Creamy Dairy Free Potato Soup (with Vegan and Gluten Free options)

Recipe PDF here: Creamy Dairy Free Potato Soup

Here is another dish I made for my dairy intolerant wife. She really enjoys cream based soups, but simply cannot eat them. I like them as well, but often after I am also left feeling a bit upset from the heavy creams, cheese, and everything else in them.

This option is pretty stomach friendly. I even ate two bowls while testing recipes, and had 2 bowls and (oink oink) two and a half grilled cheese sandwiches with American cheese and butter for dinner the same evening. My stomach was perfectly fine afterwards. Your mileage may vary after all the grilled cheeses though.

I made a meatless batch for some friends of ours, as well as a meat-filled batch for my wife and I. Both turned out great!

Vegan and Gluten Free Options

Let me get this out of the way so I do not have to keep referring to it in the directions. I will be using the ingredients I want to use, such as meat and cheese, but you don't have to. You do you!

Vegans
My recipe uses chicken broth. As such, this is not vegan friendly. Instead, use the closest thing you can find to chicken broth. There are some DIY recipes out there you can google for that use common seasonings that are a close substitute. I would try those. I have not tested them myself yet, but they make sense in terms of flavor profile.

Obviously, you will want to ignore the sausage and bacon I use in my own soup. If you use a vegan cheese for a topping, make sure it is something that tastes good on its own, as it is going to add that flavor to your entire bowl of soup.

Gluten Free
We are just using chicken broth, vegetables and almond milk and some meat. All of which have no gluten. Just double check the chicken broth you are going to use, some brands add various glutens in for whatever reason.

Let's get started!

The main substitution for this cream based soup is that I used almond milk instead of cow milk. Use whatever other milks you like, even using regular cow milk. It will all do the same thing in the end.

I also like thick and hearty soups, so adjust the veggies and meat to your liking.

Grilled cheese sandwiches are a great pairing with this soup.

Ingredients

TIP: For easier recipe following, you may want to go ahead and get all the ingredients out that you need, chopped, pre-measured and ready to go. I use whatever bowls/cup/etc I have available to put them in. Ingredients you add together at the same time can be combined. For instance, you can put the veggies in a bow, and all the spices in a little cup, etc. Keep the potatoes in their own bowl since they are added later. This all makes it quick and simple to just add each set of ingredients as needed instead of measuring or cutting while in the middle of cooking. Prep as much as you can ahead of time, then cook.

Veggies

• 3 celery stalks, sliced
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 1 head broccoli, cut into tiny florets
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 potatoes, cubed

Meats (Optional)

• 12 slices of bacon, chopped (half for soup, half for toppings later)
• 4-6 links Italian sausage (sweet or heat, your choice)

Seasonings

• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp rosemary

Liquids

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 Cups chicken broth
• 3 Cups milk

Thickener

• 1/2 cup water
• 5 Tbsp corn starch

Toppings (Optional)

• Green onions, sliced (for topping)
• Shredded cheese
• Chopped bacon (left over from what you didn't use in the soup)

Instructions

1. In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
   
2. Add sausage, and cook until browned, then remove.
3. Add chopped bacon and cook until browned. Then remove.
4. Do not drain the grease/olive oil from the pot (unless there is an excessive amount)
5. Add the celery, carrots, broccoli and onion. Stir well to coat everything in the olive oil and bacon grease. Stir occasionally until softened.
6. Once softened, add garlic, black pepper, salt, basil and rosemary and continue to stir for a couple more minutes.
7. Take care not to let anything burn or stick to the bottom of the pot.
8. Add chicken broth and milk to the pot, and stir well
9. Add potatoes, sausage and half of the bacon into the soup
10. Bring this to a boil, and then reduce heat to a low boil.
11. Continue to boil until the potatoes are fork soft to your liking (pull one out and try it)
12. While the soup is boiling in the pot, prepare the thickener. Add 5 heaping Tbsp of corn starch to 1/2 cup of water. Stir well until dissolved. It will be thick and clumpy for the first few stirs, but will quickly dissolve.
13. When the potatoes are to your liking, give the cornstarch mixture a good stir again and add all of it to the soup.
14. Continue to stir for another few minutes.
15. When finished, remove the soup from heat, and let it stand for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. You should notice it thickening. If any cornstarch floats to the top, just stir, it will eventually dissolveinto the soup completely.
16. Dip yourself a bowl of soup, top with the other half of the chopped bacon, green onion and shredded cheese.