Cream of Celery Soup (dairy-free)

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This cream of celery soup is healthy, easy, fresh, delicious and light. It’s naturally vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free (thanks to a little coconut milk).

(dairy-free) This cream of celery soup is healthy, light and fresh. It's naturally vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and paleo.

It’s a good thing holidays are spaced out fairly evenly…so I have time to pile on the greens between the mounds of chocolate. Welcome to my version of balance. And so far, it seems to work.

With Valentine’s Day down (well, technically in a few hours) and St. Patricks Day looming on the horizon, I thought I’d retreat to this clean, green, fresh and light soup. Truth be told, I was also itching for a soup to batch cook, so I could fill up my little apartment freezer with ready-made, reheat-able meals. I thought this creamy celery soup sounded perfect.

(dairy-free) This cream of celery soup is healthy, light and fresh. It's naturally vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and paleo.

(dairy-free) This cream of celery soup is healthy, light and fresh. It's naturally vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and paleo.

Yes, it’s a cream of celery soup, but don’t let the creamy part fool you because I’ve kept it dairy-free. A lovely can of full-fat coconut milk is to thank for that. But really, this celery soup is just a bunch of sliced and diced celery, leek and onion. Talk about palate and gut cleansing.

But the best thing – it’s super easy. Just sauté those diced up veggies with garlic for 10 minutes, then simmer with chicken or vegetable stock to let all the flavors meld. If you have some fresh herbs on hand, toss those in as well. Once that’s done, you can either transfer the soup to a high-powered blender, or use a hand blender to mix right in the pot. For soups like this, I usually opt for the latter (because I’m a total klutz). A hand blender also gives you the option of how creamy or chunky you’d like to make it.

(dairy-free) This cream of celery soup is healthy, light and fresh. It's naturally vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and paleo.

(dairy-free) This cream of celery soup is healthy, light and fresh. It's naturally vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and paleo.

If you watched my Instagram stories this week, you saw my little pressie from KitchenAid in the mail – a brand new, cordless Pro Line Hand Blender. Excuse me while I swoon. I’ve always had a regular corded hand blender, but now that I have my fancy cordless hand blender, watch out. In fact, I’m so excited about it, it’s also likely to appear on a Facebook live demo – homemade mayonnaise anyone?

But I digress. Back to this cream of celery soup. It’s simple, fresh, delicious and light – and topped with celery leaves and a sprinkle of black pepper and paprika. It’s a perfect starter soup paired with a hearty meal, or a complete meal if you’re looking for lighter fare. Delicious either way.

Enjoy!

(dairy-free) This cream of celery soup is healthy, light and fresh. It's naturally vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and paleo.

(dairy-free) This cream of celery soup is healthy, light and fresh. It's naturally vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and paleo.

Cream of Celery Soup (dairy-free)

4.84 from 30 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Total: 45 minutes
Servings: 2 servings
Author: Lisa Bryan

Description

This creamy celery soup is healthy, easy, fresh, delicious and light. It's naturally vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free (thanks to a little coconut milk). 

Ingredients 
 

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 medium onion, diced
  • 1 leek, cleaned, with white and light green parts diced
  • 8 stalks celery, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/3 cup full-fat coconut milk

Garnish

  • Celery leaves, black pepper and paprika

Instructions 

  • Heat the oil in large pot on medium heat. Add the diced onion, leek and celery and sauté for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté another minute or two, until fragrant. 
  • Add the stock and salt to the pot. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Simmer for 20 minutes. 
  • Remove the soup from the heat and add the coconut milk. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup, making it as creamy or chunky as you'd like. Alternatively, you can transfer the soup in batches to a high-powered blender to blend until creamy. 
  • Serve the soup and garnish with celery leaves and a sprinkle of black pepper and paprika. 

