A healing bowl of Celery Soup – comforting, affordable, and flavorful, that can be made in 35 minutes. Healthy, delicious and vegan adaptable- watch the 35-second Video!
Love soup? Take a peek at 25 Cozy Vegetarian Soup Recipes!
When we come to a great barrier, when we find a place inside us we do not know how to navigate, when we are in a painful experience that we cannot avoid, we need to sit right down there–at the root of that experience, at the root of the tree of life- and be still. ~Adyashanti
This recipe for Simple Celery Soup is creamy and luscious ohhhhh so comforting! If you’ve been here a while, you’ll know how much I love to take simple, ordinary ingredients and try to elevate them. It’s something I learned from my very frugal, immigrant parents who would often host the most delicious dinners while using the humblest, most cost-saving ingredients.
This Celery Soup could be the start of a grand meal. It could also be a wholesome homemade supper, simply served with crusty bread. What I love most about this is, how adaptable it is. It is really easy to make this vegan. For more plant-based soup inspiration, take a peek at our 25 Cozy Vegetarian Soup Recipes!
Watch how to make Simple Celery Soup!
Oftentimes I’ll skip the dairy completely and make this with cashews, cooked right in the soup.
Sometimes I’ll make it with sour cream, giving it a delicious tanginess and extra richness.
Traditionally, it’s made with butter and heavy cream, which is totally fine too. Up to you!
Do what feels best.
Here I’ve topped the soup with crispy celery leaves and toasted nigella seeds and some hemp seeds, but really, you can top it any way you like.
Croutons are always a nice option, as well as my new favorite, halloumi croutons, or millet croutons if going grain-free.
The crispy celery leaves are a beautiful touch and are really simple to make too.
Nigella Seeds are often used in Indian and Middle Eastern cooking and offer up a pungent, oniony-peppery, herbal flavor, that is especially nice when toasted in a little oil. Sometimes they are called black cumin or black caraway seeds.
They are not imperative to the recipe, but if you have Nigella seeds, try them out-they will elevate!
And if you are curious about the health benefits of celery – they are numerous!
Seriously, just google it!
Celery fights inflammation, lowers cholesterol, lowers blood pressure and is super high in antioxidants, just to name a few.
Health benefits aside, I personally just really loooooooove the flavor. I am one of those people who fill celery stalks with almond butter and sprinkle them with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. A tasty snack!
As common as celery is, it truly is a flavor enhancer.
So for me, to have a bowlful of this Celery Soup with warm toasty bread ….. is beyond amazing!
I hope you like it too!
More recipes you may like:
- 25 Cozy Vegetarian Soup Recipes
- Potato Leek Soup
- Coconut Corn Chowder
- Homemade Tomato Soup
- North African Carrot Soup
- Creamy Celeriac Soup
- Parsnip Soup
- Simple Cabbage Soup
- Farmers Market Vegetable Soup
Have a lovely weekend!
xoxo
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Simple Celery Soup
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 7 cups 1x
- Category: Soup, vegan, Gluten free
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A healing bowl of Celery Soup- comforting, affordable and flavorful, that can be made in 35 minutes. Healthy, delicious and vegan adaptable!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, or butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 fat garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 6 cups celery, sliced thin (about 1 1/4-1 1/2 pounds) 1 extra-large head, save some leaves for garnish
- 2 cups potatoes, sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds ( about 3/4 lb – 1 extra-large russet peeled, or use a few yukons, unpeeled.
- 4 cups veggie or chicken broth ( or 4 cups water + 1 tablespoon “Better than Bouillon” Vegetable Base)
- 1 cup water
- 1 bay leaf (optional), remove it before blending
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, start conservatively, add more to taste or leave it out entirely.
Add:
- 1/4 cup fresh dill (small stems ok)
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley (small stems ok)
- Stir in: 1/2 cup (or more) of probiotic sour cream, vegan sour cream, heavy cream or cashew cream. (see notes)
- Garnish: Crispy celery leaves, nigella seeds, hemp seeds (all optional, but delicious!)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a big pot over medium-high heat and add the onion, stirring occasionally, letting the onions get golden, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and stir 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Add the celery, potatoes, broth, water, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and cayenne. The liquid should just cover the veggies ( if not, add a little more water). Cover, bring to a rolling boil, turn heat down and simmer gently until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
- Turn heat off, remove bay leaf and add the fresh herbs and just wilt them (don’t cook herbs or you lose the vibrant color!)
