This cheesy vegan broccoli soup is rich and creamy, easy to make, and a perfect paleo fall recipe. Whole30 compliant and totally dairy-free, there’s plenty of cheesy flavor but no weird ingredients!
There’s this memory I have of my childhood, a collage of moments recounted to me, flash photography prints I’ve been shown, a slice of my early narrative pasted together over time. I’m standing on the wooden chair with a blue balloon tied onto the hooped back in a dark restaurant with thrift store finds tacked on the walls.
I’m wearing a lavender dress with white trim, and my hair’s pulled half back, secured with a grosgrain bow. My bangs are heavy, my eyes are big and dark, my smile is tiny yet cartoonishly exaggerated. My face is illuminated with the glow from 5 candles, waving gently in front of me, burrowed into the white buttercream frosting atop a Betty Crocker cake mix cake brought from home.
Happy birthday to YOU, happy birthday TO you, happy BIRTHday dear Cheryl, happy BIRTHday to you…
And everyone’s clapping, and I’m blowing out the candles, still grinning, and asking my mom if I can lick the frosting off the bottom of the little pink wax sticks. We’re at the Broccoli Cheese Soup Place, aka TGIFriday’s, as we are every childhood birthday during this particular stretch. We went often, my parents certainly thrilled by knowing I’d actually eat what I ordered and by the fact I’d willingly eat something green. And for kid birthdays, they’d stand me up on a chair, provide a latex balloon, sing loudly, and clap heartily.
To this day, broccoli cheese soup is one of my all-time favorite soups, if not my hands-down forever-and-ever favorite. And what’s not to love? Heaps of rich, gooey cheese stirred into an already creamy base with tender broccoli to make you feel better about your choices. I could eat it every day, except…
Heaps of rich, gooey cheese stirred into an already creamy base with only a handful of tender broccoli to make you feel better about your choices. With fall on the horizon, I knew I had to create a healthier, dairy-free version of the American favorite, leaving out all of the ingredients that make you feel sluggish and integrating more nutrient-dense foods.
This cheesy vegan broccoli soup is Whole30-compliant, too, (and paleo, of course!) making it a perfect fall weeknight dinner on a round, reappearing as early-lunchtime-inducing leftovers the next day. And since it’s dairy-free, it’s easy to freeze!
Why this cheesy vegan broccoli soup is so good:
- I based this paleo broccoli cheese soup on the offerings at Panera and TGIFriday’s, hoping to convert the dairy-loving diehards to my cheesy vegan broccoli soup substitution.
- This cheesy vegan broccoli soup is rich and creamy with plenty of delish cheese flavor, tender broccoli, and carrots.
- It’s easy to make and comes together quickly, made originally one night when a bout of morning sickness left me uninterested in the chicken dish we’d meal planned. Instead, I whipped together this vegan broccoli soup and hurriedly snapped photos before diving in.
And oh, oh, oh. The little girl at the Broccoli Cheese Soup Place has certainly grown up.
Variations
- If you’re vegan, definitely use olive oil or vegan butter to cook your onion in. Make sure you use vegetable stock to boil your broccoli and carrots.
- If you’re not vegan, you can use ghee to sauté the onion, and you can use chicken stock to boil the broccoli.
Tips
- Start with 1/4 cup nutritional yeast and work up to 1/2 cup. If you’re vegan, you’re probably super used to that “nooch” flavor! But if you’re not, 1/4 cup will probably hit that sweet spot for you.
- Add turmeric to this cheesy vegan broccoli soup for color: start with just a pinch and work up to the saturation of yellow you want!
How to make this vegan broccoli soup:
Sauté onion in a medium saucepan over medium heat in a bit of olive oil; cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
Add stock, broccoli, and carrots; cover. Simmer about 10-15 minutes or until broccoli is tender.
In a high-speed blender, combine cashews, water, mustard powder, smoked paprika, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, almond milk, and cayenne pepper. Blend on high speed until completely smooth. Pour into saucepan and stir. Season with salt and pepper, then ladle the vegan broccoli soup into serving bowls and garnish with chopped parsley.
