My dairy-free chicken pot pie soup has all the comforting flavors of classic chicken pot pie, but in a creamy, veggie-packed soup! I use homemade cashew cream instead of heavy cream for a rich, velvety broth. It’s also a great way to use up leftover rotisserie chicken or turkey from the holidays.
A comfort food classic, but in soup form!
😌 Hearty dairy-free soups and stews are always a hit at our house during the Fall and Winter months. I love warding off the chilly temps by making everything from our Dairy-Free Chicken and Broccoli Soup with Cashew Cream to our Cozy Shepherd’s Pie Soup, and of course, this Dairy free chicken pot pie soup recipe.
The robust inclusion of flavorful veggies, tender bites of chicken or turkey, poultry seasoning, and the incredibly CREAMY texture of cashew cream lands this soup firmly in the top 5 favorite soups I’ve ever made, and I look forward to it every year once soup season rolls around ❤️
A few recipe notes
Reason number one to make an average-sized turkey when you’re only cooking for a few people over the holidays? Using leftovers in soup, of course!
Yes, yes, I know this is a recipe for chicken pot pie soup, but when I whipped it up the first time, I used leftover turkey from our Thanksgiving dinner, and it was SO 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼 I just absolutely had to share it with you.
So when I make it around the holidays, I’ll always use leftover turkey if we have any, but the rest of the year I use rotisserie chicken or other chicken leftovers from my weekly cooking.
Key ingredients and why I use them
Raw cashews
Raw cashews are what give this soup such a nostalgic, dairy-like texture without using any milk or cream. I blend them with some of the broth until they surrender into a rich, creamy broth that makes this soup so special. If you can’t have cashews, consider substituting part of the broth with your favorite unsweetened non-dairy creamer, and/or blending part of the soup until smooth BEFORE adding the chicken and peas in the final steps.
Nutritional yeast
Nutritional yeast is responsible for some of the dairy-mimicking depth of flavor in this recipe. You don’t need a lot to reap the benefits of its nutty, umami-rich profile. If it’s a new ingredient to you and you do a lot of dairy-free cooking, I highly recommend grabbing some – I always have it on hand in our pantry!
Cooked chicken or turkey
I’ve made this recipe so many times with both, and either option will work beautifully. This soup is genuinely one of our favorite ways to use up leftover rotisserie chicken or turkey if it’s around the holidays.
A few of my tips for making this recipe
🕰 Start soaking the raw cashews before you do anything else. I use my tea kettle to get some hot water going, and pour it over the cashews to soak while I gather the recipe ingredients and prep the veggies. If I forget to do this, I’ll just simmer the cashews on the stove top for about 10 minutes to adequately soften them for blending.
🥕 Chop all of you veggies about the same size. This ensures that they cook at the even rate while simmering.
🫛 Refrain from adding the peas until the very end. Frozen peas are already partially cooked, or blanched, which means they don’t need much time in the soup to cook. Whenever I use frozen peas in soups or pastas I always wait until the last couple of minutes before adding them to make sure they stay plump and maintain a pleasant texture.
😋 Always season your soup to taste before digging in. The sodium content in pre-cooked chicken or turkey, and in broths or stocks can be so varied. The best way to make sure this soup is seasoned to your liking is to taste and add more salt and pepper to your preference.
If you enjoyed this chicken pot pie soup we’d love it if you would take a moment to rate and review it below! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 It’s also a great place for questions, and super helpful for other readers if you share any modifications you made to the recipe.
Thank you for sharing your kitchen with NK. We’re so grateful you’re here!
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Dairy Free Chicken Pot Pie Soup Made with Cashew Cream
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Dairy-Free, Gluten Free
Description
My dairy-free chicken pot pie soup has all the comforting flavors of classic chicken pot pie, but in a creamy, veggie-packed soup! I use homemade cashew cream instead of heavy cream for a rich, velvety broth. It’s also a great way to use up leftover rotisserie chicken or turkey from the holidays.
