Recipe Faqs & Substitutions
I am not vegan and would like to use cheese. How can I add that?
I developed this recipe specifically to be dairy-free. My Classic Broccoli Cheese Soup recipe is a better recipe for you!
Best nutritional yeast?
I only use non-fortified nutritional yeast, meaning it does not have synthetic vitamins added. This is a much more natural product, while still giving your soup a cheesy flavor. I use either Foods Alive Nutritional Yeast or Sari Foods Nutritional Yeast.
Can I use fresh/frozen cauliflower/broccoli?
Yes, fresh or frozen veggies will work. To save work, I prefer using frozen cauliflower. I used fresh broccoli in this recipe because I had an abundance from my garden.
I prefer a totally smooth soup. Do I have to steam the broccoli in a glass bowl?
Nope, just throw it in with the rest of the veggies, pressure cook, and blend! I like small chunks of broccoli florets, hence steaming small florets in the glass bowl. This is an optional step, however.
Can I sub broth for the water?
Yes! If you are vegan or vegetarian, you can use your favorite vegetable broth. Omnivores may use their favorite bone broth.
Do I have to use jalapeno/cayenne pepper?
Nope, these ingredients are optional! Our family loves spicy, and I was hoping for a copycat Hoffbrau broccoli-cheese-jalapeno soup. I got pretty close!
What Is Broccoli Cheese Soup
Broccoli cheese soups is a creamy soup made with a thick broth thickened with flour, lots of broccoli, carrots, heavy cream, and cheese. Its creamy, delicious, and perfect cool weather comfort food! Since the cheese is a pretty central component to broccoli cheese soup, it seems like one of those recipes that youd never be able to adapt to make dairy-free.. think again!
This broccoli cheese soup is made without any dairy, but still tastes just as cheesy and creamy! Its paleo, whole30, AIP, and can even be made vegan.
In This Recipe For Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup Here Are Some Of The Healthy Swaps Were Making:
- Heavy cream for soaked cashews to a create a luscious texture
- Heavy cream for potato puree to achieve that comfort food stick to your bones feeling
- Cheddar cheese for nutritional yeast
To make it feel like youre serving your copycat Panera broccoli cheddar soup in a bread bowl, I like to toast a few cubes of bread to garnish on top. This step is optional, but highly recommended.
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The Ingredients For Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Broth & coconut cream. Coconut cream makes this soup creamy!
- Arrowroot starch. This is a thickener for the broth. You can also try to use tapioca.
- Butternut squash. This isnt a traditional ingredient for this soup, but it gives this soup the cheesy color, and a velvety broth base.
- Onions, garlic, shredded carrots, and broccoli.
- Nutritional yeast. This is the cheese flavor for the soup.
- Bacon. This is optional, but it really ties it all together.
What So Great About This Organic Almondmilk W/ Cashew
A great balance between nutty and creamy .
Blended with real vanilla.
And just too good to pass up!
Now, lets dig right into this recipe, shall we?
Begin by adding 1-2 Tbsps of olive oil to the dutch pot on medium-high heat. Sauté onions for about 3-4 minutes, until translucent and fragrant.
Add in herbs and spices and stir until well incorporated.
Add in the garlic, broccoli, celery, and carrots and Sauté for another 2-3 minutes until slightly softened.
Add in vegetable broth and bring everything to a boil. Once boiling begins, reduce heat to low and bring to a simmer.
Meanwhile, add the Almond milk, nutritional yeast, and a few pieces of the sautéed broccoli into a high-powered blender and blend until smooth and well combined.
Once complete, add blended mixture to the pot and stir in until well combined.
Let everything continue to simmer for another 10 minutes or so.
During the last 4-5 minutes, add in thickener and stir in until everything begins to thicken. Repeat this step once again, if needed.
For extra creaminess, sprinkle 1/2 cup or so of vegan mozzarella cheese, optional.
Once thickened and veggies are softened, remove from heat and serve in prepared bowls.
Enjoy with a side of homemade vegan garlic bread , if preferred.
Bon Appetite!
Recommended Reading: Campbell Soup Chicken And Rice Casserole
More Soup Recipes To Try
Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance food compatibility list for histamineSIGHI list
- garlic, which scores 1.
- leek, which scores 1 and has a ? as a liberator. You can swap for white onion if you prefer.
- vegetable stock will have variable scores.
- black pepper which scores 2.
- sesame seeds, which score 1.
