This healing bowl of Celery Soup is comforting, affordable, and flavorful and can be made in 35 minutes. One of the most popular soup recipes on the blog with hundreds of 5-star reviews! Video.
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
- Minted Pea Soup
- 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
- 50 Farmers Market Recipes!
Have a lovely weekend!
xoxo
More from feasting at home
- How To Make Falafel
- Recipes with Zucchini
- Kimchi
- Chili in Instant Pot
- Tzatziki Recipe
- Chicken Enchiladas Recipe
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
Delicious soup!! I used the metric conversion and the x2 amounts. Wanted to use the recipe again but the metric conversions and quantity amounts no longer work! Please help!
It seems to be working now- can you try again?
Yay! I jumped the gun a bit on my last comment! All fine and dandy now! Many thanks 🙂
Love this soup! I’m making it right now but only have five cups of celery.. is it possible to substitute carrots for the remaining cup?
Hi Kay- That would ruin the color- can you add more potatoes?
That’s actually what I ended up doing and it was delicious! Color wouldn’t bother me though.. I only care about the taste LOL. Maybe I’ll try carrots sometime if I run short again. Would rather have the extra veggies than starch😁
Hi Kay, my husband has a low carb diet, and from another comment, I substituted cauliflower, so if you’re short on celery, that’s also an option.
Great idea..sounds yummy too!
I made this just to get rid of extra celery, I was surprised at how delicious it was. Loved it.
Awesome Robin!
I make this quickly like a weeknight meal with 2 stalks of pink or green celery from the farmers market.
When I made it this summer with a good amount of fresh parsley I received complaints that it was too strong.
I do not care what others think because this recipe is fine for me. I like it
Great Elliot!
Lovely soup . Very warm and comforting. Nigella seeds added to it x
Omg so delicious. I just made it I’m eating it right now. I just rough chopped everything because I threw it into my NutriBullet with the parsley and dill at the end. I added some Indian chili to the cooking stage so delicious. I didn’t do any of the toppings. I had intended to add cream that I had left over but it totally doesn’t need any.
Glad you enjoyed Cindy!
This was incredibly yummy!
Great to hear Ani!
Very good
I did not thinly slice my celery because I dumped everything into my high powered blender instead. This saved a lot of time. My add in was the fresh dill sitting in my freezer. I sawed off a chunk and let it melt before I blended.
Great depth of flavor and creaminess without nuts!
Perfect way to use up that bunch of celery you had to buy for something else. 😃
Oh good! Glad you enjoyed this!
Can I omit the potatoes? Is there a substitute? Can’t wait to try this. Thanks
They add a nice creaminess- are you going low carb? I think someone tried cauliflower with good results. 😉
This is a very tasty, satisfying and healthy soup! I will definitely make it again.
Awesome Deb! Glad you are enjoying!
Best soup ever. Worthy of a fancy French restaurant.
Thanks Kerry! Appreciate this!
I have only just finished indulging in this soup for the first time, and wanted to thank you immediately. -A-M-A-Z-I-N-G-!! I love the flavour in general, the strength, the smooth texture (thanks for teaching us about the need for thin slicing), and it’s the first celery soup I’ve made for my mother that has brought her a smile quite this large.
Quick question, I think my celery leaves failed to crisp due to the older age of the celery, but are there any tips to getting that crispness for this dressing?
I love you made this for your mom. Sweet. 🙂 I would make sure they are really patted dry, maybe lower the heat a bit and cook for longer?
Amazing! I hate celery but this soup has saved it for me. It’s absolutely delicious. I used vegan coconut yogurt and a splash of oat milk. Thank you so much.
Thanks Ana- I’m so happy you gave it a go. 😉
Delicious healthy soup! I do have a question though, Sylvia, when your recipes call for whatever measurement of fresh herbs, should it be packed/pressed down? Or loosely filled in the measurement cup? Thanks 🙂
Packed typically. 😉 Or what feels right to you. I love lots of herbs.
My husband wanted celery soup for his birthday dinner and I was not sure, well I can now say all 8 of us loved this soup, we had no left overs. This soup is now a staple for our AZ cool weather.
The bonus: low carb and I so easy to keep it fully vegan.
Thank you Sylvia
Great to hear Marilyn!
I have made this several times and it’s our go to. My daughter is in college and always wants me to make this for her to take back. The only thing is, I have never been able to get it as green as yours in the pictures. Did you use dye?
No! Throw in a small handful of baby spinach (raw) when blending, it will brighten it up!
This soup is AMAZING!! Will be making this again and again.
Awesome Amy- thanks!
I add in Stilton cheese at the end to give it a lovely tang. It is my favourite.
Surprisingly delicious! I used a roasted herb & chicken concentrated broth paste, and some arugula and baby spinach salad mix. Beautiful color! Lite sour cream adds richness, but it’s also very good without.
Perfect Dorothy- so happy you like this one!
You have renewed my lost love of cooking. Comforting, delicious, and gorgeous – worth the minor extra effort on the garnish of crisped celery leaves and toasted nigella seeds. Aesthetics are important, can make a meal feel extravagant.
I’m partial to Mediterranean flavors, and tried other blogs, but the others disappointed. Your blog is a winner.
So happy you enjoyed this Carolyn! And thanks for your kind words. 🙂
Hi Sylvia
What a great recipe!
I used fresh chicken stock and finished it with rich sheep yogurt. I didn’t have the herbs so I diced up a gizzard from the stock pot, sautéed it with red pepper flake sand used it as a garnish. I needed a new soup idea and this is it!
Thank you!
Thanks Judy! Glad you enjoyed it!
This was so bitter, and the cayenne (even though I only used a pinch, not the full amount) overwhelmed any vegetal flavors. I used fresh celery from a local farm, so perhaps it had too strong of a flavor for this soup? I actually ended up throwing the soup out, sadly
Sorry to hear that Heather, not sure what could have made it bitter here.
You might find this article helpful: 5 Reasons Why Your Celery Tastes Bitter | Gardener’s Path
https://gardenerspath.com/plants/vegetables/bitter-celery/
Thanks Maureen!
That’s a helpful link, thankyou! I literally just cut two celerys out of my garden (hence me looking for a recipe) and am worried they’re bitter 🙂
Often the outer leaves of celery can add bitterness to a broth – not sure if you included leaves in the cooking process. (tho’ theleaf garnish crisped in hot oil was superb).
I was careful not to use the more bitter upper stems and leaves, and the recipe was a 5-star winner for me.
I also get celery from a local farm, and the flavour is significantly stronger than commercially farmed celery from the supermarket. Nevertheless I will try this recipe, sautéing the celery with the onions to “ sweeten it” .
Perfect Maria!
I’ve made (and loved) so many of your recipes but this is my first time commenting. Just wanted to say thank you for helping me be a more confident home cook and feed my family more veggies that they actually love! My dear friend had a miscarriage last week and I brought her this Celery soup, plus a salad and your butternut squash risotto. I love having comforting and nourishing recipes at the ready thanks to you!
Thanks Amanda! Appreciate you commenting and I’m glad the blog is useful. Nourishing food is such a sweet and loving gift when people are hurting- you are a good friend to her.
Delicious and full of flavor. I followed the recipe using the veggie broth option. I didn’t add any cream or yogurt- it doesn’t even need it! Will be adding this to my regular meal rotation. Thank you!
Awesome Heidi!
What a brilliant recipe!! Easy to make, simple ingredients. Delicious! FIVE STARS!! 🤩
Thanks Maureen!
Wonder if I could use coconut milk instead of chicken broth…and also then avoid the creamy add ins?
It might be too rich for the delicate celery flavor. Maybe just a splash at the end?