Before going gluten-free and dairy free, a good broccoli cheese soup was one of my favorite easy meals on a cold night. It has taken a while, but I've finally come up with a creamy vegan broccoli cheddar soup that may be better than my original recipe. It's an easy weeknight dinner that is perfect served with some crusty bread, topped with homemade croutons, and would be great in a gluten free bread bowl.
Not only is this delicious soup filled with broccoli and cheesy flavor, but it also has cauliflower, carrots and potatoes. It has a creamy texture without cashews. It's one of my favorite soups to make year round. The whole time my son was eating his bowl, I was feeling proud inside for all the vegetables I was feeding him under the guise of "cheese sauce". LOL
If you love this soup, you will also want to try my vegan cauliflower soup recipe or this awesome vegan Southwest black bean and sweet potato soup.
Jump to:
How do you make cheese sauce without milk and with no cashews?
In this particular recipe, the cheese sauce is made up of blended potatoes and cauliflower, full fat coconut milk and nutritional yeast. I got the idea when making a potato soup. There are no thickeners added to potato soup, because potatoes are naturally starchy and make their own creamy thick texture when blended. I decided to try thickening the cheese in this soup with potatoes and it worked wonderfully.
Ingredient Notes
This easy recipe uses simple ingredients to create a cheesy broccoli soup without cashews.
- Oil - I use extra light olive oil for all of my cooking. But you can use whatever light flavored cooking oil you prefer - vegetable oil or avocado oil would both work fine.
- Onion & Garlic - I'm using onion and garlic for my aromatic soup base. If you like celery, you can also add in ½ cup of diced celery.
- Paprika & Dry Mustard - These two spices are used to mimic some of the rich, savory flavor you normally get from cheese. Paprika also adds a bit of the orange color you expect from broccoli cheese soup.
- Thyme - This herb compliments the vegetables wonderfully.
- Lemon Juice - This is another ingredient used to add the tangy flavor that comes from cheese. If you don't have lemon juice on hand, you can substitute apple cider vinegar.
- Cauliflower & Carrots - I like to add a few more vegetables to this soup recipe to make it hearty. Carrots also provide a little bit of color to the final dish.
- Potatoes - I chose Russet potatoes because they have a little more starch and they break down easily when cooked. I have also made this soup with red potatoes and yukon gold potatoes and it turns out well with either.
- Vegetable Stock - You can use your favorite brand of vegetable broth or stock. If you're following a gluten-free diet, make sure to use on that is marked gluten free and store bought broths can contain hidden gluten. Pacific Foods brand is my favorite.
- Broccoli - This is the most important ingredient! You can't make broccoli soup without broccoli. I recommend using fresh broccoli here, since frozen may become too soft during cooking. I use large florets, but you can cut your broccoli into smaller pieces if you like it more blended in.
- Coconut Milk - Use the full fat kind in a can and shake it well before opening. If you don't want to use coconut milk, vegan heavy cream would also work well. Silk brand or Country Crock brand are both good. You will need about 2 cups.
- Nutritional Yeast - While the recipe calls for ¼ cup of nutritional yeast, if you love the flavor feel free to add more. I have made it with up to 6 Tablespoons because I find some brands have a stronger flavor than others.
See the recipe card below for full ingredient list with measurements.
How to Make Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup
STEP 1: Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven or soup pot. Add the onions and cook until softened.
STEP 2: Add the garlic, spices and lemon juice and stir together. Cook about 1 minute more.
STEP 3: Add the vegetable broth, potatoes, cauliflower and carrots to the onion mixture. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes until vegetables are fork tender.
STEP 4: Remove half of the cooked vegetables to a separate bowl.
STEP 5: Add the broccoli florets to the broth and remaining vegetables. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
STEP 6: Add the canned coconut milk and nutritional yeast to the cooked vegetables.
STEP 7: Puree the vegetables until smooth using an immersion blender. It should resemble a thick cheese sauce.
STEP 8: Pour the vegan cheese sauce into the pot with the cooked broccoli. Stir well and cook uncovered for 5 minutes more.
Variations
- If you're a fan of smoother soup, then feel free to puree all of the potatoes, cauliflower and carrots instead of leaving half as chunks.
- Likewise with the broccoli, you can chop it into smaller bits instead of florets to have a smoother texture to your vegan broccoli cheese soup.
Can I make this soup without an immersion blender?