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews
- Just-boiled water to soak cashews
- 3 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced into half moons
- 3 stalks of celery, diced
- 2 medium yukon gold potatoes, diced (about 2 1/2 cups worth)
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning or all-purpose seasoning
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups pre-cooked shredded chicken or turkey (from about 1 pound meat)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups frozen peas
- Parsley to garnish, (optional)
Instructions
- Soak the cashews. Add raw cashews to a heat proof bowl and cover with hot (ideally just boiled) water – allow to soak for 20-30 minutes while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
- Sauté the vegetables and spices. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally – until softened and onions are translucent. Add potatoes, garlic, poultry seasoning, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper and cook 2-3 minutes more – stirring often.
- Make the cashew cream. Drain and rinse the soaked cashews. Transfer to a blender with 2 cups broth and blend on high speed for 1-2 minutes until completely smooth and no lumps or small pieces of cashew remain.
- Simmer the soup. Add cashew cream mixture broth along with remaining 2 cups broth and shredded chicken or turkey to the soup pot. Scrape up any stuck on bits from the bottom of the pan and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cover. Gently simmer for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally – until potatoes and veggies are tender.
- Add the peas. Just before serving, turn off the heat and add frozen peas. Stir to combine and let the soup sit for a minute or two until the peas are bright green and warm.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve, garnished with a bit of fresh parsley if desired.
Notes
To store: This dairy free soup can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
To re-heat: To re-heat this soup, simply heat gently on the stove, stirring frequently, until warm. Alternatively it can be re-heated in the microwave. If it has thickened while warming, simply thin with a bit of broth until desired consistency is reached.
To freeze: This soup freezes beautifully. To thaw, transfer to the refrigerator overnight, and warm gently on the stove before serving. It would be an excellent recipe to make to get a bit ahead on some meal prep for nights when you just don’t feel like cooking.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stove top
- Cuisine: American
Shelby says
This is the best recipe for a creamy chicken pot pie. I use it when doing whole 30, (every April and October), and I use it with a pie crust when not doing whole 30. Thank you, absolutely delicious!
Nyssa Tanner says
Ohh I love the idea of using this with a pie crust! YUM! That sounds so delish. Thank you for your thoughtful comment, and happy cooking!! – Nyssa
Sarah says
This was my first time making cashew cream, and I was blown away! My husband didn’t even know what the soup was called, but he said, “This tastes just like the inside of the chicken pot pie my mom used to make!” It was a winner – and so delicious!
Nyssa Tanner says
Aw, yes! I love to hear that you both enjoyed this recipe so much and that you discovered the magic of cashew cream! It really is my favorite dairy substitute for soups, pastas, and sauces 🙂 Thank you for your thoughtful review, and happy cooking! – Nyssa
Alexia says
Made this with a few adjustments, live in a house with lectin sensitivity, so no peas or potatoes. I didn’t use the cashews but substituted in some coconut cream with some pumpkin purée to celebrate the season and incorporate some starch. I didn’t have either seasoning and instead used Herb de Province. I used spinach instead of peas and finished the soup with a little Cayenne and lemon juice. Everyone liked the soup, it wouldn’t have come out as well as it did if I didn’t use this recipe as a reference. Thanks
Nyssa Tanner says
I’m so glad to hear that you loved this one and that you were able to adjust the recipe to suit your dietary needs! Those swaps and substitutions sound fantastic!! Thank you for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful + helpful comment – I really appreciate it! Happy cooking 🙂 – Nyssa
Sarah says
Recipes like this make me forget I’m doing Whole30! So delicious!
Nyssa Tanner says
That is the highest compliment Sarah! So glad that you loved this one and that it could support you on your Whole30 journey 🙂 Happy cooking! – Nyssa
Laura Tanner says
This soup is better than any chicken pot pie I’ve ever had & is so much healthier & easy to make. Thank you Nyssa, mom.
Nyssa Tanner says
Aw yes Laura! I’m so glad that you loved this one! We make it all the time 🙂 XO
Caitlin says
Thankyou for this recipe – so delicious! I’ve made it multiple times now and my family really enjoys it! I swapped the potato for turnip and added a bit of cornflour to make it into a casserole and served with rice/quinoa. 🙂
Nyssa Tanner says
Ohh what!! This soup as a casserole sounds DIVINE! Love hearing how you made this recipe your own. Thank you for the comment and happy cooking! – Nyssa
Christina says
Such a comforting and tasty soup with clean eating ingredients.
