This easy to make, 30-minute vegan broccoli cheese soup recipe is rich and creamy and it will quench your craving for comfort food any night of the week. Kid-friendly, vegan, and gluten-free.
*This recipe was originally posted on 5/2/17 but I updated it with new pictures and better recipe instructions on 8/11/19.
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This easy vegan broccoli cheese soup is super-rich, extra creamy, loaded with broccoli, and it has the best cheesy flavor! It’s everything that you want broccoli cheese soup to be without using any butter, processed cheese, or dairy-based heavy cream.
If you love satisfying comfort food meals that are easy to make and are ready in 30 minutes, this delicious cheesy broccoli soup is perfect for you!
How To Make Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup
Step #1 – Cook the Vegetables
Begin by sautéing the diced onion in 2-3 tbsps of low-sodium vegetable broth until translucent, about 5 minutes or until soft (Photo 1).
Add the diced potatoes, sliced carrots, raw cashews, minced garlic, and two cups of water (Photo 2). Bring it to a simmer and then reduce the heat to medium-low and cover it. Let it cook for 20 minutes or until everything is soft and tender (Photo 3).
Step #2 – Make The Cheese Sauce
Add all of the cooked ingredients, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, and vegetable broth to a high-speed blender (this is the Vitamix blender that I use) and blend it on high until it’s smooth and creamy (Photo 4 & 5).
Step #3 – Add The Broccoli
Pour the cheese sauce back into the pan and bring it to a low simmer (Photo 6). Add the fresh or frozen broccoli florets (Photo 7) and let it cook for about 2-3 minutes or until it’s cooked to your desired preference (Photo 8). Don’t let the broccoli overcook, you want it to keep its bright green color.
Taste the loaded potato broccoli cheese soup and add more salt to taste if you like. Based on your preference, you might want to add more vegetable broth. I prefer a thicker soup because the consistency reminds me of my favorite Panera’s dairy-based broccoli cheese soup but it’s up to you. Garnish with red pepper flakes, fresh parsley, or chives (Photo 9).
Is This Healthy Soup Allergy-Friendly?
Yes, this vegetable soup is also vegetarian, gluten-free, and soy-free. It’s not nut-free because it contains cashews. If you’d like to make this vegan broccoli cheese soup nut-free (no cashews), omit the cashews and substitute one extra small russet potato in its place.
Is This Soup Low-Carb?
No, this vegan broccoli cheddar soup recipe is not low-carb but you can make it low-carb! All you have to do it replace the two potatoes with a medium head of cauliflower. It won’t turn out as thick but it will still be a creamy and delicious vegan broccoli cauliflower soup. You may also like this low-carb creamy Thai cauliflower soup.
What To Serve With Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Serve the vegan cheesy broccoli soup with crusty bread for dipping and a big avocado arugula tomato salad, or garlic roasted brussel sprouts, lemon garlic roasted asparagus, or oil-free roasted radishes for a low-carb option.
What About Leftovers?
You can store the leftover broccoli cheddar soup in the fridge for 4-5 days, freeze the leftovers for a future meal, or make my personal childhood favorite meal…cheezy loaded baked potatoes! Simply pour the leftover broccoli cheese soup over hot baked potatoes for a super delicious and comforting meal.
Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe Notes
- You don’t need to soak the cashews before cooking them because they’re boiled with the potatoes and carrots.
- You can use fresh or frozen broccoli florets in this soup. If you use frozen broccoli, use two 12 oz packages of small broccoli florets.
- I usually have frozen organic broccoli from Costco (Here’s my vegan Costco shopping list) on hand in my freezer. However, if you want to use this broccoli, the florets are really big so you will have to cook it separately and then chop the broccoli up to use it in this soup.
- The best type of potato to use is medium russet potatoes. When they break down, they are super creamy and thick which is the perfect consistency for this soup.
- Do not use rainbow carrots for this recipe, you need to use orange carrots to give the soup its yellow color.
- If you don’t want to use carrots, you can make a vegan broccoli cheese soup butternut squash version with this recipe.
- The turmeric powder is for color, not flavor. 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder gives the perfect yellow tint to the soup. Don’t add any more or it will turn into a highlighter yellow colored soup. Trust me, I’ve done it!
