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
A very handy and tasty recipe, thank you. I wanted a light soup and did not use cream or milk and got a light and filling naturally spicy soup. I also like the simple presentation and structure which makes it easy to vary ingredients to come up with a new version of the soup every time.
Nice Olga! Love that you are playing with the recipe.
My son decided to improve his eating habits and added celery to his grocery delivery order. He indicated 6 on the order thinking he’d get 6 stalks but ended up getting 6 bunches. I volunteered to take some and searched for recipes. I made this soup and am so happy with the result that I plan to use up the rest of the celery and freeze a couple batches as well. It is so much more tasty than I expected and very satisfying. I plan to share it with my other family as well.
That is a LOT of celery! Glad you found the soup Gretchen! Thanks for sharing!
This soup is delicious and I don’t really love celery. I never have the fresh herbs on hand but it’s still wonderful. I have made it many times since discovering it.
Great to hear Sarah!
This was soooo good!
Great to hear Ceylan!
Tried it for my first time today. Really nice fresh flavor. At first I thought it might be too bland but after my first couple of bite, I realized that it was not that at all. My only problem was when I after I the parsley & dill and then used my immersion blender, the herbs did not completely blend into the soup but were more bright green swirls in the soup. Not sure what I was expecting & may not cooked them long enough? At any rate, the favor was great. I used a mix of yogurt & maybe a couple of tbls of sour cream.
Great to hear you enjoyed it. You could try softening the herbs just a bit longer… or it could be your blender blade?
I think today is the fourth time I’m making this recipe. What a winner. It helps that I have a greenhouse full of celery, dill and parsley, tons of my homegrown onions, garlic, and potatoes. I also make my own broth. This is the perfect use of everything I have in the house. My SO wants this soup around all the time now. I can’t believe how simple this recipe is, how easy it is to make. Thanks!
thanks, Stephanie!
Oh My! This soup is delicious. I got a bunch of free celery and stumbled on this recipe and I sure am glad I did. I ended up adding a whole bunch of parsley and the same amount of cilantro…a chopped tomatoe and a piece of toast put it over the top. Try this!
Thanks Terri!
Really yummy healthy soup
thanks Marcella!
Tried it. It was awesome. Didn’t have fresh herbs. But turned out so good anyway. Can’t believe how much better this was over canned. Silly me. Everything is better when it’s homemade.
Yes, it is. And better for us, nutritionally. 🙂 Thanks Patricia, glad you enjoyed it!
This was amazing!! Sent it to everyone I know to make 🙂
Awwww… thanks so much!
Wow- I wanted to be sure to leave a comment about this soup because even my S.O. (who doesn’t care for celery much at all) happily ate this! Using cashews was convenient because I could add them to the pot straight away, and I also didn’t have to worry about any of the issues that can arise when adding dairy products to soups. As I ate this I raved at how good the nigella seeds were, so I highly recommend them if you can get your hands on some. They are so jam-packed with flavor!
Glad you enjoyed Jennifer – yes, I agree, the Nigela seeds really elevate this!
Can I substitute sweet potato for white potato?
Hi Kerry- It may muddy the color and give it more sweetness- feel free to try but I’m not sure?
Yes!! The soup is very delicious, I will keep on making and enjoying it. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Rosario
Very nice!
Thanks Roberto!
Very good & easy
Thanks and great to hear!
I’d never heard of or eaten celery soup before today. And I don’t particularly care for celery. But this soup is divine. I will make it again and again. Thanks for recipe.
Awesome Joannie! Glad you gave it a go! Adventurous!
I couldn’t agree with you more! I love this soup!
Can’t believe that celery could taste this good! Didn’t feel the need for cream. Definitely will make this again!
Great to hear Donna!
With still-hot just-made simple celery soup on the stove, I honestly can’t remember why I tried this recipe in the first place, but it’s one of my go-tos. It’s delicious, warm and comforting, and freezes well.
Thanks Jo, so glad you are enjoying this!
I added cumin and it was wonderful
Perfect Secil!
A delicious soup. Made it for friends and they asked for the recipe.
thanks Karon! Glad they enjoyed it!
I made this with cream so it could freeze easily. I thoroughly enjoyed it – the cayenne gave it a needed zip. Thank you. I will definitely make again.
So happy you liked this Harriet!
Very easy to make, healthy and delicious! Thank you!
Great to hear Rachel!
Delicious and easy!!
Awesome Angela!
Was thinking of making this for my friends but wanted to make it a day ahead & reheat it when they arrive … Will that maghr it loose its vibrant colour? Is there any way to keep it vibrant Green for several days?
That is a great question. As long as you don’t overheat it after making it green it should stay. So blend, and cool. then when you reheat, just don’t bring to a boil.
I did not slice the celery thinly and got stringy soup. Taste is great but texture not so much.