To make this vegan broccoli soup, I used…
Other recipes you’ll love:
- Best Vegan Queso Blanco (Whole30, Paleo)
- Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
- Paleo Spinach Artichoke Dip (Vegan)
- Vegan Alfredo Sauce
Cheesy Vegan Broccoli Soup (Whole30, Paleo, Dairy Free)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or ghee, if not vegan
- 1 small onion diced
- 1-2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups vegetable stock or chicken stock if on Whole30 or not vegan
- 4 cups broccoli florets
- 1 1/2 cups shredded carrot about 2 medium
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked for 4 hours if you don't have a high-speed blender
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice about half a lemon
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- dash cayenne pepper dash
- sea salt
- freshly cracked pepper
- Fresh parsley to serve, optional
Equipment Needed
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add onion and sauté until translucent, stirring often. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, about 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
- Add stock, broccoli, and carrots, then cover with a lid. Simmer until broccoli is tender, about 10-15 minutes.
- In a high-speed blender, combine cashews, water, mustard powder, smoked paprika, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, almond milk, and cayenne pepper. Blend at high speed until very, very smooth. Pour mixture into broccoli mixture and stir until smooth. Add plenty of sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste. Spoon into serving bowls and top with fresh chopped parsley.
Had some broccoli to use up and found this recipe on a whim. I only had coconut milk so I used that instead. I also soaked my cashews in hot water in a thermos for an hour because I wanted this for lunch and it turned out fantastic. I told my husband that this was a meal that made my stomach smile. Can’t wait for the leftovers!
I have made a lot of vegan broccoli soups, but this one is my favorite! It’s perfectly creamy with lots of texture and is just delicious. I’ve made it 3 times in the past few weeks, I can’t get enough! The only change I make is to omit the oil. Thanks for the great recipe!
You are so welcome! I’m glad you loved it!
Absolutely delicious!! Made a batch for my hubby and I tonight and we were sooo pleasantly surprised with how simple and yummy this recipe is. Thank you, thank you!! Can’t wait to make it again.
I’m so glad you both loved it!
This is delicious! I have always loved broccoli cheese soup but I can no longer eat dairy as I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and dairy causes increased inflammation. I stumbled upon this recipe and just happened to have all of the ingredients! It came out perfect! Even my husband, who doesn’t like broccoli ate 2.5 bowls! I’m super excited that I can now enjoy one of my favorite soups again!! Thank you 🙂
Thanks, Yvonne, we’re glad you like it so much!
So excited for this recipe! I didn’t add carrots (extra broccoli) and I added silk heavy whipping cream (instead of almond milk). It was so creamy and flavorful. Yum! Such an excellent alternative for me . Thank you
I’m so glad you loved it!!
Wow! This recipe is delicious! I don’t follow a particular diet, but I’m lactose intolerant and try to eat healthy too. I’ve adjusted recipes for broccoli cheddar soup in the past to make them lactose free, but I realize they’re maybe not the healthiest.
I made your recipe today and I was blown away by how you were able to replicate the oh so satisfyingly cheesy taste and creamy texture from dairy recipes. I made the following additions to use what I have at home: 1 tsp of Dijon mustard in place of mustard powder, another 1/2 tsp of lemon juice, 1/2 tsp of dried thyme and 1 tsp of soy sauce (then salt & pepper to taste). The soup had a really nice depth of flavor and my husband even thought it had bacon ;). Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Thanks for the review! I’m so happy you liked it!
Would this freeze well? I’ve made it and it’s yummy. Want to make again and possibly freeze 1/2. Thank you!
You can definitely freeze this!
We are a family of 6 and like to have leftovers for work. I added chopped golden potatoes to the base and used the immersion blender to make it a little smoother before adding the cashew cream. Thsi allows me to extend the recipe a little longer (plus filling this family up!) It’s very good and my 4 kiddos love it.
Always love to hear kids loved one of my recipes! Thanks for the great review!
I’ve made this quite a bit and it’s soooo good! This is now my “go to” for the best vegan broccoli cheese soup! I love that it’s a true broccoli cheese soup and doesn’t have potato in it. 🙂 I always use an immersion blender as a lazy way to get my broccoli into smaller pieces. This recipe works well without the oil too, I always just saute the veggies with broth. Sheer broccoli cheese soup perfection! Thank you for the great recipe!
