What is it about Broccoli and Cheese that makes them taste so darn good together? Anyone remember that yummy Broccoli Cheddar Soup from Panera Bread? So thick and creamy? Well, I'm happy to say I made a copycat recipe for Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup the other night - and it is PERFECT!
It's thick, and creamy, and cheesy, and loaded with a ton of broccoli........just like the real thing.
Of course, there's not really any cheese in it..... Instead, I use a medley of vegetables and spices to give it that yummy Cheddar Cheese flavor. And although the original soup was probably never labeled as a healthy soup, I can guarantee you this one is!
Cauliflower
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Celery
Shredded Carrots
Onion
Garlic
Broccoli
Sounds more like Vegetable Soup, doesn't it? But I guarantee you when you blend all those yummy vegetables together and add in some spices, it turns into the yummiest Vegan Cheddar Broccoli Soup you've ever had.
In fact, my wife declared this her new favorite recipe!
Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup
To make this soup you'll need a cutting board, one soup pot, and either a blender or an immersion blender. I have to say, my wife spoiled me this year on my birthday by buying me an immersion blender - and it did the trick perfectly!
Start by cleaning and chopping a medium head of Cauliflower. Break apart the florets and discard the thick core. Add the Cauliflower pieces to your soup pot with 4 cups of Low Sodium Vegetable Broth.
Add ¼ of a roughly chopped onion, 3 stalks of chopped celery, 1 chopped Yukon Gold Potato, and about 1 cup of shredded carrot.
Bring that to a boil and cook for 15-20 min or until the veggies are nice and soft.
Now we need to blend this soup base until it's nice and creamy.
You can use your blender, just make sure to do it in small batches and be aware of the pressure that usually builds up while blending hot soups.
Be Careful!
The other option is to use an immersion blender. This is simply a blender on a stick that you immerse right into your pot. It sure makes blending hot soups easy and I can't recommend one enough.
The following link is for the Kitchen Aid Immersion Blender I received on my birthday. Keep in mind this is an affiliate link - so I will make a small commission if you buy one.
Once your soup is completely blended (some small chunks of carrot or celery are fine), let's start adding our milk and seasoning. Add the Almond Milk, Nutritional Yeast, Garlic Powder, Salt, Pepper, Lemon Juice, Apple Cider Vinegar, and Thyme and stir well to mix.
You can make minor adjustments as necessary for your own individual taste. Once you get it just right - add in a 10oz bag of Frozen Broccoli Florets and cover. Let it simmer on low heat for 5-10 min until the broccoli is heated through.
Serve with a thick slice of your favorite crusty bread and enjoy!
Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 0 Servings 1x
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup is perfect for those chilly Fall afternoons. A true comfort food favorite with all the original flavor but only a fraction of the calories and fat.
Ingredients
- 1 med Cauliflower ((about 1 ½ cups))
- 4 cups Low Sodium Vegetable Broth
- 10 oz Frozen Broccoli
- 1 cup Carrot ((shredded))
- 1 med Yukon Gold Potato
- 3 stalks Celery
- ¼ Onion
- ½ cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
- ½ cup Nutritional Yeast
- 2 Tbs Lemon Juice
- 1 ½ Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- ¾ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Ground Pepper
- ¼ tsp Thyme
Instructions
- Chop all vegetables (except broccoli) and add to soup pot.
- Add 4 cups of Vegetable Broth and bring to a boil.
- Cook until vegetables are soft and then carefully blend soup using blender or immersion blender.
- Stir in milk and all seasonings and mix well.
- Adjust any seasonings as necessary and then add frozen broccoli
- Simmer on low heat for 5-10 min until broccoli is heated through
- Serve with your favorite bread or side dish
Kris
I just made a variation on this soup and thought I’d share. Instead of broccoli I used half of a large head of cauliflower chopped in the soup as indicated in the recipe and the other half broken into small florets which I simmer/steamed in a small pot while assembling the rest of the soup. Oh also I had forgotten to add the celery at first so that also went in with the florets instead of being blended. It was so pretty and delicious. All my picky eaters loved it and so nice that it’s GF and vegan!
