Soups can be made creamy without cream, of course: Just use any of the nondairy “milks” discussed on page 15. Soy, almond, and coconut have the most pronounced flavor; rice and oat milks are more neutral, and more watery. Nut milks taste how you think they would. And soft silken tofu will make the soup thicker without a pronounced beany flavor.
Like cow’s milk, nondairy milks tend to separate if boiled. That means vegan milks work best in the company of thoroughly cooked potatoes or beans, and really shine in puréed soups, where there are enough other solids to help control the separation.
Because cream is mostly fat, and vegetable-based milks — and dairy milk and yogurt — are relatively lean, it’s nearly impossible to duplicate the same mild, silky texture you get from adding cream to a soup. It helps to incorporate an additional tablespoon or 2 of oil into the recipe to enrich it; this is best done either at the very beginning, while cooking the aromatics; during puréeing (if the soup is puréed); or by passing a full-flavored oil like olive or sesame at the table, as a last-minute drizzle.