- Using an immersion blender blend until very silky smooth – OR if using a regular blender, let cool before blending in smaller batches. ( If blending warm soup, fill blender no more than halfway full, cover tightly with a lid and kitchen towel, holding it down firmly, when you start the motor (on the lowest setting, working up gradually) to prevent a blender “explosion”).
- Blend well, a full minute, until herbs are fully blended, creating a vibrant colored soup. For extra “green” color, add a handful of raw baby spinach if you like, or more fresh parsley.
- Place it back in the same pot over low heat. Stir in your choice of sour cream, or any of the other options. Gently heat, careful to not over-simmer, or you may lose the lovely vibrant color.
- To make the crispy celery leaves, heat a generous amount of olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Wait until the oil is hot. Fry a “tester” celery leaf for 10-20 seconds on each side. Set on a paper towel. If it is crisp, continue on. Adding a few at a time, not overly crowding. If not crisp, fry them a little longer. You want about 3-5 leaves per serving bowl. In the same oil, you could fry the nigella seeds until you just begin to hear popping. Turn heat off. Arrange the crispy celery leaves in a crescent shape. Spoon a little of the nigella seeds along with a little oil in the same shape. Sprinkle with hemp seeds if you like.
Enjoy!
Notes
If using cashew cream, adding a little splash of lemon juice, enlivens the soup. Sour cream and yogurt have a natural tanginess, so you may not need it.
A quick way to make this vegan version ( with cashew cream), is toss the ½ cup of cashews into the simmering pot at the beginning with the celery and potatoes, letting them soften. Then just blend it all up!
Slicing the celery thinly will prevent fibers texture.
If freezing, best to freeze without the sour cream, as it may get granular- then add it later when reheating.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1.5 cups made with ½ cup sour cream
- Calories: 183
- Sugar: 5.2 g
- Sodium: 478.2 mg
- Fat: 9.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.1 g
- Fiber: 4.8 g
- Protein: 4.5 g
- Cholesterol: 8.1 mg
Why haven’t I made celery soup before? I love celery. Thank you for making my first venture into making celery soup so satisfying. Color, texture, flavor…all wonderful. I stayed pretty close to the recipe…just added some rough chopped arugula at the end. Thank you. This may become a staple!
Awesome Susan!
I made the soup and it is delicious, I’m passing it to my family
thanks Olivia!
I love this soup! Thank you so much. Each time I make it it turns out so yummy. Tastes best made in dutch oven type pot! It is my go-to soup for comfort; this and leek soup too, which is a favorite as well. I love the added cayenne, I used a sort of tabasco instead, just enough to help clear a cold ;). The roasted celery leaves and nigelle seeds and hemp seeds really add to it too; I have not yet tried it with dill but once used parsley and coriander. Many thanks!
Glad you enjoy this!
I just made this and it is delicious and so simple. I was surprised with just these few ingredients how much flavour this soup had and was very filling. Thank you so much for another wonderful recipe. I’ve tried many of your recipes and have never been disappointed – always delicious.
thanks Louise!
I’m sure this is deeeeelicious but I must say, simply auguring 4 heads of clean organic celery stalks and heating the juice with a touch of good olive oil a little salt to taste, will knock your socks off. Plus, it takes 3 minutes to make and 2 min to prep.
sounds good too! Clean and simple.
delicious soup! I followed it as written (minus the dill, did not have any) and thought it was awesome. 1/4 teaspoon cayenne was maybe a tiny bit too much but definetly gave this soup a kick!
I am excited to check out more of your recipes!
Thanks Eva- glad you enjoyed!
So good! Sylvia, my wife and I are professional chefs, former restaurant owners and caterers…so we feel great about finding your feasting at home site,
a bit like finding a friend. Celery soup is fabulous! I added a small amount of fresh chopped sage and served the soup with garlic bread, roasted mini pumpkins and brussells sprouts. Delightful! Thank you!
