One Pot Creamy Vegetable Soup is the dinner I make when the fridge is full of vegetables and nobody has decided what we’re eating. Forty minutes start to finish, one pot to wash, and it uses whatever is already in the crisper drawer.
One Pot Creamy Vegetable Soup
What I love most is that it gets its creaminess from a simple milk and cornstarch mixture instead of a flour roux, so there’s no whisking at the stove hoping it doesn’t go lumpy. This is one of those creamy vegetable soup recipes that feels like it should be harder than it is, and my kids eat the broccoli without a word because it’s swimming in something creamy.
Ingredients & Equipment
- Butter
- Carrot
- Celery
- Onion
- Garlic
- Baby potatoes
- Chicken broth
- Italian seasoning
- Bay leaf
- Broccoli florets
- Corn
- Milk
- Heavy cream
- Cornstarch
- Salt and pepper
Full measurements for each ingredient can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
You’ll also need a few things from your kitchen:
- Large stockpot or Dutch oven
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife
- Vegetable peeler
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Small bowl
- Whisk
- Wooden spoon
- Ladle
Step By Step Directions
This recipe makes 6 servings. It takes 10 minutes of prep time and 30 minutes of cook time.
Step 1. Heat a large stockpot over medium heat and add the butter.
Step 2. When the butter is melted, stir in the diced carrot, chopped celery, and chopped onion. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes, then add the minced garlic and cook one minute more.
Step 3. Stir in the diced potatoes, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, and bay leaf. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
Step 4. While that simmers, whisk together the milk, heavy cream, and cornstarch in a small bowl until completely smooth with no lumps.
Step 5. Remove the bay leaf from the pot, then stir in the milk mixture along with the broccoli florets and corn.
Step 6. Let the soup simmer for 10 minutes, until the broccoli is tender and the soup has thickened.
Step 7. Season with salt and pepper before serving.
How This Compares to the Dixie Stampede Creamy Vegetable Soup
If you found this looking for the Dixie Stampede creamy vegetable soup, the one they serve in a mug before the show starts, I want to be upfront: this isn’t that recipe. The dinner show is now called Dolly Parton’s Stampede, though most people still search for it by the old name.
Theirs is completely smooth and pale, more of a velvety cream soup you drink than something you eat with a spoon. Mine is chunky, with visible broccoli, corn, potatoes, and carrots. Both are creamy vegetable soups, but they’re different experiences.
If the smooth version is what you’re after, you can get much closer with this recipe. Leave out the broccoli and corn, use only the carrot, celery, onion, and potatoes, and blend the whole pot with an immersion blender before you add the milk mixture. Cut the Italian seasoning down to 1/2 teaspoon so the herbs don’t come through, and add a little onion powder and celery salt instead. What you’ll end up with is smooth, mild, and pale, much more like the mug they hand you at your table.
For a crockpot version, cook the vegetables and broth on low for 5 hours, then blend, stir in the milk mixture, and cook on high for 20 more minutes to thicken.
Variations
- Creamy chicken vegetable soup. Stir in 2 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken with the broccoli and corn. This turns it from a side into a full dinner and it’s how I make it most often.
- Creamy potato vegetable soup. Double the baby potatoes and skip the corn for something heartier and more like a chowder.
- Make it vegetarian. Swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth. Everything else stays the same.
- Add cheese. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar at the very end, off the heat, until it melts.
- Use frozen mixed vegetables. A 16 ounce bag added in place of the broccoli and corn works fine and cuts your prep down to almost nothing.
- Add sausage or ham. Brown 1/2 pound of Italian sausage before the butter step, or stir in diced ham at the end.
- Green beans and peas. Both hold up well and go in at the same time as the broccoli.
- Make it thicker. Add a third tablespoon of cornstarch to the milk mixture.
Leftovers & Storage
Store leftover creamy vegetable soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. It thickens quite a bit as it sits, so add a splash of broth or milk when you reheat it on the stove over medium low heat.
I don’t freeze this one. The cream and the potatoes both come back grainy and the broccoli turns to mush. If you want to make it ahead, cook it through step 3 and refrigerate that base for up to 3 days, then finish with the milk mixture and vegetables when you’re ready to serve.
Tips & Tricks
- Whisk the cornstarch into cold milk, not hot broth. Adding cornstarch straight to the pot gives you lumps you can’t whisk out. The small bowl step matters.
- Don’t let it boil after the cream goes in. A hard boil can make dairy separate. Keep it at a gentle simmer.
- Cut the potatoes small. Half inch pieces cook through in the 20 minutes the recipe gives them. Bigger chunks will still be firm.
- Use baby potatoes and skip the peeling. The skins are thin enough that nobody notices, and it saves you a step.
- Add the broccoli at the end on purpose. Twenty minutes of simmering turns it gray and mushy. Ten is exactly right.
- Taste before you salt. Store bought broth varies a lot, and 6 cups of it is most of what’s in this pot.
- Prep the vegetables the night before. Chop everything, keep the potatoes covered in water in the refrigerator, and drain them before they go in.
Recipe FAQs
Can I make this vegetarian? Yes, just use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. That’s the only ingredient standing in the way, and the flavor barely changes since the Italian seasoning and vegetables do most of the work.
Can I use frozen broccoli? You can. Add it straight from the freezer at the same point in the recipe and give it 2 or 3 extra minutes. Frozen broccoli is softer than fresh, so don’t walk away from it.
Why is my soup thin? The cornstarch needs a full simmer to activate. If it’s still thin after 10 minutes, whisk another tablespoon of cornstarch into 2 tablespoons of cold milk and stir that in, then simmer 5 more minutes.
Can I make this in the Instant Pot? Yes. Sauté the butter and vegetables using the sauté function, add the potatoes, broth, and seasonings, then pressure cook on high for 5 minutes with a quick release. Switch back to sauté, add the milk mixture, broccoli, and corn, and simmer 10 minutes.
Can I use half and half instead of heavy cream? You can. It’ll be slightly less rich, and since you’re already using cornstarch to thicken it, the texture holds up fine.
Can I skip the cornstarch? Not really, unless you want a brothy soup. The cornstarch is what makes this creamy rather than just a vegetable soup with milk in it.
More Easy Soup Recipes
- Crockpot Chicken Corn Chowder
- Crockpot Butternut Squash Soup
- Crockpot Ham and Bean Soup
- Crockpot Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Crockpot Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Crockpot Cheeseburger Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 carrot peeled and diced
- 1 celery stalk chopped
- 1 small onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound baby potatoes diced
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups chopped broccoli florets
- 1 cup corn canned or frozen
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large stockpot over medium heat and add the butter.
- When the butter is melted, stir in the diced carrot, chopped celery, and chopped onion. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes, then add the minced garlic and cook one minute more.
- Stir in the diced potatoes, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, and bay leaf. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
- While that simmers, whisk together the milk, heavy cream, and cornstarch in a small bowl until completely smooth with no lumps.
- Remove the bay leaf from the pot, then stir in the milk mixture along with the broccoli florets and corn.
- Let the soup simmer for 10 minutes, until the broccoli is tender and the soup has thickened.
- Season with salt and pepper before serving.
Notes
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