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Please follow the advice of your doctor as to all medical treatments, supplements and dietary choices, as set out in my disclaimer. I am not a medical professional, and this post, as well as all other posts on this blog, are for informational purposes only. This post, and all others, are not intended to advocate for, or encourage, the use of a low histamine diet, particular foodstuffs or products, or act as medical advice in any way. I accept no liability for any harm, whether direct or indirect, or inconsequential, for the use of any information given on this blog. Readers use of the information on this blog is at their own risk.
Allergens In This Recipe
Disclaimer: I try to note potential allergens in all recipes and product recommendations but as you know, manufacturers can change ingredient formulations or I may miss something. Always double check ingredients and labels prior to consuming if you have an allergy.
This recipe is dairy free, egg free, nut free, and soy free . A winner for many food allergy families!
This recipedoes contain wheat/gluten, because of the flour .
Here are a few suggested modifications if needed:
- To make gluten-free: Try subbing out the all-purpose flour for rice flour, and also make sure to choose a gluten-free oat milk. You can also try leaving out the flour all together, cutting the olive oil down to 1 tablespoon, and instead adding some potatoes to the soup. When pureed at the end, they will help thicken the broth.
- To make vegan: Swap out the chicken broth for vegetable broth.
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Why Is Palm Oil And Shortening So Controversial
- Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil that comes from the fruit grown on the African oil palm tree.
- The trees, which were previously found only in Africa, are now grown in Asia, North America and South America – coinciding with the increasing demand for the versatile oil.
- Unfortunately, the demand for palm oil has grown so much that it has resulted in deforestation in order to grow more oil palm trees
- Deforestation has led to a decrease in rain forest land as well as a decrease in all the creatures living in the rain forests.
Tips Tricks And Substitutions:
- you can use fresh or frozen broccoli – If using frozen broccoli, it may take a little longer to get the soup to simmer initially
- don’t let the soup boil or it may curdle
- feel free to use heavy cream instead of coconut milk if you are not sensitive to dairy
- if you want an even thicker soup, you can add some mashed avocado
- add additional salt and pepper to suit your taste
- I like to add a little hot sauce to my soup to make it slightly spicier
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Why Does This Keto Dairy
I like to use low sodium broth so that I can control the amount of salt in a recipe. Also, the dairy-free cheese in this recipe also contains sodium so low sodium broth ensures that this soup does not turn out too salty.
Low sodium broths contain about 40-100 mg of salt per serving. Regular broth can contain up to 960 mg of salt!
If you don’t have any low sodium broth, use regular broth but omit any additional salt and only add it after the soup is done.
Homemade Oat Milk For This Recipe
If you dont have any oat milk on hand, its actually extremely easy to make some for this recipe !
Just combine 4 cups water, 1 cup rolled oats, and a pinch of salt in a blender. Blend for 30 seconds, then pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a pitcher. Discard the pulp. The liquid thats left in the pitcher is your oat milk!
Now if you want to use that for drinking later, you may want to add a little vanilla and a sweetener like honey or maple syrup but for cooking, this plain basic recipe works perfectly.
Read Also: Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix Gluten Free
Vegan Broccoli Soup Recipe Tips
- Top it with something crunchy. Whenever Im 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!
- Dont blend the broccoli too much. You dont want this soup to become a smooth puree it should have some texture. Blend the potatoes, celery, onions, broccoli stalk, and carrots until theyre completely smooth, but just pulse in the steamed florets. They add lovely green flecks and texture to the soup.
- Dont skip the dill! Even if dill isnt your thing, I urge you to try it in this recipe. Its 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.
Why This Recipe Works
- Ready in under 30 minutes: This vegan broccoli cheese soup is the ultimate comfort food and its ready in just 25 minutes making it perfect for weeknight meals, lunches or even as an appetizer!
- Packed full of flavor, even your kids will love this soup! The dairy free cheesy sauce makes the veggies irresistible!
- Its everything that you want broccoli cheese soup to be but completely dairy free. The secret to the cheesy goodness comes from vegan cheese replacement nutritional yeast.
- All you need is 1 pot and 9 easy to find ingredients ! You are going to love the secret ingredients that make this vegan broccoli cheese soup super filling!
- The best part of making soup is it tastes even better the next day, so double or triple the recipe for your weekly meal prep!
- This recipe is loaded with vegetables and full of fiber and nutrients. You will never believe the base of this recipe is a combination of cauliflower and white beans ! Its creamy and delicious without any cream!
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Equipment Notes & Suggestions
This section contains affiliate links, which means I might earn a small commission if you place an order through them .