Thanks, David- sounds like we lived parallel lives!
Amazing! I added a whole box of baby spinach and the juice of a whole lemon for the tartness since I made this vegan. It’s as if you wrote this recipe for me. I absolute loved it Sylvia!
Thanks Michelle!
This looks really interesting! Have you ever tried it with yams instead of potato’s? Wondering if that might work 🙂
I have not Stephanie- flavor would work but may muddy the color?
The celery I grow is a red variety, I made the soup and added fresh parsley from the garden. I’m afraid it looks like a muddy puddle and I didn’t like the texture or flavour either.
Hi John- I can’t picture red celery working well in the recipe.
My wife suggested sieving the soup. I did it and she really enjoyed it.
Yes, always an option. 😉
Really flavorful and fresh! The fried celery leaves were a fun garnish. I served the soup with your sourdough recipe. A perfect dinner for a chilly evening!
Thanks Lauri!
Lovely
Thanks Andrew, appreciate it!
I’m certainly no chef, but my wife and I won’t starve.
I tried your celery soup recipe and I managed to score a home run. 👍
DELICIOUS 😋
I’m ready to try something else.
Thanks
Awesome Joseph! glad you nejoyed this!
i definitely would agree with you, but I’m a little slow in the kitchen when it comes to prepping. Potatoes were still dirty from the garden, so scrubbing them was an extra step. Had to paw thru the entire freezer in search of the parsley and dill I had in there (none in the garden or frig and they were perfect, just chopped and frozen). The outcome was definitely worth it. Clean up happened this morning so that doesn’t even count. Probably took me an hour.
Delicious, elegant and restaurant quality. Thank you!
Thanks Jan!
This is a great recipe! I also added a small handful of rice. This gives it a creaminess and thickness, (helpful if not adding potatoes, or dairy. )
Loved the idea of crisping up some leaves to garnish with.
Thank you!
Thanks Irene- glad you enjoyed this!
Could you use dried parsley and dill? And if so, how much?
Hi April! You can, but it will lack the beautiful color and the soup may look drab- so I don’t really reccomend? But if you must, I would do 1 tablespoon dill and 2-3 tablespoons dried parsley. 😉
I didn’t have fresh herbs handy and used dried. I added a coulee of big handfuls of fresh greens at the end and got bright color that way. Not ideal, but still delicious and beautiful!
Great to hear!
Oh o why has nearly all recipes have garlic in them
Feel free to leave out the garlic.:)
Hi, do I use both the stems and the leaves ? Thanks!
Lesta, yes, sure! The laves are good for garnish too.
I love this recipe, apart from the fact that it is delicious it’s an excellent way to use larger quantities of celery and no one likes the stringy bits so I usually have to peel it, but not for this soup. I put blue cheese in mine.
Firstly I LOVE all your recipes!! I’ve made so many of your vegan and vegetarian meals and have yet to find one I don’t like.
This soup is so yummy, healthy, and perfect for a cold rainy day with fresh bread!
I have also made so many of your recipes for friends, all of whom have felt the same.
Thanks Cate!
We were looking for the calories as well! Thank you for posting! 🙂
Amazing soup! Really simple and love that it’s a one-pot meal. Wish I had parsley to make it more vibrant but the flavours were perfect. Thanks for a great recipe!
-Steph
Thanks Stephanie!
I’ve made this so many times & have probably commented already haha. Now I’ve tried 1) doubling the recipe (my largest pot is just enough for the task; cutting & bringing to boil takes longer but whole thing still takes less than 2 hr, which isn’t bad especially with immersion blender and the effort is totally worth it for this is now soup for days) 2) making without dairy (just as delicious) 3) using miso paste as soup base (TASTY!). Me and hubby love this soup and he especially enjoys it cold.
Thanks Bowie- love that you are experimenting with it!
I made this – absolutely delicious!!!
Didn’t have dairy, or potatos. Made simply with double the onions, garlic, celery, stock, parsley and dill. Wow. So flavorful. Next time, I might try cashews or chickpeas, then puree.