Do you remember Panera Bread? My wife LOVED their Broccoli Cheddar Soup, so I made a vegan version and then converted it to an Instant Pot Recipe!
If you don't own an Instant Pot - I have a stovetop version here, and it's also in my new cookbook: Comfort Food Classics.
The stovetop version has always been a fan favorite, but yesterday, while doing my weekly YouTube Live Cooking Show I made an instant pot version. And as promised, this is that recipe.
Now it's easier than ever to have a big pot of delicious soup read in minutes.
What I Love About This Recipe
What's not to love?
- It's quick!
- It tastes just like I remember from Panera Bread
- Only it's 100% dairy free & completely vegan AND gluten-free
- It also has nowhere near the sodium level as the restaurant's version does
- You can control exactly how much sodium is added
- It uses everyday pantry ingredients
- It's warm and comforting on a rainy wintery day
- It's full of healthy ingredients
- And it's cheezy!
Ingredients You'll Need
- Small head of cauliflower
- Carrot
- Gold potato
- Celery
- Onion
- 1 qt. of low-sodium veg broth (or just use water for zero sodium)
- Unsweetened plant milk
- Nutritional yeast
- Lemon Juice
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Garlic powder
- Broccoli
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Equipment You'll Need
The following section includes affiliate links where I earn from qualified purchases but at no extra cost to you.
- Instant Pot 6QT 7-1 Duo: https://amzn.to/3vN7COS
- KitchenAid 3-speed Immersion Blender: https://amzn.to/3UiUM5g
- Sari Brand Nutritional Yeast: https://amzn.to/4966BR3
How to Make Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Roughly chop your celery, onion, carrot, and potato and add them to your Instant Pot. Also, peel the leaves from your cauliflower, remove the thick stem, and then roughly cut it in half. Add the cauliflower and the veg broth and attach the Instant Pot lid.
Set your vent to SEALING, and cook on MANUAL for 5 minutes, then let it vent naturally for another 5 minutes before CAREFULLY releasing any remaining steam.
Remove the lid and then add the milk, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast, and garlic powder. Using a wooden spoon, mix well and break up any large clumps of cauliflower.
Use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. Alternatively, you could use your stand blender, blending small batches at a time.
Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.
Finally, microwave the package of frozen broccoli according to the package direction and then add it to the soup.
Alternatively, you could just add the broccoli frozen and let the heat of the soup finish cooking it. In this case, I would set your Instant Pot to SAUTE mode and cook until the broccoli has softened, stirring frequently.
Adjust any seasonings and you are ready to serve! A big hunk of crusty bread goes wonderfully with this soup!
Enjoy!
Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup- Instant Pot
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 servings 1x
- Category: Soups
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
My wife LOVED Panera Bread's Broccoli Cheddar Soup, so I made a vegan version and then converted it to an Instant Pot Recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 sm. head cauliflower
- 1 carrot
- 1 gold potato
- 3 ribs celery
- ¼ white onion
- 4 c. low-sodium veg broth
- ½ c. unsweetened plant milk (I used almond)
- ½ c. nutritional yeast
- 2 T. lemon juice
- 1 ½ T. apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 (10 oz) pkg. frozen broccoli
- ¾ tsp. salt (or to taste)
- ¼ tsp. black pepper (or to taste)
Instructions
- Roughly chop the carrot, celery, potato, onion, and cauliflower, and add it to your instant pot.
- Add the veg broth (or water for sodium-free) and attach the instant pot lid
- Cook on MANUAL for 5 minutes with an NPR for an additional 5 minutes
- Carefully remove the lid and add the milk, lemon, juice, ACV, nutritional yeast, and garlic powder.
- Mix well using a wooden spoon and break up any large clumps of cauliflower
- Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth
- Microwave the broccoli according to pkg. instructions and add it to the soup
- Add salt and pepper to taste
tom voigtsberger
This one exceeded my expectations.
Simone
I have never had broccoli soup before but the picture looked so nice I thought I'd give it a try. Yum! This was delicious. I didn't have lemon juice but it still tasted great. A new favourite for me.
Michelle
This soup was eas to make and delicious!
Patty
Thanks Chuck! I added more garlic powder and some tempeh and some cashew parmesan. Very tasty and filling.
Jessica Robertson
Tried this instant pot version of your soup and it turned out great. Have made this twice so far this week! Thanks for the delicious recipe!!
JJ
How do you keep the milk from curdling? Do you never get it very hot after you add the milk?. Doesn’t the milk turn into buttermilk when you add the vinegar? Honest question. Because I’ve had my soup go bad before. I thought I could not add milk to hot soup. So, I’m confused but I’m gonna try it.
Jeannie Peurasaari
Chuck, I've made a couple of other broccoli/cheedar vegan soup recipes, and this is, by far, the best. Thank you for sharing this with us brandnewvegans, and also for converting it for the Instant Pot. I also LOVE YOUR COOKBOOK!
Maya Ortiz
Thank you for sharing so many good recipes. I made the broccoli cheddar soup and it was a winner.
Suzy
How many servings is this?
Amy
The recipe indicates that it Yields 8-10 servings.
Norma
Made this for dinner tonight, delicious. My non-vegetarian husband said good job on the soup. Trying to incorporate more vegan meals into our diet. Thanks Chuck
for all your hard work and for sharing your recipes. Much appreciated.