This vegan bisque owes its cozy creaminess to cashews, and is loaded with veggies and herbs. It’s easy to whip up and so comforting, especially when topped with Old Bay-seasoned croutons.
For this recipe, I wanted to be reminded of ordering a cup of crab stew or lobster bisque at little mom-and-pop restaurants while growing up in Savannah, GA. Here, the traditional crustaceans and dairy-based cream are replaced by a variety of vegetables, cashew cream, and a hint of Old Bay seasoning in the croutons.
What you’ll need to make the bisque and croutons:
- Half of a baguette
- Vegan butter
- Garlic
- Old Bay
- Carrots
- Onion
- Celery
- Flour
- Tomatoes
- Vegetable broth
- A bay leaf
- Parsley
- Thyme
- Cashews
- Nutritional yeast
- Salt & Pepper
How to make this recipe:
Slice up your half baguette and toss with melted butter, garlic powder, and Old Bay. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes.
In a large pot, sauté veggies and crushed red pepper in vegan butter, then add the flour and cook a little longer. Pour in the tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, parsley, and thyme. Bring it to a boil, then reduce and let simmer for 20 minutes.
While that cooks, make the cashew cream by blending together softened cashews, water, and nutritional yeast. Add that to the pot after the 20 minutes are up and let it simmer and thicken for another 10 minutes.
Blend it up with an immersion blender, and MAKE SURE you remove the bay leaf before you blend!!
Taste and add salt and freshly ground pepper to your liking. Add to bowls and toss some Old Bay croutons on top. Plus some herbs if you’re fancy!
Tips for making vegan carrot and tomato bisque:
To soften cashews, place them in a bowl of very hot water for 20 minutes. You can also put them in a bowl of cold water and leave them in the fridge to soak overnight.
If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a standard blender and work in batches if needed. Just make sure to let the bisque cool a bit before blending!
You can substitute regular tomatoes for the fire roasted ones, if needed.
I say this recipe make around 4 servings, but I don’t really like to assume serving sizes for people. If you think you’d like more, go ahead and double the recipe.
A splash of dry white wine would be lovely here. I feel like I add wine to everything, so I left it out this time. (Or rather, I put it on the side)
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Vegan Garlic White Pizza Sauce
Vegan Carrot and Tomato Cashew Bisque with Old Bay Croutons
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Large pot
- Immersion or standard blender
Ingredients
Old Bay Croutons
- 1/2 baguette
- 2 tbsp vegan butter melted
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
Bisque
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 2 large carrots chopped
- 1/2 large yellow onion chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- pinch crushed red pepper
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 (14oz) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 large bay leaf
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 cup raw cashews softened*
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- salt to taste
- freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
Old Bay Croutons
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Slice up half of a baguette into crouton-sized pieces and add to a large bowl. Toss with melted vegan butter, garlic powder, and Old Bay seasoning.
- Add croutons to a lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, stirring/flipping halfway through.
Bisque
- In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat and add carrots, onion, celery, garlic, and crushed red pepper. Cook 5-7 minutes until vegetables are soft and the edges of the onions are just beginning to brown. Mix in the flour and allow to cook another few minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, vegetable broth, bay leaf, parsley, and thyme. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Make the cashew cream while that cooks. Add cashews, water, and nutritional yeast to a blender and blend until very smooth.
- Add the cashew cream to the pot after 20 minutes, bring to a simmer, and cook another 10 minutes until thickened. Turn off the heat and remove the bay leaf.
- Use an immersion blender to blend the bisque until the whole pot is smooth and creamy. (If using a standard blender, allow the mixture to cool some before pouring into blender in batches)
- Taste and add salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste. Ladle into bowls and top with the Old Bay croutons.
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