This Creamy Vegan Broccoli Soup is perfect for chilly weather. It's nearly the end of January, it's cold, Christmas is over, and winter is starting to feel old, real old.
If you're a New Years' resolution kinda person, specifically one of the many people with resolutions such as "Lose weight" or "Eat healthier", you might be feeling tired of typical healthy January meals.
The problem with New Years resolutions (actually there's a number of problems, but we won't get into that now) is that healthy eating and losing weight tend to go hand in hand with things like salads and smoothies. But salads and smoothies don't go particularly well with thedeadof winter, ya know? Jump to recipe →
Petition to move New Years to June? Salads and smoothies go really well with June!
Untilthen, let's talk about foods that DO go well with the middleof winter. Foods like warming soups, hearty veggie bowls, pastas, and casseroles. Now we're talking!
So in the spirit of some proper "January" food, a.k.a. healthy yet hearty warming dishes that come together easily and quickly, a creamy vegetable-filled soup is just perfect.
And a quick note, if you love vegan soups as much as I do, be sure to check out our other soup recipes like this or our Creamy Red Coconut Curry Soup. Or browse all of our vegan soups!
This creamy vegan broccoli soup is exactly what we all need right now. Flavourful, creamy, packed with veggies, and the perfect accompaniment to a whole grain sandwich, a salad, or maybe just a big ol' crusty bun or piece of bread with a healthy dose of vegan butter.
Recently, I had a chanceencounter with the best cream of broccoli soup I'dever had. See, I have anunfortunate tendency to walkaway from my cooking todo silly things like, check my Instagram, paint my nails, mix myself a drink,whatever.
Afew weeks ago, while sautéeing the broccoli + mirepoix for yet another batch of cream of broccoli soup, I left my saucepan to its own devices and accidentally browned a good thick layer of the vegetables. If you've read many soup recipes you'll know it usually says to sweat the vegetables andwillspecifically state "do not brown." Wooops! Alas,the caramel-ly notes from the browned veggies added some serious umami to my usual broccoli soup recipe.
That bit of fate inspired me to trytopping this soup with some well-brownedandseasoned broccoli florets. They're kinda like croutons, but they taste even better, and they're vegetables, so they get BIG January points! I also like to top my soup with a drizzle of olive oil + cracked pepper. So pretty! *heart eyes emoji*. Vegan cheese shreds are another delicious, yet totally optional, topping for this soup.
Recipe updated November 2019. Changes made: Doubled soup recipe and portion size. Vegetable broth increased to 4 cups from 2½-3 cups. Coconut milk increased to ¾ cup from ½ cup. Added 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar.Original cashew milk recommended instead of unsweetened macadamia milk (previously recommended brand no longer available). Note added for using original vs. unsweetened non-dairy milk.
Added nutrition information and recipe notes to address common questions. Updated recipe yield, prep time, and cooking time. Fixed issues with recipe scaling (for accurate doubling and tripling).
★★★★★4.7 from 69 reviews
- Author: Brittany Mueller
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 8 cups 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vegan
Description
This Creamy Vegan Broccoli soup is easy, hearty and healthy. Top this delicious soup with browned broccoli "croutons" and a sprinkle of vegan cheese shreds.
Ingredients
Scale
Creamy Vegan Broccoli Soup
- ¼ cup (60 ml) vegan butter or olive oil
- 5 cups (360 grams) broccoli, chopped (approx. 2 heads)
- ⅔ cup (100 grams) chopped carrots (approx. 2 carrots)
- ⅔ cup (100 grams) chopped celery (approx. 2 ribs)
- ⅔ cups (100 grams) chopped onion, (approx. 1 onion)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 tbsp (65 grams) flour
- 4 cups (1000 ml) vegetable broth
- 2 cups (500 ml) original or unsweetened non-dairy milk (I recommend original cashew)
- ¾ cup(185 ml) full-fat canned coconut milk (or sub with more non-dairy milk)
- ¼ cup (20 grams) nutritional yeast flakes (or sub with vegan cheese shreds)
- 1 tsp (5 ml) white wine vinegar or lemon juice
- ½ tsp (2.5 ml) salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
Browned Broccoli "Croutons"
- 1 cup (70 grams) broccoli florets
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
Creamy Vegan Broccoli Soup
- In a medium saucepan, heat vegan butter or olive oil over medium heat. Add the broccoli, carrot, celery, onion, and garlic. Sauté until onion is translucent and just tender, about 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle vegetables with flour. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring often.
- Gradually add vegetable broth and non-dairy milk, stirring constantly to prevent lumps.Add the coconut milk and nutritional yeast. Simmer soup over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
- Blend the soup to your liking. I recommend puréeing½ to ⅔ of the soup smooth.
- If desired, adjust consistency with vegetable broth or non-dairy milk. Stir in white wine vinegar. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, vinegar, (and if desired, sugar if using unsweetened non-dairy milk - refer to recipe notes).
Browned Broccoli Croutons
- In a separate saucepan or skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the broccoli florets and sprinkle with salt. Sauté until just nearly tender. Turn the heat up to high and continue to cook, stirring sporadically, until the broccoli has a nice brown/black edge on at least 1 side. Remove from heat and set aside.
Serving
- Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil, top with browned broccoli florets, vegan cheese shreds (optional), and cracked black pepper. Serve with crackers, bread, sandwich or salad. Enjoy!
Notes
Recipe updated November 2019. Recipe doubled. Vegetable broth increased to 4 cups from 2½-3 cups. Coconut milk increased to ¾ cup from ½ cup. Added 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar.
Cool before storing in an air-tight container in refrigerator. Lasts for 3-4 days in the fridge.Reheat in saucepan or microwave. Freezer-friendly up to 2-3 months.
If using low or no sodium vegetable broth, add salt to taste.
If using unsweetened non-dairy milk, add up to 2 teaspoon of sugar for best flavour.
Keywords: vegan broccoli soup, vegan cream of broccoli soup, creamy vegan broccoli soup
