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Oh you are going to be so happy with this creamy potato soup. It’s a favorite of mine for very good reason. You’ll never believe that it doesn’t contain dairy!
Update: This recipe was originally published in 2017 and has been republished with all new photos.
Okay, it’s still 90 degrees here but in the morning it’s 60 degrees so I believe that’s cause to celebrate. So I’m declaring it soup weather. I’m working like crazy on a lot of fun comfort food recipes for y’all so there’s plenty more to come.
When I say this 30 Minute Dairy Free Potato Soup is creamy I mean it’s really truly very creamy. It’s a blended soup and that blender makes everything perfectly smooth. You’ll also set aside one cup of diced potatoes to add back in after you’ve blended the rest. We need a few chunks of potato too, right?
Did you catch the part about this being dairy free? I typically avoid potato soup in restaurants because I know they’re full of milk and cheese. Not this one! This means my version is less calories but I’m betting you won’t be able to tell.
Since I’m not using milk the creaminess of this soup comes from a cup of unsweetened canned coconut milk. It doesn’t give the soup any coconut flavor at all!
For this recipe you’ll need (full list of ingredients and instructions are in the recipe card below):
- Potatoes
- Chicken stock or broth
- Onion
- Canned coconut milk
- Dried herbs
- Seasonings
Let’s chat about how to make this luscious soup. First you’ll peel your potatoes and dice them into cubes. Then add them to a soup pot with chicken stock and onion. We’ll let that all simmer until your potato pieces and onion are tender. Since we’ve diced our potato first this doesn’t take much time at all. (You can of course just halve your potatoes to avoid chopping them but I’ve found that the time you save by not chopping really just gets added to the cooking time so it’s not worth it.)
Set aside 1 cup of the cooked diced potatoes. We’ll add those back in a minute. Now blend the remaining potatoes, onions, and chicken stock with canned coconut milk. Oh things are starting to get creamy, friends!
Add the diced potatoes back. Season. You’re done!
Why use unsweetened canned coconut milk?
Canned coconut milk is my favorite way to make dairy free recipes creamy. It’s thick and if you’re not using too much you won’t get a strong coconut flavor. There really is no coconut taste in this soup.
It’s important to make sure you don’t use a sweetened can though. That drastically changes the flavor and won’t work well.
Can you substitute a different milk for canned coconut milk?
In most recipes the answer is no because those other milks are all a lot thinner. But here I say yes since the potatoes do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to achieving the texture we want. You’re welcome to use regular cow’s milk, almond milk, or the refrigerated coconut milk instead of canned coconut milk. Be sure whatever you use is unsweetened and add less since these other milks are not as thick.
What to top this soup with?
Oooo I personally love crispy bits of bacon and chopped green onion! If you’re not avoiding dairy, sour cream and shredded cheddar work great too!
Does this soup freeze well?
Oh yes it does! This soup freezes, thaws, and reheats beautifully. Feel free to double this recipe so you have plenty to freeze.
More 30 minute soup recipes:
30 Minute Dairy Free Tomato Basil Soup
Healthy 30 Minute Hamburger Soup
30 Minute Dairy Free Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs potatoes, russet, yellow, or gold potatoes work best, peeled and diced
- 32 oz chicken stock or broth
- 1/2 white or yellow onion, sliced
- 1 cup canned coconut milk, unsweetened
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme or dried chives
Optional toppings: fresh chopped chives, crispy bacon, drizzle of canned coconut milk
Instructions
- Add chicken stock, onion, and potatoes (peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes) to a soup pot. Bring to boiling and cook for approximately 5 – 8 minutes or until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Be careful to not overcook your potatoes or you'll end up decreasing the amount of chicken stock you have.
- Once cooked, remove 1 cup of the diced potatoes from chicken stock. Set aside in a separate dish.
- Blend the diced potatoes (excluding the 1 cup you set aside), onion, chicken stock, and 1 cup canned coconut milk until smooth.
- Pour the blended soup back into your pot. Add the 1 cup diced potatoes you set aside earlier, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and dried thyme (or dried chives). Stir.
- Ladle the finished soup into bowls and top with fresh chopped chives and crispy bacon.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I just made this for dinner and it was great! I added some carrots in after blending it just for some more texture but if you like a very chunky potato soup I’d withhold more than 1 cup of potatoes before blending. Couldn’t taste the coconut milk at all!
This was surprisingly good! Will probably add more veggies to it or keep more of the potatoes in chunks, but overall really good!
Best best best!
HOW IS THIS DAIRY FREE!?
My husband couldn’t believe it!!!!!!!
This was delicious!! A lot of recipes claim to not taste like coconut, but fall a bit short. This one truly did taste like a heavy-cream based potato soup, and will be made again over the winter!!
Loved the richness of this soup, it was so satisfying! I don’t usually love the coconut flavor but this was nice and mild! So easy and a definite repeat in our house!
It’s good. The coconut is very overwhelming. I added some baking soda to help mask the flavor of the coconut milk.
Absolutely amazing. I would never know it is dairy free, and the people I feed it to don’t either!
I tried this recipe because I needed a dairy-free recipe right now because I am sick with Bronchitis. And I had marvelous fresh potatoes fresh from Idaho. It was very good, I was surprised. I did add corn and celery, as I do in my regular soup. I saved more than one cup of potatoes to have more bits to chew. I am glad I did.
Love, love, love this soup! It is so creamy and delicious. Also, 30 minutes as advertised. Perfect for a quick weeknight meal. Adding this to my regular rotation.
Thanks Christina!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it and were able to get it made in 30 minutes! Thanks for the kind comment, Sheri!
This is by far my favorite potato soup. I’ve tried making other recipes and they always turn out wrong. I’ve made this one three times…and each time it’s perfect. Made it for a big party and received tons of compliments. Thanks for sharing!