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Silky, creamy, delicious with an amazing, fatty mouth feel. Dairy is really the bomb. But for those whose systems can’t tolerate dairy, or don’t want to eat dairy, substitutions can be seriously challenging.
Dairy is used to create a creamy, silky, decadent texture in soup. But it’s also used as a thickening agent. So the right substitution will depend on your ultimate goal – creamy versus thickening. Most of the ideas below are fairly interchangeable, but note that while all of the creamy ideas will also thicken soup, not all thickening ideas will make the soup silky and creamy. These tips are also great for those who need to avoid flour as the thickening ingredient.
Let’s tackle a creamy and thickening texture first: These ideas will result in both a thicker soup and one with a creamy, silky mouth feel.
- Silken Tofu– Will benefit from a quick whirl in the blender. Bonus- it adds extra protein as well!
- Full-fat coconut milk– the obvious downside is the coconut flavor. Great for Thai and Indian soups!
- This Creamy Coconut Soup is wow!
- DF yogurt, sour cream or cream cheese – some are better than others. I love Culina for it’s thick, Greek yogurt-like texture.
- Cashews– raw cashews will blend into a fully creamy paste (use water or the soup broth.) Add it at the end of the soup’s cooking time and keep an eye on the soup after adding it because cashew cream can separate and get lumpy with too much heat.
- This Creamy Celery Soup is as luxurious as it gets.
- Avocado– It’s not just for toast! Blend 1/4-1/2 of an avocado with some of the soup broth, then stir into the soup. It does wonders for smoothies too.
- This Poblano Avocado Soup is a crowd favorite at the rooftop events.
Ways to thicken soup (won’t necessarily create that creamy mouth feel):
- Nut/seed butters– For the right soup, a couple of big spoonfuls of peanut, almond or cashew butter thicken and add a great depth of flavor.
- My favorite example of this is my African Nut Butter Stew with Forbidden Black Rice.
- Mashed potatoes – It’s a great way to use up leftovers too! Will benefit from a quick blender whirl.
- Cooked, blended veggies– Just like the mashed potatoes, give them a blender whirl.
- A few of my favorites: celeriac root, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, pumpkin
- Rice, beans, lentils and other grains– Starch molecules thicken and take on water when exposed to heat, creating a thicker texture. You will get some creaminess from this- not like a dairy creaminess, but it certainly changes a broth to something more velvety. To best achieve this, blend together some of the cooked starches and some of the soup liquid until creamy, then pour back into the soup pot.
- Jamaican Black Bean Soup is a classic example.
- Oats– This is one of those ‘you gotta try this to believe it‘ tips. Toss in 1/4 cup of oats and simmer longer than you would for a typical bowl of oatmeal. The oats will absorb the liquid and create a soft texture that is unrecognizable.
- Need a frugal soup? My Spiced Oatmeal Soup is totally unexpected and weirdly addictive!
- Arrowroot starch– both of these will work like a roux. Mix mix 1 tablespoon of arrowroot starch with 2 tablespoons of cold water until smooth then stir into the soup. May need to double or triple that depending on how much soup you have. Simmer gently to thicken. The advantage of arrowroot starch over cornstarch is that it does not break down as quickly when heated. Could use tapioca starch too.
- Hummus– Certainly not the conventional option, but hummus will add some texture to a thin soup.
In what ways have you created a creamy or thick soup texture that’s not listed here?
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