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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If we don’t have a Dutch pan, would I saute it on the stove first
Hi Nery, you can just use a large pot.
This soup is so delicious and creamy. The flavors are perfect together and it’s hard to believe that it is vegan. I am so looking forward to lunch all week! Thank you for sharing your talents!
Fantastic soup! The dill really does make it. My daughter only likes smooth soups, so I didn’t do the textural broccoli, but it was truly delicious! Thank you for sharing!
Eh, really good but to be honest the dill was too much. Next time I make it I will cut the dill in half. My boyfriend legitimately referred to it as pickle soup.
I made this in my instapot set on Soup for 8 minutes and blended in the pot with an immersion blender.
Takes out all of the labor from the process and speed things up quite a bit.
I prefer a creamier / smooth consistency. It’s more common in France where I spend my youth and fell in love for the first time.
Now each time I have soup I think of dancing next to the Seine and the intensity of his hazel brown eyes looking into mine.
What a foreign exchange trip that was!
But all in all I think it makes for a more robust flavor profile as well.
What a lovely comment to read. Made for such a nice image. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I added nutritional yeast it made it sooo yummy! Definitely a recommendation!
Would love to try this recipe, but my son has a cashew allergy. What would you recommend substituting? I know a lot of vegan recipes use raw cashews for their creaminess… would love to hear your recommendations.
Thanks!
White beans or soft tofu.
Hi Chloe, you can try raw, hulled sunflower seeds, but you may need more liquid if the soup comes out too thick.
My kid has a cashew allergy and I made it with macadamia nuts instead and it worked fine!
So good. Used frozen broccoli and Rosemary because dill was the only ingredient I didn’t have on hand. Came together quickly and will definitely make again.
It was okay. It was involved with the steaming/baking/cutting/a million ingredients. It didn’t blow me away but my four kids didn’t complain, either. I guess that’s a win.
Loved it! Better than any dairy version I used to enjoy. What a wonderful surprise! I will be making again and again
Amazing broccoli soup!! I’ll definitely make this again!
Hands down the best broccoli soup ever (vegan or not). I didn’t change a thing in the recipe and it came out perfectly.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Easy to follow and nice texture and taste.
I never leave comments on recipes but WOW!! I made this with frozen broccoli and it’s absolutely incredible. The dill really makes it. Just wow.
I never leave comments, but I just made this soup and just had to write and tell you it was AMAZING! It was easy to make, looked just like the picture and tasted so creamy and yummy I can’t believe it’s vegan. Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Is it possible to make this without the cashews since it has a potato?
HI Teresita, we like the richness that the cashews bring.
I made this soup today and I can honestly say that it’s delicious! I tried a broccoli soup recipe a friend gave me which I had to throw out because it made me gag. I’ll be giving her this one! It’s a delicious blend of flavours. Thank you!
Ha, well I’m so glad you loved this one!
This is great, I love that it uses the broccoli stalks. I used blanched almonds rather than cashews, (soaked them in advance since they can be less easy to blend). Since I didn’t have a separate pan I just steamed the broccoli florets in a metal colander resting on top of the broth pan, for the last five of the twenty minutes – it worked perfectly.
Delicious. Nutritious. Actually it tastes like mcDonalds.. the dill hey. I added a bit of nutritional yeast half way through my bowl and that was definitely a McDonald’s cheeseburger!
This was so good!! Exceeded expectations for sure. I made this to use up a large head of broccoli from our local CSA. Omitted carrots because I didn’t have any but I literally don’t think this could have turned out better ;). I used freeze dried dill instead (about 1.5 tbsp). YUM!!!