You'd never guess that this creamy vegan broccoli soup is totally dairy-free! It's made of a rich, savory blend of potatoes, veggies, and herbs.
Drumroll, please! This vegan broccoli soup recipe is super creamy, comforting, and brimming with cheesy flavor. I started working on it after I posted a photo of this gorgeous pile of broccoli on Instagram with a call out for broccoli recipe requests. Overwhelmingly, people asked for a healthy/vegan broccoli cheese soup. Jack loves cheesy broccoli soup (and most cheesy things, to be honest), so we were both excited to take on the challenge. I’m happy to report that the results do not disappoint!
This vegan broccoli soup recipe is not to be confused with cream of broccoli soup. I have a super delicious, very green, Creamy Broccoli Soup on page 55 of my first cookbook. It’s made with leeks, coconut milk, broccoli, lemon, and spinach. It’s light, healthy, and tastes similar to a soup my mom made for me while I was growing up.
This recipe – vegan broccoli cheddar soup – is thicker, richer, and more cheese-like. I think you’re going to love it.
Vegan Broccoli Soup Recipe Ingredients
Tasting this vegan broccoli soup, you’d never guess that it’s made without cheese or cream. Its creamy texture and rich taste come from these plant-based ingredients:
- Broccoli, of course! I get tons of requests for recipes that use a whole bunch of broccoli, so here, I do – stalk and all! I blend the stalk into the soup’s creamy base and pulse in the florets for texture. If you’re looking for more whole-vegetable recipes, try making a broccoli salad or cauliflower rice next. Waste not, want not!
- Cashews and potatoes – This combination is a great one for giving vegan recipes a gooey cheesy texture. Like in my vegan cheese recipe, it makes this soup rich and creamy.
- Carrots – For cheesy color.
- Celery, onion, and garlic – They add savory depth of flavor.
- Apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, and lemon juice – For tang.
- Fresh dill – It’s the secret ingredient that ties this soup together! It helps give it a delicious cheesy flavor without an ounce of cheese.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
To make this recipe, start by sautéing the onion, carrots, celery, and broccoli stems until they soften. Stir in the potatoes and garlic. Then, add the broth and simmer!
Meanwhile, steam all but 1 cup of the broccoli florets until they’re tender, but still bright green.
When the potatoes are soft, transfer the soup to a blender along with the cashews, vinegar, and mustard, and blend until smooth. Add the broccoli florets that you’ve steamed, as well as the lemon juice and dill. Pulse until the florets are incorporated, but still chunky. Enjoy!
Vegan Broccoli Soup Recipe Tips
- Top it with something crunchy. Whenever I’m making creamy soup, I love to top it with crunchy garnishes for textural contrast. While the soup simmers, roast the last of the broccoli florets and make a batch of quick homemade croutons. These crispy toppings will take your vegan broccoli soup to a whole new level!
- Don’t blend the broccoli too much. You don’t want this soup to become a smooth puree; it should have some texture. Blend the potatoes, celery, onions, broccoli stalk, and carrots until they’re completely smooth, but just pulse in the steamed florets. They add lovely green flecks and texture to the soup.
- Don’t skip the dill! Even if dill isn’t your thing, I urge you to try it in this recipe. It’s essential for mimicking the rich, complex flavor of sharp cheddar cheese. If you want to skip it, I recommend blending in a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast to make the soup taste more cheesy.
More Favorite Soup Recipes
If you love this vegan broccoli soup, try one of these delicious soup recipes next:
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Best Lentil Soup
- Many-Veggie Vegetable Soup
- Pumpkin Soup
- Tomato Basil Soup
- Creamy Potato Soup
- Or any of these 30 Best Soup Recipes!
And for more tasty vegan recipes, check out this post!
Vegan Broccoli Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- ½ cup chopped celery
- ⅓ cup chopped carrots
- 1 lb. broccoli, stems diced, florets chopped
- 1 small yukon gold potato, diced (1 cup)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 3 cups cubed bread, for croutons
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 1½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 small baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, broccoli stems, salt, and pepper and sauté until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and garlic and stir, then add the broth and simmer for 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Let cool slightly.
- Set aside 1 cup of the broccoli florets to roast as a topping for the soup. Place the remaining florets in a steamer basket, and set over a pot with 1-inch of water. Bring the water to a simmer, cover, and let steam 5 minutes, until the broccoli is tender.
- Meanwhile, place the reserved broccoli florets and the bread cubes on the baking sheets. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and roast until the bread is crispy and the broccoli is tender and browned around the edges, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Transfer the soup to the blender and add the cashews, apple cider vinegar, and mustard, and blend until creamy. Work in batches, if necessary. Add the steamed broccoli florets, dill, and lemon juice, and pulse until the broccoli is incorporated but still chunky. The soup should be thick; if it's too thick, add 1/2 cup water to thin to your desired consistency.
