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)
This cheesy vegan broccoli soup is rich and creamy, easy to make, and a perfect paleo fall soup recipe. Whole30 compliant and dairy-free, there's plenty of cheesy flavor with no weird ingredients!
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.
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.
Thanks for sharing. Loved your recipe. This is my first vegan soup and my husband also loved it. The yeast taste was something I am getting used it. I am trying to do more like a vegan paleo. This really helped curb my hunger 🙂
These is cheese heaven! It’s so creamy. Thanks for sharing!
Because of all the positive comments, I made a double batch of this thinking I’d for sure love it! Mine was more like watery grit. The cashews didn’t give it the creamy texture I’d hoped for- or maybe I did something wrong? Was I supposed to soak the nuts first? Next time I will also do as suggested and not use as much nutritional yeast. I’m not a huge fan of how much that flavor sticks out:(
This looks so so so delicious! I’ll be making this pale broccoli cheese soup this weekend! I can’t wait to try it!
Made this last night, it was very good, had it for lunch today-it is delicious! I don’t eat exclusively plant based, and I am not always a fan of cheese substitutes, but it really works here. Thank you for this amazing recipe.
Griff
Okay. So, I just made this. It’s… AMAZING!!! I added just a little bit more of a few of the seasonings listed (somehow I’m out of black pepper?!) and it was perfect!! Also, I admittedly HATE spending too much time in the kitchen… But this was actually painless!! Thanks!! Already shared this recipe!!
I love hearing that!! So glad you liked it 🙂
We made this tonight and it was wonderful! Thanks for a great recipe! My son, who doesn’t like broccoli, even said he liked it!
Woohoo!! That’s the true test of a recipe 😉 So glad you liked it!
Has anyone been successful in freezing this recipe? I’m trying to find freezer recipes and this sounds delish!
OMG, this soup is delicious! I can’t wait to eat it for lunch this week. Thank you for the awesome recipe!
I am so so happy you liked it!
Hi, this looks delciious! But, My son is hyper allergic to cashews….and all nuts. Can you suggest any sort of replacement for this recipe?
Try this: steam 2 cups of cauliflower and then blend it until smooth with 1 cup of coconut cream. Replace the almond milk with more coconut cream/full-fat milk. It won’t be QUITE as rich or creamy, but I think it’ll still be good!
Ive made it this way twice and it’s amazing- creamy enough.
I can imagine it being creamier with the cashews though.
I didnt have mustard powder so, I used turmeric instead and it was great.
Made this tonight and my husband and I LOVED it. We did sub cashew milk for almond milk because that’s what we had on hand. We are almost done with our first Whole 30 and it was so nice to have a break from meat!! We plan to make this many, many times again.
That makes me so happy, Annie! I’m so thrilled you liked it so much 🙂
Loved this recipe! So easy to make and everyone approved. 👍🏻
I’m so happy to hear everyone liked it!
I’m super allergic to cashews, but desperately want to try this recipe. Broccoli and Cheddar soup is my vice and aid love to have it while doing a Whole 30. Do you have any recommended substitutions for the cashews? Other nuts perhaps? Would it be fine to omit it? I’m guessing if helps with the thickness/creaminess… Thank you for any tips you can give!
Hi! So, I recommended this substitution to another reader. I think it will work! It won’t be QUITE as rich or creamy, but still pretty dang good, I’d expect 🙂 Try it and let me know what you think!
Try steaming 2 cups of cauliflower and then blend it until smooth with 1 cup of coconut cream. Replace the almond milk with more coconut cream/full-fat milk.
Excited to make this! Just curious- what is the purpose of the cashews? Flavor? texture? Something else?
The cashews give everything a super creamy texture. So rich! You’ll love them in this
Delicious! I was wondering if you could include the nutritional information so I could add it to my fitness pal?
I’ve updated the post with a nutrition label! It’s for 4 large servings 🙂
I’m pretty sure Ghee is butter, which is dairy. Obviously I’d sub oil for the ghee to make dairy free but wondering why you are advertising as dairy free when your recipe as is, is not dairy free. It’s also not vegan as is with chicken stock. Again, obviously I’d sub veggie broth but it’s misleading for newbies or for someone not vegan trying to make a dish for a vegan friend (and don’t know the rules).
Suggestion – say “can be made vegan and dairy free” or “lactose free.”