So rich and delicious! I ended up doubling the broth because it didn’t look like enough cooking with the broccoli. I was then concerned that maybe I made it too thin, but simmering after the cashew cream thickened it right up!
Can you use coconut cream instead of cashews to get a creamy consistency? Thanks!
Really great recipe. Super easy. We added some extra garlic powder and some grated daiya cheese and it thickened the broth. Awesome. Thank you.
This was SO GOOD! I actually made it in my instant pot on high pressure for 4 minutes, chopped carrots not shredded, probably could have done 3 minutes. Thank you for this easy, yummy, recipe!
I topped it with roasted delicata squash and it added nice flavor and made it more hearty.
Pretty tasty, but my husband (who made this) wasn’t happy with it.
I’m not sure what to have on the side to get protein, but this is warming and tasty soup for whole30!
There is protein in plants, and you don’t need as much protein as you the food marketers have led you to believe. Looking at her nutritional info, a serving provides 1/4 of your daily protein needs. Visit https://www.pcrm.org/good-nutrition/nutrition-information/protein and learn more!
I fixed it with chicken broth and my son fixed the vegan version the same time. He added the pepper/cayenne pepper. I didn’t and he added a little more of the nutritional yeast to his. After tasting his I added the peppers and a little more yeast. I liked both versions. This is a really good soup. I have eaten it EVERYDAY since I made it. It makes quite a bit and it is very filling. My son and I love and we both said we will be making THIS AGAIN! We are so excited.
Hi. I’m allergic to nuts. What substitutions can I use for the cashews and almond milk? Will rice milk work? I definitely can’t replace the cashews with dairy, as it triggers my migraines.
Thanks!
Rice milk would be a great idea, although we have never tried that! Let us know how it went!
So good!! My son was asking and asking for broccoli cheese soup. So glad I found this recipe. Perfect for anytime of the year. You need to make this!
Do I just let it cool and put in freezer containers? Will it defrost and still be the same when I reheat?
Thank you for sharing
Can you just use cashew milk instead of soaking and blending cashews?
It doesn’t create the same creamy consistency!
This tasted really good. It was thick and creamy. By the way I tried to subscribe to your website and it didn’t work.
This is fabulous. I made it two weeks in a row.
Great to hear!
Is there something else I can use instead of the cashews? I can’t have nuts
So are you telling Verna to use 1 c. of nutritional yeast in place of the 1 c. cashews in the recipe, plus the 1/2 c. nutritional yeast, so 1.5 cups of nutritional yeast in the whole recipe? I too can’t have cashews and would like a substitute. Thank you. Looking forward to trying this soup.
Disregard the last piece of advice – I would recommend using 1-1 1/2 cups steamed cauliflower in place of the cashews if you can’t have nuts!
I would recommend using 1-1 1/2 cups steamed cauliflower in place of the cashews if you can’t have nuts!
Oh yum! I’m right at the end of a whole 30, but getting ready to continue on in a Paleo way. I love the way I’m feeling (better!), but one thing I was really mourning was cheese. This recipe totally hits the spot and I might like it even better than the traditional, gloppy dairy filled version! Thanks for putting the time and testing into this, I love it!
Glad you get to enjoy it, Tabitha!
Great recipe! I used 1/4 nutritiinal yeast, upped the spices x2 for more flavor, and added about 2tbs breadcrumbs to get the thickness I wanted. AWESOME.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Love it! It did come together quick. I was out of almond milk so I used more broth instead of water in the blender to add more flavor. I also used an immersion blender at the end and it’s still chunky but it is thick!! Thank you for sharing!!!
I wasn’t feeling well, and wanted something easy and comforting. This soup really hit the spot! Although I made it exactly according to the recipe (reducing the yeast to 1/3 cup as suggested for those who are less accustomed to the taste, and adding some turmeric to achieve a “cheesier” color), mine was not as thick as shown in the photos and video. However, it was still quite tasty! Next time I may remove the lid for the last 5 minutes that the veggies are simmering to see if I can get it thicker.
Can you use roasted/salted cashews instead of raw? Thx
They would alter the flavors just a bit, but yes!