This creamy Irish vegetable soup is one of my favourite soup recipes. It's perfectly creamy and full of flavour. Serve with a slice of Irish soda bread slathered in butter for a delicious meal.
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This easy homemade vegetable soup is my own version of the creamy Irish soup I used to have as a child growing up in Ireland. This is a lovely filling soup and most of all it's really easy to make.
Irish farmhouse soup was traditionally made with root vegetables. It was a great way to use up any odds and ends of vegetables. Traditionally Irish vegetables that were in season were used to make it.
I'm keeping this tradition by using a mixture of carrots, parsnips, potatoes and peas for this soup, but any vegetable would work well. This is a real bowl of comfort, great for any time of the year not just St. Patrick's Day.
🛒 What You'll Need
- Vegetables - For the base, you'll need an onion, yellow onions are best, celery and carrots. I also add potatoes, parsnips and frozen garden peas.
- Stock - I use a vegetable stock cube to make the stock for this. You can also use vegetable broth.
- Herbs - You will also need fresh thyme and bay leaf for this soup. If you like you can also add a sprig of fresh parsley as a garnish, that's optional though.
- Cream - I add double cream for this as it will give you the creamiest texture.
- Other Ingredients - You will also need olive oil, garlic, black pepper and sea salt.
🔪 How To Make Irish Vegetable Soup
This is a quick visual guide please see the recipe card below for full instructions
1. Start by cooking the chopped onion, celery and carrot in a little olive oil. Cook until the onion has softened, about 20 minutes.
2. Next, add the minced garlic and cook for a minute. Then add the potatoes and parsnips and stir in the stock.
3. Add the bay leaves and thyme, season with salt and black pepper then simmer until the potatoes are cooked, this will take about 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and thyme. Take two ladles of the soup and add it to a blender or food processor, blend until smooth then return it to the rest of the soup and stir well.
4. Add the frozen peas to the soup and cook for a few minutes, then pour in the cream. Stir well until the cream is warmed through.
👩🍳 Top Tips
- It's important to simmer the vegetables for at least 20 minutes at the start. This will give your soup more flavour and properly soften the onion.
- For best results use floury potatoes. Floury potatoes will help thicken your soup and make it lovely and smooth too when you blend some of it.
- Blending part of the soup and stirring it back in will give you the perfect creamy soup so it's important to not skip this part.
🔄 Variations
- Add more vegetables - this is a very adaptable soup so you can easily add more veggies if you like. Turnip or swede would work well in this. You could also add some kale if you liked.
- Add barley - pearl barley is lovely added to this soup and it will make it more filling.
- Blend it all - I love chunky soups, and I prefer this one to be chunky but you can blend it if you like. I would use an immersion blender (stick blender) to blend the soup until smooth.
❓FAQs
No, I don't recommend freezing this soup. Like all creams with cream, you run the risk of the cream splitting when it freezes.
Yes, you can. Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and kept in the fridge for two days. I reheat this on the hob until piping hot. It may need a little water to loosen it up after settling.
Yes, you can. For a thick and smooth soup, you can just blend the soup entirely. It may not be as creamy but it will still taste great.
☘️ More Irish Recipes
If you're looking for some traditional Irish recipes that are also vegetarian then I have you covered! For a tasty side dish try my Traditional Irish Colcannon, it's perfect with a veggie Irish stew. If you need a good bread to go with your soup then try my Irish Brown Bread, it's so easy to make and is perfect with so many soups. Finally, if you're looking for a good Irish breakfast then my Potato Farls are perfect with a couple of fried eggs.
Homemade Irish Vegetable Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 stalk of celery finely chopped
- 2 medium carrots peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 medium leek outer leaves removed, cleaned then cut into slices
- 2 medium parsnips peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 clove of garlic finely minced or put through a garlic press
- 3 medium floury potatoes peeled and cut into large chunks, I used Maris Piper
- 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 litre / 4 cups of vegetable stock made with 2 vegetable stock cubes
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 100 g / ¾ cup of frozen garden peas
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 150 ml / ¾ of a cup of double cream (heavy cream)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large stock pot, large saucepan or dutch oven.Add the onion, celery, leek and carrot and cook over medium heat until the onion is soft about 20 minutes. Add the garlic then cook for another minute.