Carleen
I made this for lunch today, and I highly recommend it. This will be a regular of mine. Thanks Chuck!
★★★★★
Susan Haines
That is really good soup!! Like i said before, you can't go wrong with Brand New Vegan recipes!!
Dana
Just made this vegan cheddar broccoli soup in my IP. Looovvvveeee it!!!!
I didn't measure anything, eyeballed it all: Used 3 smallish medium sized yukon gold potatoes, 1 medium sweet yellow onion, 3 stalks celery (about 16" long each), and 3/4 cups baby carrots, I had no cauliflower so left it out. Put it all in my 3 qt IP and poured enough veggie broth in to cover by about 1/2". Cooked on high pressure for 3 minutes, then used immersion blender to blend all. It tasted really good at this point. I threw in a bunch of nooch, fresh ground black pepper, turmeric, garlic powder and thyme and blended again. Tasted really good. Then I added a couple of splashes of lemon juice...it didn't taste quite as good but was still yummy. I had some homemade cashew butter, about 2 Tbl. I added about 3/4 cup of water to the jar and stirred well then added that to the instant pot. Next I added 2 large handfuls of broccoli florets I tore into medium sized pieces. I pushed them all under the nice creamy thick liquid and cooked on high pressure for 3 minutes. Once cooked, I did an immediate manual release & tasted it. Didn't taste quite the same, needed salt. I added about 3/4 of a tsp of fine grain pink himalaylan sea salt. Next time I'll buy cauliflower, leave out the lemon juice, acv and cashew milk.
★★★★★
Olivia C.
A great way to get veggies in! I'm dairy-free, for the most part, so I was seeking a convincing broccoli cheddar soup. This isn't quite creamy enough for me—I can go without the overt cheesiness, but the creaminess is really what I was seeking. I might use some sort of vegan creamer or half-and-half instead of almond milk the next go 'round. Perhaps more potatoes too... I was heavy-handed with the nutritional yeast & salt, which I think was a good move. Overall, a good recipe I'd take another stab at!
★★★
JPCali
I have to admit that I was skeptical, but this is absolutely delicious! Will definitely be making this again!
★★★★★
Teresa
Made this and it was surprisingly good! I used all fresh vegetables though, not frozen. I added the juice of a whole lemon, 2 tbsps of ACV, 1 very large russet potato and extra nutritional yeast as I blended the soup. I served with a drizzle of sriracha sauce and toasted sourdough bread. My kids and grandkids LOVE it and it has been added to our regular meal plan. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Teresa
P.S. I also added a 12oz bag of shredded carrots that I bought at the store.
Cary M
I made this for my coworkers birthday tomorrow. However as I always do, I tweaked it. My co workers aren’t vegan but I am. I skipped the yeast and vinegar however. I used 4 med potatoes. I also added 2.5 cups of Violife Vegan Cheddar shreds and used fresh garlic & used extra creamy oat milk instead of soy. You can’t tell it’s vegan which will be good for a couple of my skeptical co workers.
★★★★★
Jingles
I used two large carrots and I think it was too much, strong carrot taste, not a lot of cheesey taste even after adding extra N.Y. and some daiya cheddar cheese slices. BUT it is still yummy and healthy veggie soup flavor!! Thanks for the recipe!! It was also easy to make!! I used a food processor instead if chopping things and used a regular blender- mine might also be a little more chunky but I like the chunks! Lots of love is the main ingredient of course heehee!!
anyway, easy on the carrots my friends
mine is also a nice barf color instead of yellow. the chunkiness of it makes it even more applealing whahaha
Neil Ketting
Made this today was delicious, even my 3 year old granddaughter loved it.
★★★★★
Darla Ellis
I finally tried this soup and boy am I happy I stumbled across this recipe! I steamed fresh broccoli in place of the frozen your recipe calls for and it tastes fantastic. I had 2 bowls of this soup and no worries about how many calories I ate. I didn't even add the almond milk because the cauliflower made it so creamy I didn't miss milk in the flavor or texture. This is going to be a regular recipe in my house from now on!
★★★★