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This easy recipe for Creamy Celery Soup has no cream, making it a low-fat, vegan version of cream of celery soup that’s healthy & delicious.
This celery soup is really tasty. I have friends who love it, even if they’re not usually fans of celery. The best part is that it’s a healthier take on creamy soups. It’s smooth and thick, just like the creamy soups we all love, but it has 90% fewer calories!
I’ve discovered a method to create wonderfully creamy soups without using any cream, significantly reducing the calorie count. The secret? Incorporating potatoes makes a thicker soup while also creating a creamy consistency. I love this method so much, I’ve used it to create my Creamy Broccoli Soup, Cauliflower Saffron Soup and my Easy Carrot Soup.
Want to make this recipe in a slow cooker? See the recipe card for instructions.
Why This Recipe Works
- Using a generous amount of celery that cooks in the stock, along with fresh aromatics and herbs, creates a full-bodied celery flavor without needing a lot of complicated ingredients.
- Using potatoes to thicken the soup gives it more substance and a smoother, silkier texture.
- Pureeing the celery soup with the potato results in a creamy soup without the added fat.
Ingredient Notes
- Celery: To avoid stringy celery, use the more tender celery stalks that are closer to the middle of the head. Lighter-colored celery is less likely to have though strings.
- Oil: Choose a light, healthy oil, such as olive or canola oil, that won’t overpower the soup’s flavors.
- Onion: We prefer a yellow onion for its mild sweetness, but you can also use white, red, or even shallots to create your own flavor profile.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is preferred for its superior flavor, but it can be substituted with garlic powder or prechopped garlic if you prefer.
- Chicken or Vegetable Stock: Opt for low-sodium versions to control the soup’s saltiness. It’s found in the soup aisle.
- Potatoes: Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes are ideal for their starchy quality, contributing to the soup’s creaminess.
- Parsley: Fresh parsley adds a burst of freshness. You can also experiment with other fresh herbs to create your own unique flavors.
- Salt and Pepper: We prefer kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, but you can use whatever you have on hand.
Celery Buying Guide
Opt for celery that’s light-colored and crisp, with stalks that are firm and tightly packed.
Ensure you buy celery with leaves attached, as they’re full of flavor. The leaves themselves should be a vibrant, pale green without any wilting or browning, indicating freshness and quality.
Prepping Celery For The Smoothest Soup
Some celery stalks can be quite stringy, and these tough bits can make your soup’s texture less smooth.
To test if your celery is stringy (which can be unpleasant for some), break it in half by hand before chopping. If you see the strings sticking out of the break (see photo below).
To de-string the celery, first wash it, then use a vegetable peeler to shave off the strings from the back of each stalk. Alternatively, you can break the celery into pieces and yank out the stringy ribs that become visible. For a clearer demonstration, you can find this helpful video on YouTube that provides a step-by-step guide.
Erren’s Top Tips
- Prep Your Celery: Use a vegetable peeler to remove the strings from the celery to ensure a smoother soup.
- Chop Evenly: Cut the celery and potatoes into similar-sized pieces so they cook at the same rate. The potatoes can be cut into quarters as they cook faster than celery.
- Simmer Gently: Cook the soup on low heat after it reaches boiling to allow the flavors to meld without overcooking the vegetables.
- Blend Well: Use an immersion blender for a creamy texture. If you don’t have one, a regular blender works, too; just be careful with the hot liquid.
- Taste as You Go: Season with salt and pepper during cooking, but always taste before adding more – you can always add, but you can’t take away!
- Reserve Some Liquid: Set aside some of the cooking stock before blending. You can add it back if the soup is too thick.
- Save Some Celery: Keep a few spoonfuls of the cooked celery to add texture to the soup after blending.
Storage & Freezing Instructions
To store leftovers: Cool your celery soup for about 30 minutes then place it in airtight containers, and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
To Freeze: For longer storage, freeze the soup in freezer-safe containers, leaving some space at the top, for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat on the stove, adding water or stock if it’s too thick.
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Recipe
Creamy Celery Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 3 garlic cloves (peeled and crushed)
- 2 lbs fresh celery (cleaned and chopped (see post for removing strings))
- 1 qt chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 lb potatoes (peeled the potato and cut it into quarters)
- a good handful of fresh parsley (roughly chopped, including stems)
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
Stovetop
- Chop the celery into roughly the same-sized pieces, about an inch – 1.5 inches, Don’t worry about precision as the soup is going to be puréed anyway. You just want it to cook evenly.
- In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft.
- Add the garlic and cook another minute before adding the celery, stock, potato, and parsley. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.
- Cover, lower the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the celery and potatoes are soft enough that they can easily be pureed (But don’t let them get too mushy).
