directions were really clear and the pictures helpful. I halved the recipe as my husband doesn't like cream of celery soup and I was pleased with my results. Now it's opening up all sorts of possibilities for cream of potato with roasted garlic, cream of broccoli, and others ... Thanks so much for posing this recipe - it's a keeper! 🙂
Aww, thanks so much! I'm so happy that you tried it and liked it! The roux can be a little intimidating, but it's not that hard and so worth it in taste and texture! I have a lot of other creamy soup recipes on my site like cream of mushroom, cream of "chicken," and even vegan Zuppa Toscana. Hope you check them out too!
I absolutely had the same roux concern but I used sunflower oil and white flour on low heat and it was perfect. I added a few dashes of extra spices (smoked paprika, onion powder, rosemary, thyme). Before it was done my husband was over my shoulder waiting for a taste. Thank you for this easy and delicious recipe!
I'm so happy that it turned out well for you Margaret! I always love this soup! The smoked paprika and other herbs sound delicious! 🙂
Hi,
Can you give me a simple but healthy and tasty recipe for vegetable broth?
Thank you.
Michel Badiere
michelbad@bell.net
I usually use a veggie broth bouillon cube to make it quick and easy, but you can also make your own with vegetable scraps. You can just boil them down and add salt to it, then strain out the vegetables. I currently don't have a recipe for broth, but you can check out this one. It is very close to what I do. https://ohmyveggies.com/how-to-make-vegetable-broth-with-kitchen-scraps/
We make this! The person who introduced it to me calls it “trash broth”, appealing, I know. Haha!
Strange name for it. This soup is always a hit with my family! 🙂
I just had this for dinner last night with your gluten free bread sticks! My family loved it! We ate every last bite and my kids even licked out their bowls!
Hi Gwen, I'm so happy that your family liked it!