Easy vegan broccoli soup recipe that’s ready in 35 minutes. Made with nutritional yeast and an array of aromatics, no one will believe it’s vegan when they taste it. This super easy recipe is made with simple ingredients that make the perfect cozy soup for chilly weather!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Amazing flavor: This recipe has that cheese sauce taste while being fully vegan. And the creamy texture is absolutely dreamy too!
- Healthy: With broccoli, garlic, onions, and leeks, these aromatics add a wonderful savory component that gives it loads of flavor.
- Simple: Vegan broccoli cheese soup is one of the easiest soups you can make. It’s ready fast, making it ideal for a light lunch with a hunk of crusty bread or a starter for your meal.
Ingredients + Notes
- Avocado Oil: You’ll use the avocado oil to sauté the aromatics when starting this soup. You could also use olive oil if you prefer, or vegan butter.
- Onion: Onions are a necessary part of broccoli cheese soup. They bring a bold flavor and add another dimension to it.
- Leek: I love leeks for vegan broccoli cheese soup. With the onions, it’s a perfect savory combination.
- Garlic: Garlic is also a must to help the other ingredients have a more robust taste.
- Water + Vegetable Bouillon: This will be the base of your vegan soup broth. You can use vegetable stock instead if you like.
- Broccoli: Here’s the star of our soup. Even people who aren’t the biggest fan of broccoli (like kids!) love this soup. You can use broccoli florets and fresh broccoli stems since you’ll use an immersion blender.
- Potatoes: With potatoes, you get a heartier and creamy texture, plus more nutrition. It’s a brilliant way to thicken up a vegan creamy soup.
- Great Northern Beans: Adding beans increases plant-based protein!
- Salt: Broccoli cheese soup should be a hint salty. You can adjust it to your liking. I tend to use sea salt or Himalayan salt because that is what we have on hand. Kosher salt works well, too.
- Black Pepper: Black pepper adds a nice contrast along with the salt to harmonize the flavors.
- Nutritional Yeast: This ingredient is an absolute must to give your vegan broccoli cheese soup that cheesy taste without any animal products.
Step-by-step Instructions
- Heat oil, onion, and leek in a large pot and sauté for 4-5 minutes (until onions begin to turn semi-translucent).
- Add garlic, potatoes, broccoli, and chickpeas and sauté for another 1-2 minutes.
- Pour in water, vegetable bouillon, salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast, and bring to a boil.
- Simmer for 15 minutes (until potatoes and broccoli are soft).
- Blend soup using an immersion blender until creamy and smooth
- Serve with vegan cheddar cheese, chives, and crispy bread.
Recipe Variations
This recipe is tasty as is. That being said, if you are looking for something a bit different or need a substitution, here are some ideas.
- Plant milk: Are you wanting to make an extra creamy vegan broccoli soup? Substitute 1 ½ cups of the water called for in this recipe for one can of coconut milk. Alternatively, substitute 2 cups of water for your favorite non-dairy milk. My go-to’s for soups are cashew milk, almond milk, or soy milk.
- Plant-based cream: For vegan cream of broccoli soup, you can substitute 1 ½ cups of the water called for in this recipe for one can of coconut cream. Alternatively, you can substitute 2 cups of water from the recipe with two cups of cashew cream. In addition to making this comforting soup creamier, you get a good serving of healthy plant-based fat, which can make you feel satiated longer.
- Nutrition yeast: This recipe uses a smaller amount of nutritional yeast, but if you don’t have it on hand, you can skip it altogether. On the other hand, if you are looking to make it cheesier, like vegan broccoli cheddar soup, then add 1-2 more tablespoons of nutritional yeast.
- Remove oil: If you aren’t a fan of cooking with oil, sauté the first ingredients in ¼ cup water instead of oil.
Optional Topping Ideas
This soup is tasty all on its own, but if you are looking for topping ideas to jazz it up or improve presentation, here are my top suggestions.
- Oil: A drizzle of olive oil or avocado oil on top can make it extra luscious!
- Croutons: Homemade croutons or store-bought vegan croutons can add the perfect crunch!
- Nutritional yeast: Want to enhance the cheesy flavor? Sprinkle on some nutritional yeast flakes or your favorite vegan cheese alternative.
- Green onions: I don’t know what it is, but I am always a fan of diced green onions on top of creamy soups!
Storage Tips
I love making a big soup pot of this vegan broccoli soup. That said, you can keep it for up to 4 days in the fridge. Put it in an airtight container, and it should keep well.
If you can’t get to all that soup within that time, I recommend popping that container into your freezer. You should use it up within 2 months from there.
FAQ
With non-vegan broccoli soups, there is usually some sort of roux base to add a thicker texture, along with some cream. In my vegan broccoli cheese soup, I’ve added potatoes. When you use your immersion blender, it helps give you that amazing texture. And also, you’re getting all those valuable vitamins and minerals from the potatoes, too!
Fresh broccoli florets will have a better texture and taste in your soup. However, if all you have is frozen broccoli, you can use it too. I recommend thawing it out first, though, so it doesn’t water down the soup.
In broccoli soup made the vegan way, you will get between 75 and 100 calories per serving.
Broccoli does lose some of its vitamin C content when boiled in a soup. However, with this recipe, the cooking time is so short that it will limit the loss of nutrients. It’s still a delicious and extremely nutritious soup that you’ll love!
More Creamy Vegan Soup Recipes
Recipe
Vegan Broccoli Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 large leek, cleaned and chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups water + vegetable bouillon
- 4 Yukon gold potatoes, chopped
- 4 cups broccoli, chopped
- 1 15oz can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
- 3/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Heat oil, onion, and leek in a large pot and sauté for 4-5 minutes (until onions begin to turn semi-translucent).
- Add garlic, potatoes, broccoli, and chickpeas and sauté for another 1-2 minutes.
- Pour in water, vegetable bouillon, salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast and bring to a boil.
- Simmer for 15 minutes (until potatoes and broccoli are soft).
- Blend soup using an immersion blender until creamy and smooth
- Serve with vegan cheddar cheese, chives, and crispy bread.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
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This soup was delicious!
So glad you liked it!