Vegan Broccoli Potato Soup Recipe
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Creamiest Broccoli and Potato Soup Ever
When I stepped outside the house early this morning I could literally smell it in the air: soup season has just arrived. Not quite settled in yet but it’s definitely here unpacking. So make sure to dust off that heavy bottom stock pot and park it on the stove up until spring.
If you are looking for some super tasty ways to get more broccoli in your system, this comforting homemade broccoli soup is the way friends. Top with this amazing vegan chorizo and then make sure to also try our most favorite vegan clam chowder + white bean soup with some focaccia bread rolls to dunk in <—DIVINE!
It’s like Broccoli Cheese Soup & Potato Soup Got Married!
Creamy cashews and nutritional yeast blended together with golden potatoes and homemade veggie stock give this soup that super rich, cheddar cheesy creaminess without the addition of any cream or dairy at all.
It’s magically dreamy, healthy, oil free, vegan, easy to make, cheesy but there’s No Cheese in sight (Dairy Free & Cholesterol -Free) + Lusciously Creamy!
This is definitely the time to bring out your powerful blender, totally worth the clean up as the silky texture you’ll achieve is pure perfection!
Recipe Tips
- Leeks – Feel free to use a leek in place of the onions for the ultimate potato leek soup. My recipes usually change depending on what’s in the pantry. Crispy smoked tempeh bits add nice salty crunch to the final dish so sprinkle some of those on top if you have them.
- Cashews – No need to soak the cashews in advance, the boiling process will get them perfectly soft to be blended in the creamiest of soup. This is a super easy recipe that also makes fabulous leftovers to refrigerate or freeze for a later date.
- Variation – I’ve also experimented making this soup with a mix of potatoes and cauliflower florets, and although it was good this version is the best. If you need to use up some cauliflower florets just make this amazing lemony cauliflower soup instead.
how to make vegan broccoli potato soup
Vegan Broccoli Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1/2 yellow onion (or 1/2 leek) -chopped
- 4 cloves garlic -minced
- 2 lb golden potatoes (scrubbed, rinsed & diced)
- 1 large carrot -diced
- 1 celery stick -chopped
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 7-8 cups vegetable stock (low sodium)
- 5-6 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 lb broccoli florets
- 1 pinch sea salt (to taste)
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 1/3 cup fresh chives -snipped for garnish
- 1/2 tsp turmeric (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat a heavy stock up over medium low heat and sauté the onion in a splash of water (or a drizzle of olive oil) until translucent.
- Add the sea salt, pepper flakes, celery and carrots and give everything a nice toss. Cover with a lid and sweat a few more minutes until the carrots begin to soften.
- Add the garlic, potatoes, cashews and vegetable stock and bring everything to a simmer. Stir in the nutritional yeast, cover with a lid and cook 20 minutes or until the potatoes and cashews have softened.
- Transfer the soup to a powerful mixer and carefully purée until silky smooth. ( the Vitamix did an exponentially better job at this than my immersion blender).
- Transfer the creamy soup back to the pot and bring to a simmer again. Add the broccoli florets, cover with a lid and cook a few more minutes until the broccoli is softened to your liking. Take good care not to overcook it, 3 to 5 minutes should yield that perfect al dente texture. Alternatively you can steam the broccoli separately while your soup is cooking.
- Taste and adjust seasoning with the sea salt. Add more vegetable stock at this point to thin out the soup if you prefer.
- Serve hot with extra red pepper flakes and the fresh chives.
Video
Notes
- After experimenting a few times with this soup I came to the conclusion that there is no need to soak the cashews in advance. By boiling them in the soup they will become soft and easy to blend in a powerful blender.
- I adapted the original recipe to yield a larger batch as the only complaint about this soup has been that the portions were too small and people didn't have any leftovers. Problem solved!
Nutrition
Halfway through I realized my broccoli was bad and I just added extra carrots and peas for texture and made homemade challah croutons, topped with some vegan cheese and I am OBSESSED!!! this is the best soup ever!!!
