This creamy, “cheesy”, vegan broccoli cheese soup has silky smooth texture and classic broccoli cheese flavor with exactly zero ingredients out of a can. Real food meets comfort food.
The Best Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup
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I made this soup and it was absolutely delicious. I’m always looking for healthy, vegan recipes and this one is a winner! Thanks for the recipe:)
Lisa S
Video For Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup
This Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup Is A Hug In A Bowl
Truly though, it is the best. Creamy, cheesy-like without cheese, velvety and rich, and just all-around delicious. Kind of like a soup that gives you a hug for lunch, when it is, in fact, A SALAD in disguise!
No? Too awkward?
In addition to this Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup being creamy and velvety and absolutely gorgeous in texture, it is super nutritious. Just pause to think of the rainbow of veggies in here: sauteed onions, celery, carrots, potato, and broccoli simmered with a little bit of vegetable broth and almond milk, pureed to smooth cheesy-like perfection. That is my kind of salad. Soup. Whatever.
Those olive oil pan-fried croutons don’t hurt the cause, either. I mean, if your soup doesn’t include fried bread, who are you really?
Hey you over there, wearing the cozy sweater even though it’s slightly too warm for that in August – yes, you! I made this one for you. Let’s embrace the soup season!
And this soup in return will love you back with all its veggie, nutritious, almost-cheesy goodness. ❤️
What’s In Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup
In addition to broccoli as the star, obvi, we’ve got a whole lotta almond milk keeping this creamy and smooth for us while also staying dairy free. I am not dairy free, but when I do a healthy eating reset, or my own version of a detox, I like to press pause on dairy for a few days. It’s perfect in non-dairy savory dishes like this red pepper pasta and this summer corn chowder that is still the object of my dreams.
Besides the almond milk, here’s what else makes this soup magic:
- Mirepoix (carrots, onion, celery)
- Potatoes
- Broccoli
- Garlic
- Broth
- Nutritional yeast
- Croutons (see recipe notes or FAQ to make these!)
About Nutritional Yeast
A word about a newish ingredient we have on the loose in this soup: nutritional yeast. Have you heard of it?
It’s a deactivated yeast that is sold at health food stores. It looks like flakes. Borderline like fish food. Wait! Mom, don’t hang up.
It is yellow in color and it’s known for having a cheesy, creamy, nutty flavor to it, which makes it the perfect complement to our already-nutty almond milk and also gives us a boost of cheese flavor without needing dairy-cheese. It’s got lots of vitamins and stuff (google) and it is YUM CITY but if you can’t find it, not a big deal. I made this soup at home the other night without nutritional yeast and it was still creamy and luscious and cheesy in the best non-cheesy possible way.
How To Make Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup
I love this soup so much because it is delicious but also SO EASY. This is all you need to do:
- Make Your Soup Base: Carrots, onions, celery, potatoes, garlic, WOW, all the good things to get this soup started.
- Add Broccoli: Broccoli, vegetable broth, and almond milk enter the scene and get simmered until the broccoli is bright green.
- Blend It Up: Pull out most of the broccoli and blend everything together until smooth. Add the broccoli back in an pulse just a few times until it’s chopped up. Stir in the nutritional yeast and serve!
Frequently Asked Questions About This Recipe
Can I use cheese instead of nutritional yeast?
Yes! Stir in some freshly shredded cheddar at the end instead and stir until combined.
Could I use a different milk other than almond milk?
Oat milk would be a good alternative, if regular whole milk if you don’t need it to be vegan.
How do you make the croutons?
Heat 1/4 cup olive oil (more as needed) in a skillet over medium high heat. Add a clove of smashed garlic and let it hang out (WITHOUT browning) for a few minutes. Remove garlic. Add cubed bread (about 6 thick slices cut into chunks) and toss around in the pan until golden brown and chewy/crispy. Drain on paper towels. Season with salt.
What can I serve with this?
You could serve this with a salad but to be honest, we’ve already got a lot of green going on here! I love this with the croutons above, or with some fresh bread or garlic bread, or with grilled cheese.
Can I skip the nutritional yeast?
Nutritional yeast is not necessary for texture, but it adds a yummy, salty, cheesy flavor and some extra vitamins, too.
The Best Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 5 servings (2-ish cups each) 1x
Description
This creamy, “cheesy”, vegan broccoli cheese soup has silky smooth texture and classic broccoli cheese flavor with exactly zero ingredients out of a can. Real food meets comfort food.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 an onion, chopped
- 1–2 stalks celery, chopped
- 4–5 large carrots, chopped
- 1 large potato, peeled and chopped
- 2–3 cups broccoli florets, in large pieces for easy removal
- 2–3 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups almond milk (unsweetened)
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast – optional, see notes
- 1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons sea salt
- croutons – see notes
Instructions
- Make Soup Base: Heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the mirepoix, garlic, and potatoes. Saute until softened, about 10 minutes.
- Add Broccoli: Add broccoli, vegetable broth, and almond milk. Simmer until bubbly and broccoli is bright green, about 5 minutes.
- Blend Blend Blend: Using tongs, pull out most of the broccoli pieces and set aside. Blend the soup, sans broccoli, to a suuuper creamy, cheesy-looking consistency, and then add the broccoli and just pulse a few times to mix it in. This will likely need to be done in batches. Return to pot; stir in nutritional yeast and salt. Taste and adjust and serve!
Notes
HERE’S HOW TO MAKE THE MOST AMAZING CROUTONS: Heat 1/4 cup olive oil (more as needed) in a skillet over medium high heat. Add a clove of smashed garlic and let it hang out (WITHOUT browning) for a few minutes. Remove garlic. Add cubed bread (about 6 thick slices cut into chunks) and toss around in the pan until golden brown and chewy/crispy. Drain on paper towels. Season with salt.
FYI, I’ve also casually thrown a spoonful of pesto in there for good measure – it was Level 900 Awesome. Just saying.
If the blended soup looks too thick for you, just add an additional 1/2 cup or so of liquid.
Nutritional yeast is not necessary for texture, but it adds a yummy, salty, cheesy flavor and some extra vitamins, too.
Nutrition doesn’t include croutons.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: broccoli cheese soup, healthy broccoli cheese soup, vegan broccoli cheese soup
Three More Favorite Vegan Soups
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our collection of best healthy soups. Check it out!
Filed Under: All Recipes Broccoli Carrot Dairy-Free Dinner Gluten-Free Healthy Main Dishes Soups Sugar-Free Summer Vegan Vegetarian
August 24, 2017
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I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
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I took the survey and I can’t wait to make this soup! Soup season cannot come soon enough. Meal planning gets so much easier when we can have soup on a regular basis!
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I took the survey. The soup looks great! Thanks!
High salt content. Help!
Hi, Arlene! Much of the salt content here is coming from the broth. To lower the sodium, you could opt for a low-sodium broth. Hope this helps!
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Took the survey. Recipe looks delicious!
The soup look creamy and yummy:)!
I have the same situation like you about planning our meals. People will think as a food blogger, we don’t have that problem. Happy weekend!
Looks fab! I took the survey!
I took the survey. The term ‘mirepoix’ was new to me, so thanks so much for the vocab lesson too! I’m looking forward to trying this soup.
I took the survey! and also found what I’m making for dinner tonight!!
I took the survey. And I look forward to trying this soup, as we are big broccoli fans!
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I took the survey, but I’m also pumped about making this! YUM!
I took the survey and this recipe looks dope.
I took the survey! Thanks as always for the fab recipes 🙂
I’m really going to have to try this soup! It looks sooo good. Oh, and I took the survey. Thanks!
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