Who else agrees that a warm bowl of soup is the most comforting food in Winter? While I am always up for splurging on a cheesy bowl of broccoli soup, this healthier Creamy Vegan Broccoli Soup tastes just like it's cream and cheese-filled counterpart.
How to make creamy vegan broccoli soup
Making a vegan broccoli "cheese" soup at home is easy, delicious, and a whole lot healthier than any broccoli soup you order out. Plus, this broccoli soup recipe is dairy-free and paleo! As you can see from the picture below, it doesn't take too many ingredients to make a delicious homemade soup!
Step 1: Roast The Veggies & Soak Cashews
This broccoli soup is made with cashews, roasted broccoli, roasted onions, and nutritional yeast. While you can just sauté these ingredients to make soup, I chose to roast them because it adds a depth of flavor to the soup.
How Long to Soak Cashews:
There are a lot of soup recipes out there that tell you to soak your cashews for 4-8 hours (mine included). However, with a strong blender like the KitchenAid K400 all you really need to do is soak the cashews in warm water for 1 hour before blending for the creamiest soup. If you have a great blender, soak for 1 hour. If your blender isn't super strong, you will want to soak the cashews for longer (4-8 hours). Adding cashews is the main way to thicken the broccoli soup.
What makes this vegan soup "cheesey" without cheese?
The secret ingredient that makes this soup taste like the real deal? Nutritional Yeast! Nutritional Yeast is specifically made to be eaten and the yeast is no longer "alive" in the final product. I like to buy fortified nutritional yeast because of the added protein and B minerals which are great for a vegan diet! I like Bragg's, but you can also buy nutritional yeast at Trader Joe's, Costco, and many other supermarkets in bulk now too!
Seriously, even though this soup has no cheese, nutritional yeast gives it that perfect cheesy flavor to become a vegan broccoli cheese soup.
Step 2: Add the Cashews and Veggie Broth to the Blender
For this step, I blended my cashews and veggie broth for around 4-5 minutes to get it perfectly creamy. It will start off looking like the image below and will eventually turn into a creamy off-white cream.
Step 3: Add the Roasted Vegetables & Spinach to the Blender
What Settings Work Best to Blend This Soup?
The soup blends best in a "medium" setting. Blend the soup until it is super creamy and there are no chunks left. I also like to stop the blender mid-way through blending to scrape down the sides with a spatula to make sure everything gets evenly mixed.
Step 4: Add to a Pot & Bring to a Simmer to Heat
Now that the soup is blended and ready- all it needs is to be warmed up so it's hot for eating. Add the soup to a large pot and heat for 5-10 minutes until it's at the desired temperature. If you want a thinner soup, you can also add in any extra vegetable broth at this time as well as additional salt and pepper to season the soup. Then-spoon it into soup bowls!
Step 5: Add Soup Toppings!
To finish this soup, add on your choice of toppings! As you can see in the images here, I choose to add roasted salted pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, and a drizzle of homemade hot chili oil. Other toppings ideas could be roasted sriracha chickpeas, more roasted broccoli, etc. You can check out my Roasted Carrot Cauliflower Soup or my Creamy Sweet Dumpling Squash Soup for more topping ideas!
I also love to add a fresh squeeze of lemon to my soup for a little tang! Plus, I highly suggest you serve this soup alongside some freshly made garlic bread.
This Healthy Vegan Broccoli Soup is delicious, easy, nutritious, creamy, and super filling. I might just say it's the best cream of broccoli soup I have ever had! I truly hope you enjoy this vegan soup recipe and, as always, let me know if you have any questions.
Enjoy!
-TSG
Looking for more delicious & cozy vegan soup recipes? Check out these wintertime favorites!
Roasted Red Pepper, Tomato, & Quinoa Soup
Healthy Vegan Broccoli Soup
A delicious and healthy broccoli soup made with cashews, roasted vegetables, and tons of yummy spices!
Ingredients
- 1 cup cashews (soaked 30-60 minutes in warm water)
- 6 cups chopped broccoli
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 3 Tbsp avocado oil
- 4 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- ½ tsp chili flakes
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups spinach
- 3 cups vegetable broth
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Add your cashews to a contain and fill to cover with warm water. Let sit 30-60 minutes to soften.
- While the cashews are soaks, chop the broccoli and onion and add it to a sheet pan. Toss with the avocado oil, 2 Tbsp of the nutritonal yeast, chili flakes, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Add the pan of vegetables to the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- While the vegetables are cooking, strain the cashews and add them to the blender along with the vegetable broth. Turn to the blender to a medium setting and blend for 2-3 minutes until smooth. Next, add in the vegetables, spinach, and 2 Tbsp left of nutritional yeast. Blend for another 2 minutes until a thick green soup forms.
- Remove the soup from the blender and add it to a pot. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the soup is hot. Serve and top with your choice of toppings!
Notes
For toppings, I recommend salted roasted pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, coconut cream, chili oil, broccoli, fresh greens, and vegan parmesan cheese
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 458Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 0mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 14gSugar: 9gProtein: 19g
ShortGirlTallOrder occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although shortgirltallorder.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Andrea says
I can't even put into words how good this soup was. Heavenly. It was still amazing reheated the next day.
ShortGirlTallOrder says
So so glad you liked it!
Sarah says
I am allergic to cashews - do you have a replacement suggestion or okay to skip cashews?
Megan says
There is not a great sub for cashews in this recipe as it's what makes it super thick. You could always try a coconut milk or plant-based milk, but it won't be as thick. You honestly may be better off with a different recipe in this case!