Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup
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This Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup is loaded with cheesy goodness and totally dairy free! It’s so thick and creamy and ready in just 30 minutes.
Meet my new favorite soup.
You will not believe how cheesy and yummy this tastes, without any dairy at all! This soup is sure to fool all the non-vegans in your life. It’s thick, cheesy, creamy and rich; but is in fact very nutrition packed and good for you.
I didn’t really care for vegetables until my 20’s (when I woke up and realized that vegetables=life). But I did love broccoli cheddar soup, and really any creamy broccoli soup. I’d buy the cheap canned stuff in college, and later ate it frequently at one popular lunch spot, usually in a bread bowl.
It’s one soup I’ve been trying to come up with the perfect recipe for years now, and it finally came together. I hope you love it as much as I do! My kids have declared this their new favorite soup, and it will be great for packing in a thermos for lunch at school.
How do you make Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup?
I’ve made this recipe as simple as possible!
First, you saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes, then add the vegetables (except the broccoli), cashews, nutritional yeast, salt, spices and vegetable broth.
Once the vegetables are fork tender, blend it all up in batches if needed. Return it the the soup pot, add a little water for a thinner soup if desired, stir in bite sized broccoli pieces and simmer for about 10 minutes, until soft.
Serve with a little non-dairy cheddar cheese, if desired. Enjoy!
What can I serve this soup with?
This broccoli cheese soup is pretty low calorie, so I like to serve it most often with some quality sourdough bread for dipping. But we also like eating it with brown rice or over baked potatoes. Or eat a large salad alongside it for soup and salad.
If you enjoyed this soup recipe, you might also want to check out these recipes:
Vegan Cheesy Broccoli Twice Baked Potatoes
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Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable broth or olive oil, for sauteing
- 1 small sweet onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium russet potato, peeled and cubed
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1-2 cups water, as needed (see instructions)
- 4 cups bite sized broccoli florets
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil for 2-3 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently.
- To the pot, add the potato, carrots, cashews, vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika and salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, until fork tender.
- Working in batches if needed, transfer the soup carefully to a blender and blend until very smooth.
- Return the mixture back to the pot. If your soup is too thick, add water until a desired consistency is reached (I used 1 cup of water). Add in the bite sized broccoli florets and stir into the soup.
- Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer for 10 minutes, until the broccoli is soft and cooked.
- Serve, topping with non-dairy cheddar cheese shreds, if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you have a nut allergy, you may make this without the cashews, it just won't be quite as creamy and rich.
- If desired, you may use a immersion blender once the broccoli is cooked to create a creamier broccoli cheese soup without chunks of broccoli florets.
Nutrition
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50 Comments on “Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup”
Hi Nora, I’ve made many of your recipes and there isn’t one I haven’t loved. I do not like the flavor of cheese. Do the cashews or nutritional yeast give this the cheese flavor? How could I make it without the cheese flavor, but still be thick and creamy?
The nutritional yeast is what gives it a cheesy flavor, so just leave that out for a rich, creamy soup. Thanks!
Can this be made in an instant pot?!
If yes, how do I do that!
Sure! You can use the sauté feature for the onions/garlic, then add the ingredients up to the salt to the pot, seal and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. Then carefully release the pressure, blend the soup, and return it back to the pot (or just use an immersion blender). Add the broccoli, water if needed, and use the sauté function again to cook, stirring often until the broccoli has softened a bit.
Delicious as all your recipes are, but my soup looked more yellowish brown than the beautiful orange color you achieved in your picture. Any ideas what the culprit could be?
My only thinking was that since I make my own vegetable broth with veggie ends (including LOTS of red onion), maybe my broth is darker in color than standard veggie broth? My broth always looks a bit purple. I tried adding turmeric to the soup but it still looked pretty brown. 🙁 My only other thought was maybe since I didn’t peel the carrots (never do).
Oh well, it tasted amazing regardless of color and my husband and I really enjoyed it. But if we ever want to feed it to the nonvegans in our extended family I must get the color right so any tips would be appreciated. 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup! I would guess it was because your broth was darker in color than mine. I usually use Trader Joe’s vegetable broth which is quite light in color. Go for a lighter broth and I bet you will get a good color next time. Thank you!
This recipe looks amazing! I want to like smoked paprika but just don’t. Could I sub it with something else? Thanks!
No worries! You can use regular paprika or just leave it out.
This soup is absolutely amazing!! I am so thankful to have found your site. My college age son recently found out that he’s very allergic to dairy, wheat, peanuts, soy and other things. It has been so difficult finding options for the foods he has loved his whole life. Your recipes have made him so happy and I cannot thank you enough!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for the comment!
I adore this recipe. Wondering if you’ve ever tried making this with a sweet potato instead of a russet potato. If so, did you have to make any modifications?A sweet potato is all we have on hand right now, and getting to the grocery store is not as easy these days. 😊
I haven’t tried it, but I think a sweet potato would be really good here, too. I know what you mean about the store, I’m limiting to once per week and even doing pick ups when I can!
Just made this soup — very easy and delicious — a big hit – thank you!
