This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure Policy.
Creamy vegan broccoli soup made with tender sautéed broccoli and carrots, infused with savory spices, and a rich cashew-based broth. The paleo fall recipe is Whole30 compliant and totally dairy-free, yet full of cheesy flavor and deliciousness—perfect for a cozy family dinner!
See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.
Why This Recipe is So Good
- I based this vegan cheddar broccoli soup on the offerings at Panera and TGIFriday’s, hoping to convert the dairy-loving diehards to my cheesy vegan broccoli soup substitution.
- It’s super easy to make and comes together quickly; all you do is sauté the onions, add broccoli and carrots, cover with broth, blend the other ingredients, and combine!
- This soup delivers serious nutritional value, featuring 4 cups of vitamin C-rich broccoli, protein-packed cashews, and beta-carotene-rich carrots. You’re sneaking in clean eating that doesn’t feel like you’re missing out!
- It’s the ideal fall weeknight dinner, reappearing as early-lunchtime-inducing leftovers the next day. And since it’s dairy-free, it’s easy to freeze! You could dip Vegan Zucchini Bread, Gluten Free Cornbread With Honey, or Sweet Potato Cornbread into this soup. Just remember to make vegan modifications when using these bread recipes.
What You Need to Know Before You Start
- Begin with ¼ cup of nutritional yeast and work up to ½ cup based on your taste preferences. If you’re new to “nooch,” the flavor can be intense, but if you’re a vegan cooking veteran, you might want the full ½ cup for maximum cheesy goodness.
- That tablespoon of fresh lemon juice isn’t just random—it brightens the entire broccoli cheddar soup vegan recipe and helps balance the richness of the cashews. It’s what makes this taste like the real deal!
- A pinch of turmeric will give you that familiar broccoli cheese soup color that makes everyone’s mouth water. Start small and add more until you get that perfect golden hue that screams “comfort food.”
- Blend the cashew mixture until it’s completely smooth. Any grittiness from under-blended cashews will ruin the luxurious texture you’re going for. When you think it’s smooth enough, blend for another 30 seconds.
More Delicious Vegan Recipes
- Vegan Potato Soup
- Whole30 Instant Pot Tomato Soup (Dairy-Free & Vegan)
- Vegan Pad Thai
- Creamy Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
- Vegan Seitan “Chicken”
- Seitan Grilled Chicken with Vegan BBQ Sauce
- Vegan Enchiladas
- Vegan Fried “Chicken” (Made with Tofu)
- Vegan Corned Beef and Cabbage
- Vegan Chili
- Vegan Alfredo Sauce
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Vegan Cheesy Broccoli Soup
Creamy vegan broccoli and cheddar soup features tender sautéed broccoli and carrots in a rich, savory cashew broth. Whole30 compliant and totally dairy-free, it's packed with cheesy flavor that’s full of flavor and deliciousness!
servings
Equipment
- medium saucepan with lid
- high-speed blender Vitamix, Blendtec, or similar
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 ½ 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
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice about half a lemon
- ¼ cup almond milk
- 1 dash cayenne pepper dash
- sea salt to taste
- freshly cracked pepper to taste
- fresh parsley to serve, optional
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 and shredded vegan cheese (optional).
Video
For the Smoothest Texture: Blend the cashew mixture for at least 2 minutes on high speed until completely smooth. If your blender isn’t getting the mixture silky enough, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve before adding to the soup.
Storage and Reheating: Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat, stirring frequently. The soup may thicken when cold – just add a splash of vegetable stock or almond milk to thin it back out.
Make it Whole30: Use ghee instead of olive oil and chicken stock instead of vegetable stock. Make sure your almond milk is Whole30-compliant (no carrageenan or added sugars).
Freezer-Friendly: This soup freezes beautifully for up to 3 months! The dairy-free base won’t curdle like traditional cheese soups. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat gently.
Cashew Substitute: If you can’t have cashews, try ¾ cup of unsweetened coconut cream (the thick part from a chilled can of full-fat coconut milk) blended with the seasonings instead.
Boost the Flavor: Add a splash of apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar along with the lemon juice for extra tang that mimics traditional cheese soup’s acidity.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Serving Size: 1servingCalories: 331calProtein: 12gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 562mgPotassium: 805mgTotal Carbs: 27gFiber: 7gSugar: 8gNet Carbs: 20gVitamin A: 8970IUVitamin C: 87mgCalcium: 98mgIron: 3mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Tag @40aprons on Instagram and be sure to leave a review on the blog post!
Never Miss A Meal!
New Recipes Straight To Your Inbox
A curated selection of our most recent recipes, delivered straight to your inbox once a week.
Leave A Review
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
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/