- Use low-sodium vegetable broth so you can control the amount of salt in the soup. This is my favorite low-sodium vegetable broth to use because it’s oil-free and has no added sugar.
- If you don’t have fresh garlic cloves, you can sub 1 tsp (more to taste) of garlic powder. This is my favorite organic garlic powder because it has an attached grinder cap so the garlic powder actually tastes like fresh garlic! This is a great deal too because you get three bottles for less than what you would pay in a grocery store.
- Store the leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
- You can also freeze the leftover soup for a future meal. Add more vegetable broth when you reheat it to thin the soup out if it’s too thick.
More Healthy Vegan Soup Recipes You’ll Love!
Hearty Vegetable White Bean Cabbage Soup
Chunky Jackfruit White Bean Chili
If you’ve made this Vegan Broccoli and Cheese Soup, please give the recipe a star rating and leave me a comment below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST to see more delicious vegan recipes!
Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2-3 tbsp low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 medium russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 4 medium carrots peeled and sliced
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp turmeric (For color)
- 4 Tbsp nutritional yeast (Or more to taste)
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (Add more if needed)
- 1 1/2 lbs small broccoli florets (Fresh or frozen - about 8 cups)
- 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink sea salt
- black pepper to taste
- red pepper flakes/parsley/chives (Garnish)
Instructions
- Begin by sautéing the diced onion in 2-3 tbsps of low-sodium vegetable broth in a dutch oven until translucent, for about 5 minutes.
- Add the diced potatoes, sliced carrots, raw cashews, minced garlic, and two cups of water. Bring it to a simmer and then reduce the heat to medium-low and cover it. Let it cook for 20 minutes or until everything is soft and tender
- Add all of the cooked ingredients, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, and vegetable broth to a high-speed blender (this is the Vitamix blender that I use) and blend it on high until it’s smooth and creamy.
- Pour the cheese sauce back into the pan and bring it to a low simmer. Add the fresh or frozen broccoli florets and let it cook for about 2-3 minutes or until it's to your desired preference. Don't let the broccoli overcook, you want it to keep it's bright green color.
- Taste the soup and add more salt to taste if you like. Based on your preference, you might want to add more vegetable broth to thin it out. (I prefer a thicker soup because the consistency reminds me of my favorite Panera’s dairy-based broccoli cheese soup but it’s up to you.) Garnish each bowl with red pepper flakes, fresh parsley, or chives.
Notes
- You don't need to soak the cashews before cooking them because they're boiled with the potatoes and carrots.
- Feel free to add grated carrots or other vegetables to the soup when you add the broccoli.
- If you’d like to make this vegan broccoli cheese soup nut-free, omit the cashews and substitute one extra small russet potato in its place.
- You can use fresh or frozen broccoli florets in this soup. If you use frozen broccoli, use two 12 oz packages of small broccoli florets.
- I usually have this frozen organic broccoli from Costco (Here’s my vegan Costco shopping list) on hand in my freezer. However, if you want to use this broccoli, the florets are really big so you will have to cook it separately and then chop the broccoli up to use it in this soup.
- The best type of potato to use is medium russet potatoes. When they break down, they are super creamy and thick which is the perfect consistency for this soup.
- Do not use rainbow carrots for this recipe, you need the orange carrots to help color the soup.
- The turmeric powder is for color not flavor. 1/4 tsp gives the perfect yellow tint to the soup. Don’t add 1/2 tsp or it will turn into a highlighter yellow colored soup. Believe me, I've done it.
- Use low-sodium vegetable broth so you can control the amount of salt in the soup. This is my favorite low-sodium vegetable broth to use because it’s oil-free and has no added sugar.
- If you don’t have fresh garlic cloves, you can sub 1 tsp (more to taste) of garlic powder. This is my favorite organic garlic powder because it has an attached grinder cap so the garlic powder actually tastes like fresh garlic! This is a great deal too because you get three bottles for less than what you would pay in a grocery store.
- Store the leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
- You could also use the leftover broccoli cheddar soup to make cheezy loaded baked potatoes!
- You can freeze the leftover soup for a future meal. Add more vegetable broth when you reheat it to thin the soup out if it’s too thick.
