Chunky vegetable soup to warm ya up? Sounds good, huh? This celery root soup (or celeriac soup) is jam-packed with celery root and other hearty root veggies, like potato, carrot, and leek. It’s seriously delicious and just what you want on a cold winter day.
Hi friends!
Bringing you a hearty vegetable soup recipe today and I couldn’t be happier!
There’s definitely nothing fancy here. Not even close.
I’d even go ahead and say this one is pretty rustic.
Who says something has to be fancy to taste good?
Certainly not me!
Once you give this celery root soup a try, you’ll be hooked. Promise.
Ingredients for Celery Root Soup
- Celery root (of course), plus other root veggies, like potato, carrot, and leek
- Garlic
- Veggie broth
- Salt, pepper, and thyme
- Olive oil
- Cashews & nutritional yeast (or your favourite dairy, if you want)
What Is Celery Root?
Celery root or celeriac is a hearty root veggie that’s almost like a cross between turnip and parsnip/celery.
Though the name has “root” in it, it’s definitely not the root of celery. Nope, it’s something entirely unique on its own and deserves to shine!
You can find it along other root veggies, like beets, turnips, parsnips, and so forth right in your local grocery store or farmers’ market.
Friends, please don’t judge this veggie by how it looks.
This ain’t the prettiest veggie in the world.
One may say kinda ugly.
What this bad boy lacks in appearance, it makes up for in the flavour department. It’s also quite versatile! Celery root is lovely in soups and stews, mashed, pureed, and roasted.
The exterior and interior looks somewhat like a turnip, but it has a lot of celery/parsnip vibes in the smell and taste.
To prepare, you clean up, cut off the knobby bits, peel, and carefully cut into chunks. Basically, prepare it like you would a turnip or some beets.
You should definitely consider adding this veggie to your menu soon and, if ya do, I’d love to hear how you enjoy it!
I couldn’t stop smelling my hands after I had cut into in. I know, I’m an odd one.
Cashew Cream
Replace dairy in this creamy veggie soup with cashew cream. It’s seriously amazing how some cashews can turn into a creamy dairy free (but dairy-like) replacement!
Tip: Want creamy vegetable soup without using cashew cream? No worries! Simply stir in a little half-and-half or heavy cream instead.
And, don’t worry. This isn’t going to taste overly nutty. Cashew cream has a pretty neutral flavour.
How To Make This Root Vegetable Soup
Full details are in the recipe card below, but here are the basics:
- In a large pot, heat olive oil and cook leek, carrot, and garlic.
- Add celery root, potatoes, salt, pepper, and thyme. Stir. Pour in veggie broth.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until veggies have softened.
- Remove a couple of cups of soup from the pot, place in a heat-safe dish, blend the removed soup (with an immersion blender), and add back to the pot.
- Add cashew cream to the pot, stirring in.
- Now the delicious celery root soup is ready! Time to serve and enjoy!
Can I Blend the Whole Batch?
Yes!
I happen to enjoy the texture of leaving some veggies chunky, but you do what makes your belly happy!
Soup Topping Ideas
- Homemade croutons
- Chopped fresh thyme leaves
- Shredded cheese or dollop of goat cheese
- Sliced green onion or chives
- Drizzle of cream or yogurt
- Crushed crackers
Tips and Variations
- Want even more celery root flavour? Replace the potato with more celery root!
- If you have more or less of a particular veggie, no worries! Use what you have on hand.
- Don’t have leek? Use white or yellow onion instead.
- Nutritional yeast is used in the cashew cream. It thickens a little and and adds somewhat of a slight cheesy flavour. Prefer to omit? That’s okay! And, if you use dairy (as mentioned below), omit.
- If you’d rather not use cashew cream, that’s fine. You can swirl in about ½ cup or so of half-and-half or heavy cream at the end of cook time instead.
More Delicious Veggie Soups
If you make this veggie soup, be sure to leave a comment below!
Celery Root Soup (With Other Root Veggies)
Ingredients
Cashew Cream
- ½ cup unsalted cashews
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup low sodium vegetable broth
- 1 to 1.5 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Celery Root Soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small leek, cut in half lengthwise and sliced thinly into half moons (white, light green and tender darker green parts only, not the tougher dark green part), about 1.5 cups. Rinse well and drain before using as leek can contain debris/dirt between the layers.
- 1 large carrot, peeled and cut small (about 1 cup)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 pounds celery root, peeled and cut into small cubes (about 7 cups)
- 1 pound potatoes (white or yellow), peeled and cut into small cubes (about 3 cups)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme, or 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme
- 5 to 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- Croutons, garnish to taste (optional)
Instructions
Cashew Cream
- Place cashews in a small pot with about 2 cups of water and bring to a simmer. Reduce to a low-medium simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes to soften cashews. Drain and rinse.
- Place cashews, nutritional yeast, and broth in a high-powered blender.
- Cover and blend until smooth and not grainy. Time may vary depending on how powerful your blender is. I don't add any salt, but you could if you prefer. Set aside.Note: If you want things thicker, use less broth.
Celery Root Soup
- Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Then add leek, carrot, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes.
- Add celery root, potatoes, salt, black pepper, and thyme. Stir. Pour in vegetable broth (I use 6 cups, but use 5 if you want a thicker consistency).
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat (to about medium-low heat) to a simmer. Cover and cook 25 to 30 minutes or until veggies are tender.
- Remove two cups of soup, place into a heat-safe container, and carefully blend with an immersion blender until smooth. Stir back into the soup.
- Stir in the cashew cream. Note: If you want to use dairy instead of cashew cream, stir in ½ cup or so of half-and-half or heavy cream.
- To serve, divide the soup into bowls and garnish (as desired) with any of your favourite soup toppings (croutons are delicious). Enjoy!
A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
Tried this recipe?
If you do make this recipe, thank you!! It would mean so much if you could leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed it, and it helps other readers too!
