This Baked Potato Soup is scrumptious and super delicious! Creamy, topped with crispy potato skins and oh-so-good for you, this is a favorite meal any time of year! Perfect for lunch, or an easy weeknight dinner with salad and loaf of french bread.
This is loaded baked potato soup made completely dairy-free, and it still tastes rich, creamy, and like a big warm hug in a bowl. My hubby asked for seconds the first time I made it, and he’s the pickiest potato guy I know.
I started roasting the potatoes whole instead of boiling them years ago, back when I was trying to use up a bag of russets before a trip. Turns out baking them first gives the soup a deeper, roasted flavor you just don’t get from boiled potatoes, and it lets me save the skins for the best part: those crispy, salty strips on top. Now it’s on repeat every time the weather turns.
The potatoes go into a screaming hot oven until the skins turn crackly and the insides go fluffy and soft. A quick roux of plant butter and flour thickens the broth into something silky, no cream or milk from a cow required. Every bowl gets finished with a scatter of crispy potato skins and sunflower seeds for crunch, so each spoonful has that soft-meets-crunchy thing going on.
What you’ll love about this recipe:
The Ingredients
**You’ll find the complete recipe and ingredient list in the card at the end.**
- For the baked potatoes you’ll need: 3 medium russet potatoes, olive oil & kosher salt – just a little bit to rub on the skin.
- To make the soup you’ll need: plant-based butter
- yellow or white onion diced in small pieces
- all-purpose flour
- low-sodium vegetable broth
- almond milk (or preferred plant-based milk)
- chopped fresh parsley
- Kosher salt & pepper
For the Garnish:
Having potato skins as a garnish is another awesome reason for making this soup with baked potatoes. Potato skin has great health benefits plus adding extra layers of flavor. Don’t skip this step!
- Skins from baked potatoes cut into strips
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Sunflower seeds optional
How To Make Potato Soup (without milk)
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C), rack in the center. Give your potatoes a good scrub, dry them well, and poke a few holes in each one with a fork so they don’t explode in the oven (learned that one the hard way).
2. Rub and bake. Rub the potatoes all over with the olive oil and a generous pinch of salt. Set them directly on the oven rack (a sheet pan underneath catches any drips) and bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. You want a skewer to slide through with zero resistance.
3. Cool and scoop. Pull the potatoes out and let them sit for a few minutes so you don’t burn your fingers. Split each one in half, scoop the flesh into a bowl, and give it a light mash. Set the mashed potato aside and hang on to those skins, they’re doing double duty later.
4. Crisp up the skins. Cut the reserved skins into strips, toss them with a little oil, salt, and pepper, and spread them on a sheet pan. Roast at 400°F (205°C) for about 15 minutes, until they’re golden and crispy at the edges. Pull them and set aside for topping.
5. Sauté the onion. Melt the plant-based butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring now and then, for about 5 minutes, until it’s soft and turning translucent.
6. Build the roux. Whisk the flour right into the pot with the onion and butter. Cook it for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring the whole time. This step cooks out the raw flour taste and sets you up for a thick, smooth soup.
7. Add the liquids. Pour in the vegetable broth and almond milk, whisking as you go to keep everything smooth. Cook and stir for 4 to 5 minutes, until the mixture thickens up and coats the back of a spoon.
8. Stir in the potato. Add your reserved mashed potato and let everything simmer together for 5 minutes. Mash it a bit more right in the pot for a soup that’s extra thick and creamy. This is where it turns into real potato soup, not just a creamy broth.
9. Season and finish. Stir in the fresh parsley, then salt and pepper to taste. Give it a final taste, since low-sodium broth means you’ll probably want a little more salt than you’d expect.
10. Serve it up. Ladle into bowls and pile on the crispy potato skins and sunflower seeds. Serve hot, right away, before the topping loses its crunch.
Ana’s Recipe Tips
- Boost the protein. Stir a scoop of plain, unsweetened dairy-free yogurt into your bowl right before serving. It melts in like sour cream and can add 5 to 8g of protein per serving without changing the flavor. A spoonful of unflavored or vanilla protein powder whisked into the broth works too, and so does a handful of white beans blended into the soup base before you add the potato.
- Control the thickness. This soup thickens as it sits, especially once it’s chilled. If it’s too thick after reheating, splash in extra almond milk or broth a little at a time until it loosens back up. Too thin right out of the pot? Let it simmer uncovered a few extra minutes, or mash in a bit more potato.
- Dairy-free swaps that actually work here. Any unsweetened plant milk works in place of almond milk (oat milk gives it a slightly sweeter, thicker result). For the butter, a neutral plant-based stick butter blends into the roux better than a spreadable tub version, which can separate.
- Don’t skip roasting the skins separately. It’s tempting to toss them on the same pan as the potatoes bake, but they need that second high-heat roast on their own to actually crisp up. Skipping this step is the difference between crunchy topping and sad, chewy skins.
- Storing and Reheating
- It keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. For longer storage, freeze the soup (without the potato skin topping) for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container, leaving a little room at the top for expansion.
- Reheat gently on the stovetop over medium-low heat, stirring often, or in the microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring between each one. Dairy-free soups like this one can separate a little as they reheat since there’s no cream to hold everything together the way dairy does. Give it a good stir and it comes right back together. Store the potato skins separately in a container at room temperature and re-crisp them in a hot oven or air fryer for a few minutes before serving, since they lose their crunch in the fridge.
More Recipes You’ll Love
Craving something similar but with a fall twist? My Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Soup is another creamy, dairy-friendly-optional bowl that’s perfect for cooler weeks. Potatoes on the brain? My Roasted Greek Potatoes In Air Fryer and Smashed Potatoes Air Fryer are both great sides, or turn either one into a full meal by piling this soup right next to them. And for something with more heat and a serious protein hit, my Best Bean Chili is a house favorite.
Print Recipe:
Baked Potato Soup (Dairy Free)
Ingredients
- 3 medium russet potatoes - scrubbed, dried, and pierced with a fork
- 1 Tbsp olive oil and salt to rub on the potatoes
- 4 Tbsp plant-based butter
- ⅓ cup yellow or white onion - diced in small pieces
- 3 Tsp all-purpose flour
- 3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 2 cups almond milk (or preferred plant-based milk)
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- Kosher salt & pepper to taste
For the Garnish:
- Skins from baked potatoes cut into strips
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Sunflower seeds optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450° with rack in center.
- Rub prepared potatoes with oil and salt.
- Bake directly on the rack for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until tender all the way through when pierced with a skewer.
- Remove potatoes from the oven, split in half and cool slightly.
- Scoop out and lightly mash the potato (reserve skins); set aside.
- Cut skin in strips and toss with a little oil, salt, and pepper. Roast in a 400° oven for 15 minutes, or until crispy.
- While the strips are baking, make the soup:
- Sauté onion in melted plant-based butter until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Whisk in flour; cook 2 to 3 minutes.
- Stir in broth and milk. Cook and stir until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add potato and simmer for 5 minutes. Mash the potato more for a creamier consistency.
- Stir in parsley and salt & pepper.
- Serve soup warm and top with potato skins and sunflower seeds.
A truly wonderful soup that turned out super creamy without any milk! Can’t wait to make it again.