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!
Recipe 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.
Leah R.
Hi there! So excited to make this! I want to use cashew milk instead of actual cashews – what would the substitution be? thank you!!
Nora
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!
Lynne
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.
Nora
You’re welcome! So glad you liked it.
Angie
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!
Nora
Thanks for the great comment! Glad it was good. 🙂
Tiffany
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?
Nora
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!
Monica
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?
Nora
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!
Kathleen
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.
Nora
You’re welcome! I love this kind of comment, knowing a recipe works and is simple to follow!
Jen
I love this recipe, I make this often and it’s always a crowd pleaser! You are fabulous
Nora
Aww, thanks so much!
Carina
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.
Nora
I’m so happy you enjoyed the soup Carina! Thank you. I’m glad to know it worked with tofu in place of cashews.
Jayne
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?
Nora
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! One of my personal favorites. Yes, it does freeze well!
Jayne
Thank you! X
Christi
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!
Naomi
I just made this, and it was soo good! Thank you for posting this, definitely making it again 😋
LeighAnn
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. 🙂
Deb
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.
Nancy
Hello! This sounds great and the comments seem to back it up. Question, what can be substituted for cashews? Severe nut allergy! Thank you!
Nora
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!
Lindsay
I made this and it was delicous!! I added a little red pepper flakes to add some heat. I am definitely making it again!!
Nora
Yay! So glad you enjoyed the soup. I often add Sriracha on top.
Carol
Hi Nora. This looks delicious. Do the cashews need to be soaked first?
Nora
No they don’t, because you boil them right in the soup. 🙂
Carol
Thank you!
Sam
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.
Nora
Glad you enjoyed the soup, Sam! Thanks for sharing.