- Add the parsnips, potatoes and stock. Stir well then add the bay leaves and thyme. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a low simmer and cook for about 15 minutes. Or until the potatoes are cooked through.
- Remove the bay leaves and the thyme. Transfer two ladles of the soup to a blender, blend until smooth then return it to the soup ad stir well.
- Check the seasoning then add the frozen peas. Cook for a few minutes then stir in the cream and cook for another couple of minutes until the soup is piping hot.
- Serve immediately with bread and a fresh parsley garnish if you like.
Notes
- Storage - Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and kept in the fridge. They should be used within two days. Due to the cream, I don't recommend freezing this soup.
- Nutritional Information - all nutritional information shared is an estimate based on third-party calculations. If calorie count and/or nutritional values are important to you, we recommend putting the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary depending on which brands were used. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household. The nutritional information for. this recipe does not include pasta or cheese.
- Weights and measurements - For US readers, I use Cuisipro measuring cups and spoons, and a Pyrex measuring jug for liquids. These are the industry standard. Cup/spoon volumes can differ from brand to brand, for accuracy, I recommend weighing all ingredients if possible for the best results.
Nutrition
This recipe was first published Dec 2018. Updated March 2023 with new images and nutritional information.
ANNETTE CHAMBERS
Realy yummie. Looks delicious
Sam | Ahead of Thyme
Homemade soup is the best!! I would love a bowl of this right now! Pinning to try this week 🙂
Sri Mallya
Perfect soup for the weather here. So flavorful and delicious. Pinned!
Jessica (Swanky Recipes)
I've been on a pretty serious soup kick lately and just love to make a big batch that will last for a few meals. The flavor in this soup sounds like something we'd love to try next.
Saima
A good soup is the antidote for a lot of things and this vegetable soup looks so hearty and wholesome! It's so perfect for the weather these days. Thanks!
Chef Markus Mueller
I love a good vegetable soup! Perfect for meal prepping and keeping in the freezer too! I usually make soup at least once a week which go in the fridge/freezer for quick meals throughout the week!
Krista Price
This is perfect! It looks so hearty and creamy. I was surprised to see that it's dairy-free! Definitely making this in the very near future!
Michelle Alston
Thanks Krista, there is milk in this soup but you can make it dairy free by using a plant-based milk instead 😉
lauren
perfect for this cold weather! love how jam packed this soup is with veggies, yet creamy and comforting. can't wait to make this for a cold night!
Karyl Henry
It's freezing outside, and I currently have my space heater on in my office, so this soup is calling my name! It looks delicious and comforting, and full of wonderful flavors
Dominique | Perchance to Cook
I love a good vegetable soup. It's the one soup I could have every day and never get sick of it. I love the vegetable combination here. It sounds so comforting!
Renee Gardner
You can't go wrong with a homemade vegetable soup. This one is a classic and I can't wait to add it to this year's soup rotation!
Nicole
How creamy for vegetable soup. The weather we have today, this soup would be perfect.
Annie @ Annie's Noms
Homemade soup is my favourite thing ever!! This looks so comforting and good for the soul!
Natalie
I was just looking for a good vegetable soup recipe and this turned in! Looks perfect and I can't wait to try it this weekend!
Kelly Anthony
Such a classic soup! And a great way to get the kiddos to eat their vegetables. Totally making this winter 🙂
Amy | The Cook Report
Such beautiful photos and this soup is so perfect for this time of year!
Claudia Lamascolo
I have never had a vegetable soup that wasnt all red this looks marvelous and I love its creamy texture.
Danielle Wolter
This is the perfect dish for this cold rain;y winter days. Love to have a nice soup when I'm not feeling well.