Cream of Vegetable Soup with Croutons

Cream of Vegetable Soup is beautifully simple but so tasty. Full of vegetables like carrot, leek, and peas, it’s subtly flavoured with garlic and herbs. Despite the name, like most traditional ‘cream of’ soups, it doesn’t contain cream. Its velvety texture is thanks to a combination of milk and stock, thickened with a classic roux of butter and flour.

I love Cream of Vegetable Soup sprinkled with homemade crispy croutons. If you want to increase the protein, try serving with cubes of cheese to melt in, or add white beans or diced chicken while the soup is simmering.

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CREAMY SOUP WITHOUT CREAM

You might be surprised to learn that soups whose names start with ‘cream of’ don’t traditionally contain cream. In this instance ‘cream’ usually refers to the finished texture and/or the method of cooking. Cream soups are so called because they’re either thickened by blending (in the same sense of ‘creaming’ butter and sugar together when making a cake) or by including a butter and flour roux (the same technique for making a white bechamel sauce). These methods give soup a lightly creamy, velvety texture without the extra fat and calories of cream.

This also applies to big brands of cream of tomato, chicken, or vegetable. Look at the ingredients list and you might find dried skimmed milk, but almost never cream. Which brings me neatly to my own recipe for Cream of Vegetable Soup with Croutons. It’s inspired by instant powdered soup-in-a-cup, but the flavour and goodness is miles ahead.

CREAM OF VEGETABLE SOUP

The most well-known brand of powdered cream of vegetable soup-in-a-cup claims to be ‘packed’ with veg. However, read the small print and it turns out to be just seven per cent vegetables. And that’s dried, not fresh. Compare that to a medium-sized bowl of my Cream of Vegetable Soup which contains at least two fresh portions of your 5-a-day.

Full of flavour, it really isn’t difficult or time-consuming either, even if you’re not used to making soup. So easy, it’s well worth making your own crunchy croutons too: just like those mini ones you find in cup-a-soup, but nicer!

You’ll find ingredient amounts and full instructions in the recipe card at the end. But I recommend you read the whole of this post first for extra tips and step-by-step images to guide you.

INGREDIENTS

I’ve gone for classic British soup veg: onion, celery, carrot, leek, plus frozen peas for convenience and potatoes (not counted in your 5-a-day) to make it hearty and filling. You could swap in other vegetables such as swede, turnip, green beans, or broccoli.

For savoury depth of flavour there’s garlic, bay leaf, and rosemary. A combination of milk and stock plus a butter and flour roux gives the classic Cream of Vegetable Soup texture.

For croutons you just need bread and oil. But I recommend adding garlic and rosemary to complement the soup’s flavour.

You can read my post about Homemade Croutons here.

HOW TO MAKE CREAM OF VEGETABLE SOUP 

You start by adding oil and butter to a large saucepan over medium heat. When the butter’s melted, stir in the finely chopped onion, celery and garlic, seasoning with a little salt and some pepper. After 8-10 minutes they should be starting to soften, so add the diced carrot, potato, and leeks next. Because I sometimes like to eat the soup in a mug, I dice the veg into smallish cubes. You could cut them bigger if preferred; just remember they’ll take longer to cook.

After a couple of minutes, stir in the bay leaf and rosemary, then take the pan off the heat. Stir in the flour until it’s thoroughly combined with the vegetables and fat. Put back on the heat and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Off the heat again, stir in the milk and stock ensuring there are no lumps of flour. Put back on the heat, turned up to medium-high, and keep stirring until the liquid bubbles and thickens. Cook for 2 minutes then turn the heat down to medium-low.

Put on a lid and leave to gently simmer until the vegetables are tender. This will take around 20 minutes or so. Stir the soup now and then, making sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.

If the soup looks thicker than you’d like, add a little more stock, milk, or water. Alternatively, if you want a thicker soup, you could go in with a stick blender and puree a little of it. Taste and add more salt, pepper, or rosemary if you think it needs it.

Finally, stir in the frozen peas and cook for a few more minutes until they’re heated through. Your soup is now ready to serve with the croutons.

HOW TO MAKE CROUTONS

I think homemade croutons are so much nicer than shop-bought, including those hard ones you get in instant cup soups. Crispy and crunchy, they’re a great way to use up stale bread too. For my Cream of Vegetable Soup, I bake the croutons in the oven while the soup is simmering. If you’re not confident multitasking, make the croutons before you start the soup.

The only difficulty I find is trying not to eat too many of them before they reach the soup!

To make the croutons, all you do is cut some bread (I allow half a thick slice per person) into cubes. As mentioned, because I sometimes eat this soup in a mug, I cut them small: about 1 cm square. But you can make them any size.

In a bowl, mix olive oil plus finely chopped garlic and rosemary, a tiny pinch of salt and a grind of pepper. Add the bread and stir around until they’re completely coated in the flavoured oil.