Nutrition

Calories: 441kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 1993mg | Potassium: 1141mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 1460IU | Vitamin C: 14.7mg | Calcium: 126mg | Iron: 3.5mg
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Celery Soup, Cream of Celery Soup, Creamy Celery Soup, Dairy Free Celery Soup, Vegan Celery Soup
Did you make this recipe?Mention @downshiftology or tag #downshiftology!

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About the author

Lisa Bryan

Lisa is a bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, and YouTuber (with over 2.5 million subscribers) living in sunny Southern California. She started Downshiftology in 2014, and is passionate about making healthy food with fresh, simple and seasonal ingredients.

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Recipe Rating




76 Comments

  1. Loved it. It’s a great creamy soup version. I do one the same but with broccoli. This one was a good version.5 stars

      1. I love this soup. The last time I made it I eliminated the coconut milk…maybe add a little reg milk or cream. I added a parsley pesto at serving. It was delicious. I may even like it cold rather than hot. Like a vichyssoise without the potato. Yum.

      2. Hi Stephanie – I love the idea of adding parsley pesto on top! Glad you enjoyed this soup.

  2. Grew celery in my raised garden for the first time and holy smokes I ended up with a ton of celery. I avoid dairy as much as possible and this recipe sounded perfect. The homegrown celery is so good in this recipe. If you want to add a protein bake a couple pieces of cod and add to the soup when serving. The coconut milk gives it a hint of Thai cuisine and the fish is a perfect pairing.5 stars

  3. I didn’t have a leek, so I added a little extra onion and some garlic powder. I, also added about a cup of diced carrots. It was delicious!5 stars

  4. I’m sipping on it now :)

    No oil, a hint of rosemary, and oat milk instead of coconut and it tastes better than Campbell’s.5 stars

  5. Just made this soup as a substitute for regular cream of celery soup that typically goes in my mother-in-law’s southern cornbread dressing because I will be making it vegan-style for Thanksgiving. I must say this soup is absolutely delicious. I never ate regular cream of celery soup when I consumed dairy because it didn’t look appealing, but this soup will definitely be eaten. Thanks for sharing this recipe.5 stars

  6. I used to use cream of celery soup to make scalloped potatoes.
    I’ve been vegan for 30 months now and will be making your recipe to use in the potatoes.
    🤞

  7. Another winner! I sautéed 9 smaller stalks of celery, whatever I had left of a leek + 3-4 green scallions in Avocado oil, shy of a tsp of my homemade roasted garlic puree, chicken bone broth and of course the coconut milk and … OH My Word – this THIS is super creamy and delicious. LOVE LOVE LOVE this soup. Thank you AGAIN!5 stars

  8. This was delicious, Lisa! I put too much of the green part of the leek which made the soup look greenish. Next time I’ll put less of it for this sophisticated look you have in the picture.5 stars

  9. So I am on my third recipe from your site. I have done the beet soup, the carrot soup, and now the creamy celery. All of them are amazing. I can’t wait to keep working my way through your site. You make recipes so easy and delicious I am so glad I found this. 5 stars

    1. Amazing! So glad you’ve been enjoying the soups so far. Can’t wait to hear what you make next Melissa!

  10. Made this today for dinner tonight!! Added a potato and doubled the coconut milk – mashed it because we are in the van without power but it was delicious!!!!! Can’t wait to blend it when we get to a caravan park and have power again, yay!!! But thanks Lisa, it was scrumptious with some crusty bread, a real meal deal!!!!5 stars

  11. My first experience with leek. And it came out FABULOUS! Super easy, super healthy! I followed recipe as directed and loved the black pepper with paprika sprinkles as well.  Delicious!5 stars

  12. How can you call this recipe vegan when you give the choice of using chicken stock. How can total recipe time be 45 mins when you state prep time 15 mins cook time 35 mins when I went to school that totalled 50 mins.

    1. Thanks so much for finding that typo on the prep time, I’ve now corrected it. And I call this recipe vegan as it clearly states in the instructions vegetable or chicken stock. Vegans can choose vegetable stock, non-vegans can choose chicken stock. Have a wonderful day!