Absolutely. If you don't have an immersion blender, you can simple add your cooked vegetables directly into a countertop high-speed blender. Keep the lid cracked to prevent an explosion. Blend until smooth.
If you're in the market for an immersion blender, I highly recommend this model from Cuisinart. I have had mine for almost 10 years and it is one of my favorite things in the kitchen. It works as well as the day I opened it and it can go in the dishwasher. Win!
Storage
Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. In my opinion, the soup gets better the next day since the flavors have time to blend together.
I would not recommend freezing this soup, as potato soup gets weird in the freezer so the texture will probably change.
More great soup recipes:
- Classic Brunswick Stew
- Creamy Ham and Potato Soup
- White Bean and Ham Soup
- Southwest Black Bean Sweet Potato Soup
If you try this recipe, please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the comments below.
Recipe
Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Cup Yellow Onion diced (½ a medium sized onion)
- 3 Cloves Garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Dry Mustard
- Pinch Dried Thyme
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice or apple cider vinegar
- 4 Cups Potatoes cut into 1 inch cubes
- 2 Cups Cauliflower cut into florets
- 1 Cup Carrots sliced to ¼" thin
- 4 Cups Vegetable Broth
- 4 Cups Broccoli cut into florets
- 15 ounce Coconut Milk full fat in the can
- ¼ Cup Nutritional Yeast up to 6 tablespoon according to your taste
Instructions
- Pour oil into a large heavy bottom pan. Heat over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent - about 7 minutes.2 Tablespoon Olive Oil, 1 Cup Yellow Onion
- Add the garlic, spices, salt and pepper and lemon juice., again stirring occasionally, cook for 1 -2 minutes. If the onions or garlic begin to stick at any time add a small amount of broth.3 Cloves Garlic, 1 teaspoon Salt, ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper, ½ teaspoon Paprika, ½ teaspoon Dry Mustard, Pinch Dried Thyme, 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
- Once the onions are cooked through, add the broth, potatoes, carrots and cauliflower to the pot. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes until potatoes are able to be pierced by a fork.2 Cups Cauliflower, 4 Cups Potatoes, 4 Cups Vegetable Broth, 1 Cup Carrots
- Remove half of the cooked vegetables and place in a large bowl.
- Add the broccoli to the broth and cover. Continue to cook for 10 minutes more.4 Cups Broccoli
- While the broccoli is cooking, add the coconut milk and nutritional yeast to the vegetables in the bowl. Use an immersion blender to puree them until smooth.15 ounce Coconut Milk, ¼ Cup Nutritional Yeast
- Uncover the pot. Add the "cheese" sauce mixture to the soup and stir together. If you want it to thicken, cook without the lid for up to 5 minutes more.
Notes
Tiffany is the recipe developer, stylist and food photographer behind Well Fed Baker. As a lifelong baker who had to go gluten free and dairy free in 2016, Tiffany strives to share allergen friendly recipes that never feel like they are free from anything.
Ange says
This was amazing!!!!!! My daughter requested a broccoli soup, found this one and it's definitely a keeper. So comforting and delicious!!!⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Gabi says
Figured after the 20th time of making this recipe within the last couple years I should probably comment how much we love it!! My mom would make us the SUPER DAIRY-Y broccoli cheese soup for holidays growing up. Since giving up dairy in 2016 I didn't know if I'd ever find something that came close, and this one beats it by a long shot! Thanks for sharing your skills 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you for the sweet message! Happy Thanksgiving to you too. 🙂
Trvlnmom says
Love this soup. Steam the broccoli separate and after I cook & blend what recipe states I add the broccoli in.
I bet that's a good way to keep the broccoli a little crunchier if you like it less soft. So glad to hear you liked the recipe 🙂
Megan says
I absolutely love how you put the measurements under each step it is super helpful, first time I seen someone do that!❤️
Gail C says
This soup is delicious!!!! This will become a regular for me❤️. Thank you!
Christina says
This was so good! I used frozen broccoli and cauliflower and it still turned out great!
erotik says
Hi Deb. What can I exchange for the coconut? My kid hates it and can smell it from a mile away. Stephanie Chaim Ari
Hi Stephanie,
The coconut milk is going to give creaminess to the soup. I know there are some nut based creamers that might work in place of coconut milk. Check near the heavy cream in the dairy section at the grocery store.