- Season to taste and serve the soup in bowls with the roasted broccoli and croutons on top.
Notes
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Fantastic! The dill is a great addition.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Love this soup! I didn’t have fresh dill so I used 1 tsp dried dill and added a TBSP of nutritional yeast and a handful of cashew cheese shreds. I will definitely be making this soup again. Thank you!
Hi Elle, I’m so glad you loved it!
Hi there,
Is there another option for the cashews? I’ve read all of the comments and the only substitutes that have been given are different nuts/tree nuts. I’m allergic to all nuts/peanuts/tree nuts. I’m trying to start my vegan journey but finding it incredibly difficult because of my allergies.
Thank you!
Hi Stephanie, they make the soup rich and creamy… to replace them, raw, hulled sunflower seeds could work, they just have a slightly grittier texture. I have a broccoli soup in my first cookbook where I use coconut milk. You could sub coconut milk for part of the broth and skip the nuts – it will have a slight coconut flavor though.
Another option, (since the potatoes provide creaminess) is to just use more olive oil at the end (another 2 tablespoons or so), to replace the richness of the nuts.
I hope that helps!
This soup was. So. Good. Beyond Good.
Mine turned out quite green, think I may of blended the broccoli too long but it was still amazing. The crutons and roasted broccoli on top make it PERFECT!
Just found this recipe which sounds absolutely delicous and spontaneously decided to try it today. Bet this one will get my better half to finally love broccoli!
Hi Andrea, I’m so glad you loved it!
just made this – it is delicious! made it exactly as is but also added the nutritional yeast. really good!
Loved it!!
In a word-YUM 🙂
SO glad you loved it!
Tried this recipe and it was delicious!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
this soup is SO GOOD. i don’t have a great blender so i soaked the cashews in hot water for an hour or so before blending. i also roughly chopped some roasted broccoli and added it in at the end. this soup is so cheesy and rich and i couldn’t stop eating it.
Hi Ashley, I’m so glad you loved it!
This was delicious. I didn’t have any raw cashews on hand but I had some cashew milk so I used 1 cup of cashew milk and 3 cups of vegetable stock. I’m also not a crouton fan so I topped it with roasted lentils. I liked this far more than I have ever liked a regular cheese soup!
Hi Kim, I’m so glad you loved it! Thanks for the lentil tip!
This was wonderful!
I subbed a quarter up of raw pinenuts for the cashews (my son is allergic), and it turned out delicious.
Hi Mandy, I’m so glad you loved it!
This was delicious!! Even my 5 & 8 year old boys gobbled it up. Truth be told, I didn’t say the word, “broccoli,” I just said, soup. But my 8 year old even THANKED me for making this soup. We will definitely be making this again.
Aww, I’m so glad they loved it so much, that’s so cute!
Can you freeze this soup?
My seven-year-old and I make this soup once a month since about a year ago. We add nutritional yeast to ours as suggested by some others. It is our favorite! Sometimes for an extra treat, we eat it over baked potatoes! Thank you!
I’m searching for the creamy green broccoli soup recipe you say is on page 55 of your cookbook. My version of the cookbook has breakfast biscuits on that page! Help!
Hi Dana, the other broccoli soup is in our first cookbook, The Love & Lemons Cookbook. But the soup recipe pictured in this post is up there right on this page.
I see I have that link above linking to the wrong page – sorry for the confusion! I made this post before the 2nd cookbook came out.
Love this soup! I first used my immersion blender to blend the soup, and then I decided I wanted it creamier so I used my Vitamix and it came out much better! I added some nutritional yeast and a little unflavored soymilk for more creaminess. Great recipe overall!
I used my vita mix on pulse and it basically broke the broccoli down?? How can I get it back to the color?
Hi Gina, you could try pulsing it a bit less next time so that it’s chunky put not pureed. I don’t use a pulse function, I just hit the button a few times until it’s lightly blended. Hopefully, regardless of the color, it still tastes good! If it’s too thick, you could add a little broth or water. Hope that helps!
I am in love with this recipe, Jeanine! One, because I am a fan of anything that has cheese in it; and two, I love soups and vegetables. Thank you so much for sharing this; I cannot wait to try it on those cold times when I just need the warmth in my stomach. I am sure this will be amazing! Quick question, do you think it is OK to substitute cashew with almonds or hazelnuts or walnuts?
Oh, my gosh that looks so yummy!! Now I just have to get my soup-hating daughter to give it a try 🙂
It looks like it takes some time to make though. Do you have any suggestions for a quick, healthy, and vegan soup?
Hi Victoria, here are all of our soups, you can browse and see what catches your eye: https://www.loveandlemons.com/recipe-browser/#cat-vegan/cat-soup Most are pretty quick. Only a few have just a little bit of cheese on the top that you can leave off. I don’t really make dairy-heavy soups. Hope this helps!