Nyssa Tanner says
I’m so happy you loved it! Thanks for the review! 🙂
Cheryl says
This is fantastic, made zero adjustments. Thank you,
Nyssa Tanner says
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing your feedback 🙂
Lisa says
This soup is so more-ish! Even my husband, who is normally not into ‘creamy’ soups, was ALL about it. I grew up in Australia, and Chicken Mushroom pies were a staple of my childhood and one of the things that I truly missed about going Paleo – but now I no longer need to miss out on the delicious umami flavour goodness – by swapping them out for this soup! Nom.
Nyssa Tanner says
Ahh yes! I’m SO happy you and your husband enjoyed, and that it reminded you of food that you love from your childhood. That’s where the inspiration of this recipe came from for me so hearing that totally made my day 🙂
Stacey says
Thanks for sharing. We really loved this soup! It’s delicious and very satisfying. Next time I may add a few mushrooms too. So far we have enjoyed all your recipes we’ve tried! Thanks again
Nyssa Tanner says
I’m so glad you loved it! Mushrooms sound like the perfect addition – I’ve thought about doing that myself 🙂 Thank you for your thoughtful comment!
Katie says
What if you don’t have nutritional yeast? Can you do without or sub something?
Nyssa Tanner says
You could just leave it out! If you’re not doing a Whole30 you could substitute with a tablespoon of white miso paste and reduce the salt in the recipe slightly. But if you want to keep it Whole30 / Paleo just make it without – it will still be delicious 🙂
Steph says
Wanting to try this but I only have roasted cashews. Will they work?
Nyssa Tanner says
Roasted cashews will work in a pinch for cashew cream as long as you soak them for a minimum of 12 hours, or give them a simmer in boiling water for about 30 minutes. You want them to look plump and paler in color before using! Hope you enjoy!
Candara says
I made this for the first time tonight and it’s absolutely delicious! It’s officially saved in my fav recipes. Thank you for sharing this 🙂
Nyssa Tanner says
Hooray!!! So happy you loved it. Thanks for your comment! 🙂
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
Suzanne says
This looks so good! What a great lunch meal prep for the week that is healthy and hearty!
Kathleen says
Loved this recipe! I have tried with both almonds and cashews and 100% it tastes better with cashew.
Nyssa Tanner says
I’m so happy you you’ve been enjoying it!
Megan says
Can you use coconut milk instead of cashews?
Nyssa Tanner says
Hi Megan! You could definitely use coconut milk instead of cashews. The soup will be slightly less thick, but still delicious. I would suggest reducing the broth to 3 or 3 1/2 cups, and using 1 13.5 ounce can of full fat coconut milk (you can always add more broth to thin out the soup if you need to). If you give it a try I would love to hear how it turned out for you!
Mel says
Do you think I could use a slow cooker for this recipe?
Nyssa Tanner says
Hi Mel! Yes I think you could! I would suggest that you prepare the cashew cream and broth mixture, saute the onions, carrots, and celery in step 2, and maybe add the garlic to the veggies to saute for a minute or so before removing from the heat. I would add the sauteed veggies to the slow cooker with the potatoes, poultry seasoning, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, cashew cream broth, remaining 2 cups broth, and shredded chicken or turkey. If you’re starting with raw chicken breasts you could also add those in during this step and then take them out to shred before serving.
I think 3 hours on high would do the trick. Add the peas about 10-20 minutes before serving until they’re bright green and season to taste with salt and pepper!
Hope that helps! xo – Nyssa
Kaley says
I am so happy I found this recipe – it’s absolutely delicious and so easy!! Truly tastes like a chicken pot pie and the cashews give it such a yummy creaminess. Can’t wait to make this again.
Nyssa Tanner says
Yess! Thanks so much Kaley! So happy you enjoyed the soup recipe 🙂
Ingrid says
Chicken pot pie is such a comfort food for me and we adore this healthier alternative at our house. the cashews are such a great sub for cream/dairy and honestly I can’t tell the different. Cannot get enough of this one!
Nyssa Tanner says
Yess girl! All about that healthy comfort food life ☺️ hats off to cashew cream for making it so easy!