Hey Erica! I appreciate your comments. I put “vegan” in the title because, as the recipe states with the ingredient notes, it can easily be made vegan with tiny tweaks. I made sure to explicitly distinguish which ingredients are or are not vegan in the recipe (Like “olive oil for vegan”), so it should be quite easy for any well-meaning but uninformed friends trying to make the dish for a vegan 🙂
Came out great! I did not have smoked paprika, so I used chipotle. I also used cashew milk instead of almond milk. In the end, I tossed the whole thing in the blender which gave it a very smooth texture after I added a bit more cashew milk . I don’t have an immersion blender, but I could see how leaving some of the texture might have been better.
Hi Barb! I’m so glad you liked it. And yes – you could purée part of the soup in the regular blender and leave 1/2 to 2/3 unprocessed. That’d be great!
Oh my! I don’t even love broccoli but my husband bought a Costco size bag and I know how healthy it is so I decided to make a soup.
WOW! This is amazing!
I did simmer for a full 15 mins and a lot of the broth was gone. I did use the immersion blender on the broccoli.
It is thick and creamy! Sooo freaking good!!
THANK YOU!
Ha! I love those giant broccoli bags from Costco! I’m so glad you liked this as much as we do 🙂
Can you make this in a slow cooker?
You could definitely make this soup in the slow cooker, just make sure to sauté your onions and garlic first, before adding the remaining ingredients. It shouldn’t take too long to cook until it’s ready, though! You might consider Erin’s method for a slow cooker broccoli cheese soup to help 🙂
https://www.wellplated.com/slow-cooker-broccoli-and-cheese-soup/
Can this be done without the nutritional yeast?
It can, but you’d be missing a lot of the yummy cheesy flavor 🙂
What is best about this recipe is that my kids love it. Usually takes some persuasion to try new things, but whit this I had no problem. Thank you so much for sharing, and definitely trying more of your vegan recipes.
Not going to lie… I’m kind of jealous! Ha! My toddler is still apparently allergic to anything green… I’m so glad you and your family liked it, Ashley <3
This sounds amazing, although I wish you wouldn’t label it as being vegan! I can see someone trying to helpfully make this for a vegan family member, and including the chicken stock and ghee. Many people don’t seem to have any idea what vegan actually means, and I would hate to be served this as is and told it was vegan. Maybe include a note in the recipe like “use chicken stock for omnivores, vegetable stock for vegans.”
There are notes in the recipe 🙂
I’m pretty allergic to cashews 😫Is there a suitable substitute?
So….. we can work with this 🙂 Try steaming 2 cups of cauliflower and then blend it until smooth with 1 cup of coconut cream. Replace the almond milk with more coconut cream/full-fat milk. It won’t be QUITE as rich or creamy, but I think it’ll still be good. Please let me know if you try it! I’d love to hear how it goes.
Sounds awesome! How many servings For this recipe?
About 4-6 depending on serving size!
Thank you for this recipe! I made it tonight and loved it; the texture is perfectly creamy and the flavors are lovely. And my fourteen year old daughter, who is a huge fan of the traditional recipe, thinks it is delicious as well. She also really appreciates the “making better choices” aspect of it. Oh, and I made the cranberry orange bread. Absolutely to die for! You are a wonder!
I’m so so glad to hear that you liked both of those recipes! Thank you so much for your sweet comment, Sarah ❤️
My son’s favorite soup is Panera’s broccoli cheese, but after discovering that he has an intolerance to gluten and dairy, we had to give it up. I made this for him as a special surprise for dinner last night and he devoured it! Happy days! We have very little left over but I am wondering if this is freezable? I’d love to make a big batch to just warm up for an afterschool snack for him. Thank you for all all the work you do!
I am so, so thrilled to hear that! Yes, I think this would freeze beautiful, thanks to it being dairy-free. You could even freeze it in little individual portions in a silicon mold and pop them out whenever you need! Such a great idea, Melissa. Let me know if you freeze it and how it goes!
this recipe worked out beautifully! sharing it with all my vegan and dairy free friends! i followed the recipe as instructed, with no ingredient substitutions. the only adjustment i made was to whiz it a little with an immersion blender once it was finished
That’s wonderful to hear! And another friend of mine did the same – blending it up a bit at the end. Great suggestion! I’m so glad you liked it, and thank you for coming back to tell me so 🙂
My boyfriend and I made this recipe and it was amazing! It was very filling and super tasty! It was also very easy to prepare and make. Cheryl is a genius.
Hi Jen!!! I’m so glad you tried it and liked it 🙂 So happy to hear from you!
TGIFridays is always what comes to mind when I picture my favorite cheesy cream of broccoli soup I’ve been craving this!
But..tell me…high speed blender? I have a normal blender, an immersion blender and a food processor. Which should I use?