While there are a large number of easy vegetarian soup recipes out there, it’s harder to find ones that are dairy-free. Some vegetarian soup recipes call for cheese, and others need cream to be thick enough to serve. However, there are a number of easy vegetarian soup recipes out there besides your basic vegetarian minestrone and gazpacho that are not only easy-to-make, but are actually dairy-free and still taste wonderful.

Corn chowder is one dish that might not be as thick if you don’t use cream, but you can use extra corn to fake the thickness. In a saucepan or Dutch oven, sauté some sliced carrots, celery, rosemary, and parsley in some olive oil. Then, add a chopped potato, vegetable stock or vegetable broth, and fresh corn that you have cut off the cob. Cook until the potato is soft, and then season with salt and pepper. If you want this dish to be a little bit spicier, try adding some red pepper flakes to the final dish, or even try adding different diced pieces of vegetables to vary the flavor a bit. Using your immersion blender, blend together, but leave it slightly chunky. If it’s not thick enough for you, take some extra vegetable broth and dissolve some flour or cornstarch in it. Then, whisk into the soup and cook for a few minutes. This should thicken it up a little bit and requires absolutely no cream or milk. If it’s still not thick enough for you after this step, try adding some more corn to the recipe, without adding any additional liquid. Cook for a few more minutes and then blend again, and you should end up with a chunky soup with a sweet, fresh corn flavor.

Another great option for soup that is roasted cauliflower soup. Place cauliflower florets in a greased baking dish and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Bake for about twenty minutes, and then add pieces of onion and some garlic cloves onto the garlic, drizzle with more olive oil, and cook for another twenty minutes. In the meantime, add vegetable broth or vegetable stock and a sliced potato to a Dutch oven and cook until the potato is soft and the cauliflower is roasted. Add the cauliflower to the broth and potatoes and puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Add nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste, and simmer until hot. This same recipe also works to create easy vegetarian soup recipes for a creamy dairy-free broccoli soup, carrot soup, pumpkin soup, or parsnip soup, as well.

The best thing about these easy vegetarian soup recipes is that you can experiment with different vegetables and spices depending on your tastes and what you tend to stock in your home. And, because there is no dairy, you can actually freeze these recipes longer than you would be able to if they had cream, which means you can make a big batch now and reap the rewards down the line on another night when you don’t feel like cooking. Remember, it’s easy to turn a bowl of soup into a complete meal by pairing it with a nice salad dressed with oil and vinegar and a loaf of warm, crusty bread that you can dip into the soup. You can also try topping these soups with croutons, pumpkin seeds, or even pomegranate seeds if you want a sweeter taste to finish off your soup.