You’re welcome!
This was amazing! So simple and so incredibly delicious! Whole family loved it
I’m so glad to hear that!
Nora, you are a magician! This soup along with every other recipe of yours that I’ve tried is AMAZING! Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Hi there! So excited to make this! I want to use cashew milk instead of actual cashews – what would the substitution be? thank you!!
I would say use about 1 cup of cashew milk, leave out the cashews. I’ve never tried it and it won’t likely be as creamy or cheesy tasting, but it should work. Thanks!
Wonderful!!! If I hadn’t made this myself, I would never guess it wasn’t made with dairy cheese. It’s soooooo good. And comforting. And yummy. And yes, we liked it VERY much — in case you hadn’t guessed that already! Thank you for the recipe.
You’re welcome! So glad you liked it.
Made this for dinner and served with fresh Multigrain bread. It was easy, healthy, fast, and rich and creamy even though I only used half the cashews. If I hadn’t made it myself, I would probably think there was cheese in there. Definitely will make it again!
Thanks for the great comment! Glad it was good. 🙂
Just found you’re mr recipes the other day and this is the third I’ve tried and loved! This soup was delicious, but it took a lot longer than 10 minutes for my broccoli to cook. I’m a cooking novice so, I’m not sure what the culprit was. Any suggestions?
So glad you enjoyed the soup! So, the smaller your broccoli are cut, the faster they will cook. And you will want your soup to be simmering, or it will take even longer. Thanks!
Hi Nora!
This looks lovely. Have you tried using an Instant Pot for this recipe? I figure I could do everything except the broccoli – which I’d add after the pressure release to finish cooking.
Any advice?
I haven’t tried this recipe in my Instant Pot, so I’m not exactly sure. I would probably cook it first without the broccoli, then blend it, then add the broccoli and maybe cook at high pressure for a few more minutes. Good luck!
Omg, you are a saint!! I am not a great cook, and even usually when I try to follow recipes something ends up not totally right. This one was really easy to make though and I think it actually turned out perfect, my bf licked his plate. The instructions are straight forward and this recipe is on point!! Thanks so much for sharing, I am going to make this one all the time.
You’re welcome! I love this kind of comment, knowing a recipe works and is simple to follow!
I love this recipe, I make this often and it’s always a crowd pleaser! You are fabulous
Aww, thanks so much!
I just made this soup and oh my it is SO GOOD!!! Only changes I made:
I used a block of very soft tofu instead of cashews (allergy in the house) and used frozen broccoli processed in the food processor for 10 seconds, instead of fresh broccoli. The flavor was out of this world! Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe.
PS: I used Edward and Sons Not-Chicken cubes for the broth and they worked wonderfully.
I’m so happy you enjoyed the soup Carina! Thank you. I’m glad to know it worked with tofu in place of cashews.
This soup is absolutely delicious! We had it as our main meal tonight but this would now be my go to Christmas starter. I’ve been vegan for 10 months now and didn’t think I would find a broccoli cheese soup that would taste so good! Thank you! X
There won’t be any of this batch left so when I make it again if I double up would this freeze well?
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! One of my personal favorites. Yes, it does freeze well!
Thank you! X
This afternoon I was meal prepping and got distracted. I was busy roasting veggies and forgot that I’d put some of the broccoli in the steamer. uh oh. Overcooked broccoli is not good for much EXCEPT broccoli cheese soup. I’ve been vegan for two years now but somehow hadn’t made a vegan version of this soup yet. How is that possible? Thanks to the magic of Google, I found your recipe and even though I had to modify it for less volume AND I already had some cashew cream that I needed to use, I followed the basics and it came out perfect. I’m now subscribing to your blog. Glad I found you. Thanks so much!
I just made this, and it was soo good! Thank you for posting this, definitely making it again 😋
Made exactly as suggested and it was a very delicious soup. It didn’t bring back the broccoli/cheddar feeling of my dairy-consuming days BUT it was very very tasty, and I’d definitely make it again. And it might be as close as you’ll ever get in the vegan world. 🙂
I made this for dinner recently and thought it tasted wonderful. I didn’t chop the broccoli small enough so yeah, that was fun to watch. 😁 Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Hello! This sounds great and the comments seem to back it up. Question, what can be substituted for cashews? Severe nut allergy! Thank you!
Thanks Nancy! You could replace the cashews with soaked almond slivers (unless you are allergic to those as well), or perhaps soaked sunflower seeds. Or maybe even a block of silken tofu, the kind in the aseptic package. I think that would add a lot of creaminess. Hope that helps!
I made this and it was delicous!! I added a little red pepper flakes to add some heat. I am definitely making it again!!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed the soup. I often add Sriracha on top.
Hi Nora. This looks delicious. Do the cashews need to be soaked first?
No they don’t, because you boil them right in the soup. 🙂
Thank you!
Very good soup. I made it in the Instant Pot. Sautéed the onions and garlic for a few minuets then added all the other ingredients. Manual high pressure for 10 minutes and NR. Blended with immersion blender. Easy, quick and good.
Glad you enjoyed the soup, Sam! Thanks for sharing.