This thick and creamy vegan broccoli cheese soup recipe is loaded with “cheesy” goodness that will quench your craving for comfort food any night of the week. Kid-friendly, vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free.
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Cheese was definitely one of the hardest things for me to give up while transitioning to being 100% vegan.
The only way that I’ve found to stop the cravings is by “veganizing” my favorite cheesy recipes. That means to still make macaroni and cheese or cheesy loaded broccoli stuffed potatoes when you’re craving it, but just make it without dairy cheese.
There’s no reason to give up your favorite comfort foods, you just need to switch up the ingredients. It can be done, I promise. If it’s done right, even the most experienced cheese lover won’t be able to tell that the dish is completely dairy-free.
This soup doesn’t have any faux cheeses, it’s all veggie based! I like faux cheese shreds for pizza night on quinoa crust pizzas or on the easiest pizzas that you’ll ever make! But you won’t find it in this vegan broccoli cheese soup!
If you’re craving something cheesy, you need to make this broccoli cheese soup asap!
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Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe
This vegan broccoli cheese soup recipe is naturally thick and creamy and it’s all from wholesome plant-based ingredients! I used potatoes to make it taste super creamy and carrots for the naturally yellow color of the broth that we all know and love.
I used to love Panera’s broccoli cheese soup, I would get the large bowl every single time I went! Every once in awhile I still get a craving for it. When I do, I pull out this recipe and it always hits the spot.
You can customize this vegan broccoli cheese soup recipe however you like– I loaded our soup with tons of broccoli, two pounds to be exact! You could cut the broccoli in half and add shredded carrots or cauliflower bites, or use up whatever vegetables you have in the fridge. Pretty much anything swimming in “cheese sauce” is sure to be delicious and gobbled up by everyone in the family.
Travis and I both loved this dairy-free cheese soup, it’s one of those meals that makes you feel like you’re getting a big warm hug. Normally, I serve baked potatoes when we have soup for dinner but since this soup already has potatoes in it, we had a big pile of lemon basil turmeric veggies on the side.
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This thick and creamy vegan broccoli cheese soup recipe is loaded with “cheesy” goodness that will quench your craving for comfort food any night of the week. Kid-friendly, vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free.
- 1/3 cup raw cashews, soaked and drained
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 4 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (For color, not heat)
- 3 Tbsp nutritional yeast (Or more to taste)
- 1 quart vegetable broth
- 2 lbs broccoli florets (Fresh or frozen)
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- Parsley for garnish
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Soak cashews in water for 1 hour, drain and discard water. Set aside.
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Add olive oil to a dutch oven and cook the diced onions for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add cubed potatoes, thinly sliced carrots, a pinch of salt and 2 cups of water. Cover and let cook for 20-25 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Almost all of the water should be absorbed by now.
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Let the mixture cool slightly before adding it to the high powered blender. Add vegetable broth, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, nutritional yeast, cashews, salt, and pepper to the food processor. Blend on high until smooth and creamy. (If you don't have a large blender, blend the soup in small batches.) Pour the soup back into the original pot and bring it to a low simmer for 5-10 minutes.
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You can use fresh or frozen broccoli for this soup (cook it while the potatoes and carrots are cooking). After you steam or roast the broccoli, chop it up into bite-size chunks and add it to the blended soup.
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Garnish each bowl with parsley and a sprinkle of cayenne.
- You can substitute chickpeas for the cashews if you want this recipe to be nut-free.
- You can use fresh or frozen broccoli in this recipe, it really doesn’t affect the consistency.
- Feel free to add grated carrots or other vegetables to the soup.
- The addition of cayenne pepper is just for color, not for heat. If you’re concerned, please omit it.
What’s your favorite vegan comfort food? Let me know in the comments!
This looks delicious! I’ve had things made with “cashew cheese” before and it’s really great! The kids took a holistic cooking class and made the best nachos with it. I will give the a try for sure because I too love that soup at Panera, LOL! I’m also switching things up to make some healthier choices these days, so this comes right on time!
That’s wonderful that your kids are open to trying different forms of cooking, I love that! Nachos with cashew “cheese” sauce is one of our favorite treat snacks! I hope you enjoy the soup as much as we do! =)
I have found a vegan cheese that I love! But I totally agree you can make yummy ‘cheesy’ food without it!
Which brand do you like? I’ll give it a try!
This soup looks so mouthwatering! I want to make it for lunch today! I think I’ll just run over to the store and buy the ingredients I’m missing. Thanks for sharing such a great soup recipe! (Fyi, I don’t like soups bit this one in particular I’d totally devour it!)
*I’m trying to give this recipe 5 stars but it won’t let me, it just lets me up to 3….just so you know 🙂
Thank you for letting me know, I’ll look into it! I hope you enjoy the soup!
I’ll be adding this to this week’s menu. I tried to make this soup months ago using Daiya cheese, but it just didn’t work out, so I’m so glad I came across this recipe. Looks delicious!
That’s one of the brands I tried and didn’t care for either. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Okay so I’m probably about as opposite of a vegan as you can get haha BUT this is super cool. I had no idea that so many things could create an equally cheesy, creamy dish! It’s intriguing to me for sure and I love the added nutritional value. not sure I could break away from my panera bowl though lol!
I know, it’s hard! I used to loveeee a bread bowl of broccoli cheese soup but this soup really does hit the spot! Promise =)
This soup looks fantastic! My mouth is definitely watering. I’m going to save this recipe and try it soon. I love finding new recipes!