- Remove the soup from heat. If necessary, using a ladle, remove enough stock so that the celery is just covered. Set any reserved stock aside.
- Remove some of the chopped celery with a slotted spoon (1-2 spoonfuls) and set aside.
- Purée the soup with a stick blender in the pot – adding the reserved stock little by little until the soup reaches the desired consistency.
- Add the reserved celery, mix to combine and serve hot.
Slow Cooker
- (Optional) Sauté the onions, garlic, and celery in butter in a skillet over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the slow cooker.
- Add the potatoes, stock, salt, and pepper to the slow cooker. Stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on low for 6–7 hours or high for 3–4 hours, until the vegetables are tender.
- Remove the soup from heat. If necessary, using a ladle, remove enough stock so that the celery is just covered. Set any reserved stock aside.
- Remove some of the chopped celery with a slotted spoon (1-2 spoonfuls) and set aside.
- Purée the soup with a stick blender in the pot – adding the reserved stock little by little until the soup reaches the desired consistency.
- Add the reserved celery, mix to combine and serve hot.
Tips
- If you don’t have a stick blender, a food processor or blender would work just as well to puree the soup.
- To avoid stringy celery, use the more tender celery stalks that are closer to the middle of the head. Lighter colored celery is less likely to have though strings.
- To test if your celery is stringy (which for some can be unpleasant), before cutting the celery, break it in half by hand. If you see the strings sticking out of the break (see photo above), peel the celery to remove the strings.
- To remove the strings from the celery, clean and peel the back of the stalk with a vegetable peeler (for more detailed instructions, you can see this video on YouTube) or just by snapping your celery into sections and pulling out the exposed, stringy ribs.
Save to favoritesYour saved recipes will be right here waiting for you every time you visit, so you can easily find and make the meals you love.Update Notes: This recipe was originally posted in 2014 but published again in 2018 to include step-by-step directions, nutritional information, new photos, and a video.
274 responses
I’m definitely going to try this as a way to use up the lowly celery leftover from making potato soup! I never know what to do with the celery as I HATE eating it.
However, I AM going to try this with the full-on cream and butter, lol!
TY for sharing; what a great idea!
Thank you, Debbe! I know Celery can be abit plain on its own!
This is the first time I’ve ever made celery soup. This is delicious. However, my chicken broth cooked down so I didn’t have any reserve. I used a cup of leftover broth and added that to the final puree. Again, I say, “Delish”!
That’s awesome to hear you enjoyed it, Nancy!
Not a foodie or vegan, just an old lady trying not to throw out the old leftover celery @ $2.69 lb that’s gone limp. Keeping that in mind this is the best celery soup I’ve made. I scaled it back a lot because there is only the 2 of us and I only had ,8oz of leftover celery and some chicken broth leftover from another recipe. I didn’t string the celery, and chopped up everything except the root and it didn’t seem to matter. Potatoes are expensive in Hawaii so I used mashed potato flakes after pureeing the celery. The potato did make it smoother and richer. I just added a tablespoon at a time until I got the smoothness I was after. It hurts and expensive to throw food away, but I have to have celery in the fridge just in case I need it sometime. This is a great recipe worth buying the celery just for the recipe.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Luella, and thank you for your feedback!
Looks like a new favorite for weeknights!
That’s awesome to hear!
How can this claim to be a vegan recipe when it uses chicken stock 😟
The recipe actually calls for either chicken or vegetable stock.
Talk about nitpicky! Get creative! Leave out the stock! Choose veggie! Nobody’s perfekt!
Lovely recipe. Love the fact that it’s free of butter; milk and flour. I added 1/2 diced celery root and a diced fennel bulb. Very flavorful and easy too. Thank you.
Hi Marshay, that does sound good, I’m glad you enjoyed!
Sounds good.
If you like an Asian spicy touch, add a soup spoon of sambal ulek (Chilli pounded in vinegar) readily available at any Asian supermarket or store.
Love the idea of the potato. I will use tiny new potatoes so I can leave skin on – adds a tad more flavour.
Great feedback, Ian! Enjoy! 😊
I used the pulp from juicing celery in the morning. I wanted to not waste the pulp so I made this recipe. It worked out great!
Great idea with the pulp, Julie! No waste is always good!
This Celery Soup was delicious! I subbed ginger for the garlic and used a medium sized white sweet potato instead of Yukon as it was all I had at time. So yummy!!
So glad you found a way to make it work, Cynthia!
I love this recipe! So simple and no complicated ingredients. The texture was spot on too. First recipe I have tried from your site, will definitely try others too!
That’s so wonderful, Ani! Thanks for letting me know! 😊