This recipe yields a substantial amount of soup . If you are serving two people or dont want a lot of leftovers, you could easily cut the ingredients in half. Heres what youll need to make it:
- I swear that soups always taste better when theyre cooked in a Dutch oven. I used my 5.5-quart Le Creuset for this recipe. A large, heavy-bottomed soup pot will also work well.
- Youll need a lid for the pot. In a pinch, you could use a metal baking sheet.
- If you are making the full batch, youll need to blend it in batches in your stand blender. I could not blend the full batch at once in my Vitamix. Transfer the blended portion to a heat-proof pitcher or container as you blend the rest, then combine it all in the soup pot.
- Or, you could use an immersion blender. The trouble with immersion blenders is that they never yield soup as creamy as you could accomplish in your stand blender. I wish it werent true!
Safety note: Never fill a stand blender past the maximum fill line, or you could end up with a giant mess . You need to know how your blender works. My lids design allows for steam to escape, but if yours doesnt, youll want to remove the center piece so the contents dont build pressure as they blend. Cover the hole with a tea towel, but dont place your hand over it because the steam is hot.
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Mom Would Turn That Produce Into Some Wonderful Mealsthat’s Where I Get My Love Of Cooking
Crispy bacon and seasonings bring flavor to this comforting, hearty potato soup made with cream cheese. Tender cooked broccoli floret, crawfish and cheddar cheese are gently stirred into this creole seasoned soup made with condensed cream of mushroom and celery soups. Here are 10 easy soups to warm you up this win. It’s a hearty soup and very quick and easy to prepare and cook. Homedishes & beveragessoupscheese soups our brands I like to use crawfish, but shrimp will work. This soup is a springtime favorite. If you love cheese but are watching calories, don’t despair. This is a family favorite throughout the fall and winter! Mom would turn that produce into some wonderful meals.that’s where i get my love of cooking. This is a wonderful rich soup. My husband and i live in the dairy state of wisconsin. It’s always been a big hit.
Cheese Soup Tender cooked broccoli floret, crawfish and cheddar cheese are gently stirred into this creole seasoned soup made with condensed cream of mushroom and celery soups. It’s easy to prep and great for a lazy day, filling the house with aroma. Evaporated milk adds body to the soup without adding ex. emma head, sunrise beach, missouri homedishes & beveragessoupscheese soups the. Home recipes ingredients cheese our brands
Watch How To Make Broccoli Cheese Soup
Perhaps the coolest feature of this soup is that it makes use of the broccoli stems that we usually toss. Less waste, more nutrients, cant lose.
In fact, I feel good after I eat this soup, similar to how I feel after enjoying a big kale salad. Cruciferous veggies work miracles, I tell you, and did you know that broccoli contains loads of vitamin C? We could all use some extra right now.
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How To Make Dairy Free Broccoli Soup
This recipe is really easy. Youll use all the standard ingredients in broccoli cheddar soup that youre used to broccoli, carrots, onion, broth, etc. just without any of the normal milk, cream, and/or cheese, of course.
Instead, youll get the creaminess and thickness in the soup through two steps:
Then to add a little savory, almost-cheesy flavor to this soup, youll add some nutritional yeast.
If youve never tried nutritional yeast before, definitely get your hands on some. The taste is not exactly the same as cheese, but definitely elicits some of the same taste sensations. Most grocery stores actually carry it in the natural food section these days, or you can easily order it online. .
What Is Palm Shortening And Palm Oil
According to The Paleo Mom, palm shortening is palm oil with some of the unsaturated fats removed so that it is even more stable and has a thick, luxurious texture that is perfect for baking. The purpose of palm shortening is to replace traditional shortening, which is ridden with trans fats from industrial processing.
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How To Make Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup:
To make this soup dairy free, I started building flavor from the beginning with onion and garlic. Then I used a combination of vegetable broth, almond milk and canned coconut milk for the liquid.
I used canned coconut milk because because its as thick as heavy cream, but I always like to balance out the sweetness with another dairy free milk, like almond.
To give the soup the right color and flavory, I added 1/4 cup nutritional yeast and a little ground mustard, turmeric and paprika. And, of course, youll need salt.
Then I thickened it all up with a slurry of flour and the rest of my almond milk. I also added a pinch of nutmeg at the end, but you definitely dont need it.
As for the broccoli, chop it as small or large as you want. I think it mimics restaurant quality if you let the broccoli cook way-down, so I cut mine fairly small.
You can top you soup with some vegan cheese shreds, or you can go for some homemade croutons. They get nice a soft in the soup and add a really good amount of flavor. Or, you can just stand at the stove and eat from the pot, no garnish necessary. Its up to you.