Thank you!
This soup sounds AMAZING! I used to love broccoli and cheese soup, but since my body doesn’t tolerate dairy anymore, that’s one of the foods I’ve cut out almost entirely. I’m definitely bookmarking this recipe for future reference! Love that you used all natural ingredients to achieve that cheesy flavor too! Can’t wait to make it!
Thank you so much, Joscelyn! I hope you enjoy it!
Hi Stacey – I am going to give this recipe a try. Do you know if it freezes well? Thanks!
Hi, Trisha! I’m sorry, I haven’t tried freezing it. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
I’d like to try substituting cauliflower for the potatoes. Any idea on quantity?
Hi Becky, I haven’t tried it with cauliflower yet but I would definitely use the whole head. Potatoes have a thicker consistency than cauliflower once they’re blended so I wouldn’t skimp, you want the soup to be super creamy so it replicates the thick cheesy texture of traditional broccoli cheese soup! Let me know how it turns out!
Hello! I LOVE this soup! I have not had Panera version, but I loved Whole Foods version…until I became allergic to dairy, gluten and corn. I have made this twice now and it’s perfect!
I modified and used cannelloni beans for cashews and sweet potato for russet. Pure bliss! Thank you for sharing your kitchen table with us ❤
Thank you so much for letting me know! I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup, I’m going to try it with sweet potatoes next time…yum!
Wow! This soup is AMAZING!!!! First time trying a vegan recepis that was based around cheese! I am so impressed & can not wait to share with family & friends hear on out! Especially during the fall season! Thank you For a very flavorful, easy meal!
Thank you so much, Lizzy, your comment made my day! I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup, it’s one of our favorites too! I hope you get to try some of my other vegan cheese recipes!
Could this be done without the cashews or chickpeas?
Hi Natacha! The cashews just add a smooth creaminess to the soup (I haven’t tried it yet without) but I don’t see why you can make it without them. The potatoes will still give the soup the creamy richness that you want in broccoli “cheese” soup. Let me know how it turns out for you! Enjoy =)
Hello! You can but it won’t be as creamy without the cashews.
My boyfriend and I are new to the vegan diet. The hardest part for us both is the cheese and, of course, cheesy soups! I made this tonight for dinner and we loved it! Definitely going to be making it again throughout this coming cold season! It’s perfectly creamy and had a great cheese flavor.
Thank you!
I’m so glad you both enjoyed the soup, Kayla! Thank you so much for letting me know! If you like quesadillas, give the cheesy veggie quesadillas a try next, my hubby is obsessed with them and he didn’t even know it wasn’t dairy cheese until I told him!
LOVE this recipe! Have made it every week for the past month, and I’m not vegetarian or vegan 🙂 would you have the approximate nutritional information / caloric value for a cup of soup?
Hello! I’m sorry, I don’t have the nutritional value for the recipe but I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipe!
My husband and I totally enjoyed this extremely flavorful soup! I put half the broccoli in the blender, and half the broccoli in the pot. Loved it. thank you! 5 star rating – for some reason, my computer (maybe Chrome?) won’t let me highlight more than 2 stars! No!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you both enjoyed the recipe! I’ll have to look into the star issue, I’m not sure what could be causing that but I really appreciate that you tried to leave a 5 star rating! =)
This looks so good! We have a lot of allergies over here. Are there any substitutions for nutritional yeast?
Hi Ali! I’m sorry but don’t know of anything that you could substitute for the nooch but you could just leave it out. I hope you enjoy it!
Could you replace the potatoes and use cauliflower instead? Would it change the consistency?
Hi, Taryn! You could definitely replace the potatoes with cauliflower but the consistency won’t be as thick as if you used potatoes. Let me know how it turns out for you!
I tried it with cauliflower and it was ok. I will be sticking with the potatoes next time. Thanks for this recipe.
This was delicious and fast.
Thank you, Shaina! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Is there a way to make this recipe in a crockpot instead of a Dutch oven. I work late nights and prepping meals then turning on a crock pot works much easier for me.
I haven’t tried it but I definitely think it would work!
Mmm comfort food! This is most definitely worth a try. 🙂
Thanks, Ashley! Enjoy!
Yum ! This looks so good! I haven’t gone in to soaking cashews yet in my vegan journey, but think I will for this recipe!
It’s so worth it, cashews make the soup so creamy!! Enjoy!!
Thanks for sharing! Where can I buy nutritional yeast? How long does it last?
Hi Suzanne! You can buy nutritional yeast on Amazon or any health food stores like Whole Foods will have it! I buy it from the bulk section at my local organic market and I’ve kept it for a few months with no issues.
Hi Stacey,
This soup sounds really good and nutritious. What I really want to know is where you got those gorgeous blue bowls/casserole dishes?
Hi! Thank you, I love them too! I found them at Home Goods last a few years ago, they probably don’t have the same ones now but they always have pretty plates and bowls to choose from!
Stacey, I just made this soup for lunch and it’s Amazing! The one thing I miss is Cheese and haven’t found any brands that are a good replacement. Thanks for your creative ideas. This recipe is one I plan to repeat often.
Thank you so much for the feedback, I’m so happy that you enjoyed the recipe! As far as store-bought vegan cheese goes, have you tried Follow Your Heart or Chao? Those are my two favorites, hope that helps!