This soup was so savory and delicious. LOVED it!
SO GOOD!!! I am blown away by the flavors in this soup. I added some Colby plant-based VioLife cheese to the top for extra cheesy goodness!
Thank you so much for sharing!
This was fabulous!! I had to make a substitution for the cashews since my daughter has a severe cashew allergy. So I used unsweetened Milkadamia (Macadamia Milk) in place of them. Everything else I followed pretty much exactly. Because I didn’t have to puree the cashews, I was able to use an immersion blender instead and the consistency of the soup was perfect. I pan fried some vegan bacon, crumbled it up and put that on top and yum yum!! I brought leftovers into work with me for lunch, and here I am at 10:30am sneaking bites of it! LOL. Definitely a keeper!!
This soup is amazing! I use it as a base and switch up the veggies. Today I subbed air fried potatoes and orange/ yellow peppers for the broccoli and it was heaven in my mouth! Yum!!
The consistency was nice, but it was bland for me so I added lots of crushed red pepper and salt and some rosemary.I halved the amount of nutritional yeast cause I’ve had bad experiences in the past with the flavor being overwhelming, I think next time I’ll add the entire amount you recommended. I still wasn’t feeling it was really good and flavorful so I tried it over some freshly made jasmine rice and it was fabulous!! Thank you! Can I freeze it with the broccoli already in it?
Hi Alisa! The nutritional yeast is a major flavor component of this recipe, it’s where the umami cheesiness comes from. If anything I’d suggest adding even more, not less. The important thing is to use a non-fortified organic nutritional yeast, the fortified ones have added synthetic vitamins which could explain your past experience with it. I’m glad it all turned out well in the end and you enjoyed the soup 🙂 ~ Florentina Xo’s
My goodness is this soup good! My entire family gobbled it up. This was so filling and light at the same time. I will be adding this to my favorite recipes! The best part is that there is plenty leftover for lunch tomorrow!
Wow! This is great, thanks for posting Florentina.
New favourite.
This was really delicious! If I didn’t make it, I would’ve thought it was a true broccoli cheddar. I definitely needed to add more salt to get a more cheesy flavor.
This soup tastes amazing y’all, it’s just so del ious I can’t believe it! My entire family loved it and they didn’t believe me when I finally told them it’s vegan. I’m gonna make this every week until July you beat count on that baby! Thank you kindly for the recipe Veggie!
Made this yesterday and really enjoyed it! Reminiscent of broccoli cheese but so much better. My (omni) husband loved it as well. We ate it with fresh baked corn bread.
I did find it needed extra S&P. This was the first recipe of yours I’ve tried, looking forward to trying more.
Hi Ida, so happy you all enjoyed the soup! I leave the extra salt and pepper to your discretion as I like to encourage training our palette to less salt for better health. ~ Florentina Xo’s
Absolutely delicious! I used less garlic and no nutritional yeast, and it was perfect for my tastes. I had broccoli from my garden, and this was a wonderful way to use it. Thanks for a delicious and easy recipe.
This was delicious! Do you have an adaptation for a crockpot?
Hi Cat, I do not have a crockpot adaptation as I try to create really easy recipes such as this one that to me don’t justify dragging out and cleaning a crockpot haha. I am really glad you enjoyed the soup and please do report back if you give it a try I the crockpot and you prefer that method. ~ Florentina Xo’s
This is so close to panera breads soup I gotta go get some of that bread to make those bowls I can put this delicious soup in.This I will be serving my friends that do not share my vegan lifestyle. Thanks for this recipe:)
Lovely flavours but I would definitely soak the cashews next time… I have a pretty powerful blender but no amount of blending made it smooth, the texture was quite gritty and unpleasant. I’m sure next time it will be better with soaked nuts. 😊
Hi El, soaking the cashews is recommended for all blenders that are not as powerful as a Vitamix.