  13. This is fantastic! Didn’t have coconut milk so used oat which tasted great, if a little thin. I’d make cashew cream to thicken it a bit next time.5 stars

    1. Thanks for the tip, Night! I’ll have to test out the cashew milk to thicken the soup. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!

  14. This recipe for cream of celery soup is delicious!  I made it for dinner tonight. I followed the directions exactly, and it was easy to prepare. I will want to make this again and again!  Thank you!5 stars

  15. Didn’t add the leeks and used Almond Milk. It turned out very good. Even my meat loving hubby enjoyed it! You really can add whatever you heart desires to a soup. You will enjoy the lightness and freshness of this recipe.5 stars

  16. I made this soup tonight, I loved it. Earlier this year I found I was lactose intolerant and found your blog in my quest for yummy recipes that my hubby and I could both enjoy,.  You are my favorite food blogger.  I make your chocolate mug cake often, it’s a hit at home.  Thank you very much. 

    1. Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! And thanks so much for your kind words. I’m thrilled you love my recipes and videos. :) x

  17. Made this tonight. All I did was add raw spinach after the whole process and let it wilt down.  I’m loving it!!5 stars

    1. Love the addition of wilted spinach to this recipe Trudi – yum! I may have to do that next time as well! :) x

  18. This is one of _the_ best coconut soup recipes. I changed it up a little bit because I didn’t have leeks on hand, and I was craving this soup after reading your post! I can easily see this base used in a zuppa toscana recipe. Delicious. Thanks Lisa!

  19. Hello! Thank you so much for this recipe- it looks so good. I was wondering if anyone could tell me how many people this recipe serves.

    1. Hi Sophia – glad you like the recipe! And it serves two. I’ve added that to the recipe description as well. :)

  20. I just made this and it was soooo good. I followed the directions exactly and really appreciate how accurate they were. I deviated just a little however because I wanted my soup to be more hearty, with chunks of vegetables so I added large pieces of carrot, red potato, and mushrooms to the simmer. I then scooped most of them out before putting the soup in the blender, leaving lots of the potato. I think the potato added to the soup’s consistency. Just so delicious.

    1. Love how you customized this soup Barbara and I imagine the potato made it even thicker and creamier – love it! Thanks for sharing!

  21. Wondering if you could substitute another non-dairy milk instead of coconut milk. I thought the coconut interfered with the subtle celery/leek/onion flavors.

    1. Yes, you could substitute any non-dairy milk. The coconut milk (because it’s full-fat) is just a bit creamier, but any will work. :)

    1. It’s a great light soup. I love it as a starter soup before a bigger meal as it won’t fill you up too much. :)

      1. I’m excited to try this, especially since I need to use up a bunch of celery right now! I loved cream of celery soup as a kid, and I’m happy to find your vegan version. Yay! :)

        Is it better to blend the soup completely if freezing or is it ok to leave some of the celery bits? I plan to make the soup and immediately freeze it for later. 

      2. Great – I hope you love the recipe! And I think it would be fine either way for freezing. Some of the larger bits might just be a bit softer. Hope you enjoy it!

  22. Your photos are amazing! I’m always looking for dairy-free recipes. A close friend of mine has inspired me to cut down on dairy.

    1. Thanks Brandi! Yes, some people do feel heaps better by cutting out dairy. I fall into the “dairy light” bucket, but it’s good to experiment and see how you feel! :) x

  23. That looks amazing! Love using coconut milk in ‘cream soups’ since I can’t tolerate cream or milk! Great recipe!

    1. Coconut milk is a great substitute for cream or milk. And since so little is used in this recipe, it’s still light and fresh! :)

  24. In my opinion, chocolate & greens/vegetables is the best, tastiest balance there is! :) Love this nourishing soup recipe – definitely an appropriate “here comes St. Patrick’s Day before we know it” meal.

    1. Seriously, how quickly is the year flying by?! I may even make this again for St. Patrick’s day….it’s sorta green. ;) x