15 Creamy Soup Recipes: How to Make Perfect Creamy Soup

Creamy soup contains dairy products to make a thick, velvety texture. Cream soups often have heavy cream, half and half, cheese, or butter. You can also use coconut milk or other milk alternatives to make creamy vegan soups. Puréed potato, cauliflower, chickpeas, and lentils will also yield a creamy texture.

Making one of these creamy soups for your next weeknight dinner, and find your new favorite soup recipe:

1. 1. Broccoli cheese soup: Cheese and broccoli soup is a dish made with frozen or fresh broccoli and at least one type of cheese (usually cheddar cheese) and thickened with a roux (a mixture of flour and butter). This cheddar soup is hearty enough to serve as the main course with sourdough bread or croutons.
2. 2. Butternut squash bisque: Butternut bisque is a creamy butternut squash soup that pairs nutty, fragrant butternut squash with heavy cream. To make it vegan, swap the heavy cream for coconut milk. You can also add some red pepper or paprika to give the soup a spicy kick.
3. 3. Carrot soup: The sweetness of carrots balances pungent fresh ginger for a soup that's at once comforting and refreshing. This carrot ginger soup is gluten-free, and you can easily make it vegan by substituting olive oil for butter and vegetable stock for chicken broth. Add a swirl of heavy cream, sour cream, or Greek yogurt (or substitute coconut milk for dairy-free, vegan carrot soup) for a creamy carrot soup. If you have fresh herbs like chives or cilantro, use them as a garnish along with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.
4. 4. Cauliflower soup: Chef Gordon Ramsay’s easy recipe for creamy cauliflower soup features one diced head of cauliflower, milk, and chicken stock. Purée the soup using an immersion blender to make it smooth and creamy.
5. 5. Cream of mushroom soup: Cream of mushroom soup is a light, creamy dish made from a basic roux combined with stock, cream, mushrooms, aromatics, and white wine. This classic American comfort food—an integral element of green bean casserole—can include an assortment of mushrooms, like shiitakes, “baby bella” cremini mushrooms, or baby creminis, also known as white button mushrooms.
6. 6. Lobster bisque: Wow your guests at your next dinner party by making a lobster bisque appetizer. Chef Thomas Keller’s lobster bisque recipe calls for a stock made from lobster shells and aromatics, then combining it with heavy cream and white wine. Puree the soup using an immersion blender or a standing blender, then serve with fresh lobster meat on top.
7. 7. Navy bean soup: Navy bean soup, or ham bone soup, consists of navy beans, aromatics like garlic cloves and yellow onion, and vegetables. Simmer these ingredients together in a broth enhanced with cooked ham. Navy bean soup has a creamier, stew-like consistency, akin to split pea soup or lentil soup, thanks to the texture of the cooked beans and rendered fat from the ham bone. To make this a full vegetable soup, and vegetarian, substitute the chicken stock for vegetable broth and incorporate more veggies, like diced sweet potato, diced tomatoes, and a handful of dark, leafy greens like kale or chard. Boost the protein and creamy texture with other legumes, like chickpeas or lentils, to make a hearty soup. Purée the navy bean soup for a smoother consistency.
8. 8. New England clam chowder: New England clam chowder is a thick, creamy soup featuring clams, potatoes, onions, salt pork, heavy cream, and milk. Traditional garnishes for New England-style clam chowder, a classic and comforting soup, include oyster crackers.
9. 9. Potato leek soup: Potato leek soup is a classic soup made of puréed potatoes and leeks. The comfort food was inspired by easy soup recipes from France. Vichyssoise is a chilled version of classic potato leek soup made with heavy cream, though you don't need cream to make potato leek soup. Potato leek soup can be enjoyed hot or cold and can be smooth or chunky in texture, like a chowder. Some recipes for potato leek soup feature sweet potatoes, others are dairy-free, and many are topped with a dollop of sour cream, crispy bacon bits, and chives.
10. 10. Pumpkin soup: This creamy pumpkin soup recipe calls for cubed pumpkin (preferably sugar pumpkin) or other winter squash, such as kabocha, butternut squash, or sweet potatoes. Combine the pumpkin with aromatics, like onions or leeks, chicken stock or vegetable broth, cayenne pepper, and black pepper. Finish the soup with a garnish of heavy cream or coconut milk, and serve with croutons or a green salad.
11. 11. Sweet potato bisque: Sweet potato bisque is a rich and creamy vegetable soup that pairs the natural sweetness of roasted sweet potatoes with aromatics, such as yellow onion and garlic cloves, and heavy cream. Traditional bisque recipes feature seafood like lobster, crayfish, shrimp, or crab as the main ingredient. Modern bisques may use puréed vegetables or aromatics in place of shellfish and thicken the base with rice or other starches. Sweet potatoes are rich and creamy enough on their own to serve as a thickening agent and main ingredient.
12. 12. Tomato bisque: Tomato bisque is a creamy tomato soup that pairs juicy, fragrant tomatoes with heavy cream. Serve this comforting soup with a grilled cheese sandwich for a complete meal.
13. 13. Tortellini soup: Tortellini soup is Italian comfort food made by stirring fresh, cheesy tortellini into a warm, creamy soup with vegetables like carrots, fresh spinach, zucchini, and onions. You can make tortellini soup vegetarian or add a protein like hot Italian sausage, meatballs, or shredded chicken for a heartier meal. Try it with some crusty bread for dipping in the creamy broth. Sprinkle this hearty soup with Parmesan cheese. Tortellini soup can be made hands-off in a slow cooker.
14. 14. Vegan corn chowder: Chowder is a variety of soup home cooks prepare with milk or cream and thicken with starchy carbohydrates like potatoes or crackers. Vegan corn chowder recipes retain the plant-based ingredients in regular corn chowder but replace the creamy components with vegan substitutes, such as coconut milk and vegetable broth. Traditional corn chowder recipes use fresh kernels cut from ears of corn, but many modern cooks substitute fresh corn for canned or frozen corn.
15. 15. Vegan potato soup: This satisfying vegan potato soup is ultra-creamy despite being dairy-free. Veggies like leeks and celery give the broth a slow-cooked flavor, and puréeing just a portion of the soup adds body without any cream or butter. The creamy comfort food has a slightly cheesy flavor thanks to nutritional yeast, an inactive dry yeast that boosts the flavor of many vegan foods.

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