Now transfer the bread, in a single layer, to a baking tray preheated in the oven to the temperature shown in the recipe card. Bake until crispy and brown all over. Stir around a few times and keep checking so they don’t burn. How long they take depends on their size and  density: more substantial is likely to take longer than light, ultra processed. As a guide, my small croutons of homemade bread take around 9 minutes.

When done, tip the rosemary and garlic croutons onto a piece of kitchen paper to cool and allow any excess oil to drain off. While best on the day of making, you can store croutons in an airtight container for a couple of days. They won’t be as crispy, but I still find them irresistible.

SERVING & STORING CREAM OF VEGETABLE SOUP

Considering its humble, everyday ingredients, I think Cream of Vegetable Soup is incredibly tasty. Not cloying and heavy like some cream-containing soups can be, it still has a velvety texture. And all thanks to milk plus a relatively small amount of butter and flour. Add to that plenty of nutritious vegetables and hearty potatoes and you’ve a knockout lunch or dinner. The crispy croutons add welcome crunch as well as little bites of intense garlicky herbiness.

I most often eat this soup as a lightish lunch. But it’s simple to add extra protein if you want to. Try stirring in a drained can of beans (e.g. cannellini) at the same time as the potatoes. Leftover roast chicken, diced, is excellent too; add with the frozen peas and thoroughly warm through.

My favourite quick addition though is cubes of cheese. Add them to your bowl or mug and you’ll discover little nuggets of half-melted gooeyness as you make your way through it. Heavenly!

If you’ve made this recipe, I’d love to know what you thought. Please do leave a comment and rating.

5 from 1 vote

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Cream of Vegetable Soup with Croutons

A beautifully simple soup but so tasty, full of vegetables and flavoured with garlic and rosemary. Like most traditional 'cream of' soups, this one doesn't contain cream; its velvety texture is thanks to a combination of milk and stock thickened with a classic roux of butter and flour.

Lovely with crispy homemade croutons on top. To add more protein try serving with cubes of cheese to melt in, or add cooked white beans or diced chicken while the soup is simmering.

Please read the accompanying blog post before starting the recipe.

Course Soup, Main Course, Lunch

Cuisine British, Vegetarian, European

Keyword autumn, easy, winter

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 4

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil (or other preferred oil)
• 30 g butter
• 1 large onion (finely chopped)
• 2 stalks celery (finely chopped)
• 4 - 6 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• salt and black pepper
• 300 g potatoes (diced: weight after preparation)
• 2 large carrots (diced: approx. 225 g after preparation)
• 2 medium leeks (diced: approx. 160 g after preparation)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp rosemary (finely chopped or half the amount if substituting dried)
• 30 g plain/all-purpose flour
• 300 ml milk (use more for a thinner soup)
• 400 ml vegetable or chicken stock (use more for a thinner soup)
• 120 g frozen peas

For the croutons

• 2 - 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic (optional) (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary (optional) (finely chopped)
• salt and black pepper
• 2 slices bread (cut into 1 cm dice)

Instructions

Make the soup

1. Put the oil and butter in large saucepan over medium heat.

   When hot, add the chopped onion, celery, and garlic, stirring in a pinch of salt and grind of pepper.

   Cook until the vegetables are starting to soften (8 - 10 min.).

2. Stir in the prepared potatoes, carrots, and leeks with another pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring often, then stir in the bay leaf and rosemary.

3. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the flour until it's thoroughly combined with the vegetables. Put back on the heat and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

4. Off the heat again, stir in the 300 ml of milk followed by 400 ml of stock, ensuring there are no lumps of flour.

   Put back on the heat, turned up to medium-high, and keep stirring until the liquid bubbles and thickens. Cook for 2 minutes then turn the heat down to medium-low so the soup gently simmers and put on a lid.

5. Cook until the vegetables are tender (approx. 20 minutes). Stir often to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot. If the soup is thicker than you'd like, add more stock, milk or water.

   Tip 1: for a smoother soup, go in with a stick blender for a few seconds to puree it a little.

   Tip 2: while the soup is simmering you can be making the croutons.

6. Taste and add more salt, pepper, or rosemary if liked then stir in the frozen peas. Cook for a few more minutes or until the peas are done.

7. Serve with the croutons sprinkled over plus extra rosemary if liked.

   Can be stored in the fridge for 2 - 3 days (or frozen if you don't mind the vegetables becoming softer).

Make the croutons

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C / 180° Fan /Gas 6 /400°F with a small baking tray inside.

2. In a medium-sized bowl mix together 2 tbsp of the olive oil, the garlic and rosemary if using, plus a little salt and pepper.

   Add the bread cubes and toss to coat in the oil: if they look dry add a little more olive oil.

   Transfer the bread to the heated baking tray in a single layer.

   Cook until crispy and browned all over, turning occasionally and making sure they don't burn (approx. 8 - 12 minutes: depends on density of bread).

   Remove from the oven and transfer the croutons to kitchen paper to cool and for excess oil to drain.

   Can be stored in an airtight container for 2 days, although they won't be as crisp.

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