The Best Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup

This creamy, “cheesy”, vegan broccoli cheese soup has silky smooth texture and classic broccoli cheese flavor with exactly zero ingredients out of a can. Real food meets comfort food.

I made this soup and it was absolutely delicious. I’m always looking for healthy, vegan recipes and this one is a winner! Thanks for the recipe:)

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Video For Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup

This Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup Is A Hug In A Bowl

Truly though, it is the best. Creamy, cheesy-like without cheese, velvety and rich, and just all-around delicious. Kind of like a soup that gives you a hug for lunch, when it is, in fact, A SALAD in disguise!

No? Too awkward?

In addition to this Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup being creamy and velvety and absolutely gorgeous in texture, it is super nutritious. Just pause to think of the rainbow of veggies in here: sauteed onions, celery, carrots, potato, and broccoli simmered with a little bit of vegetable broth and almond milk, pureed to smooth cheesy-like perfection. That is my kind of salad. Soup. Whatever.

Those olive oil pan-fried croutons don’t hurt the cause, either. I mean, if your soup doesn’t include fried bread, who are you really?

Hey you over there, wearing the cozy sweater even though it’s slightly too warm for that in August – yes, you! I made this one for you. Let’s embrace the soup season!

And this soup in return will love you back with all its veggie, nutritious, almost-cheesy goodness. ❤️

What’s In Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup

In addition to broccoli as the star, obvi, we’ve got a whole lotta almond milk keeping this creamy and smooth for us while also staying dairy free. I am not dairy free, but when I do a healthy eating reset, or my own version of a detox, I like to press pause on dairy for a few days. It’s perfect in non-dairy savory dishes like this red pepper pasta and this summer corn chowder that is still the object of my dreams.

Besides the almond milk, here’s what else makes this soup magic:

Mirepoix (carrots, onion, celery)
Potatoes
Broccoli
Garlic
Broth
Nutritional yeast
Croutons (see recipe notes or FAQ to make these!)

About Nutritional Yeast

A word about a newish ingredient we have on the loose in this soup: nutritional yeast. Have you heard of it?

It’s a deactivated yeast that is sold at health food stores. It looks like flakes. Borderline like fish food. Wait! Mom, don’t hang up.

It is yellow in color and it’s known for having a cheesy, creamy, nutty flavor to it, which makes it the perfect complement to our already-nutty almond milk and also gives us a boost of cheese flavor without needing dairy-cheese. It’s got lots of vitamins and stuff (google) and it is YUM CITY but if you can’t find it, not a big deal. I made this soup at home the other night without nutritional yeast and it was still creamy and luscious and cheesy in the best non-cheesy possible way.

How To Make Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup

I love this soup so much because it is delicious but also SO EASY. This is all you need to do:

Make Your Soup Base: Carrots, onions, celery, potatoes, garlic, WOW, all the good things to get this soup started.
Add Broccoli: Broccoli, vegetable broth, and almond milk enter the scene and get simmered until the broccoli is bright green.
Blend It Up: Pull out most of the broccoli and blend everything together until smooth. Add the broccoli back in an pulse just a few times until it’s chopped up. Stir in the nutritional yeast and serve!

Frequently Asked Questions About This Recipe

Can I use cheese instead of nutritional yeast?

Yes! Stir in some freshly shredded cheddar at the end instead and stir until combined.

Could I use a different milk other than almond milk?

Oat milk would be a good alternative, if regular whole milk if you don’t need it to be vegan.

How do you make the croutons?

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil (more as needed) in a skillet over medium high heat. Add a clove of smashed garlic and let it hang out (WITHOUT browning) for a few minutes. Remove garlic. Add cubed bread (about 6 thick slices cut into chunks) and toss around in the pan until golden brown and chewy/crispy. Drain on paper towels. Season with salt.

What can I serve with this?

You could serve this with a salad but to be honest, we’ve already got a lot of green going on here! I love this with the croutons above, or with some fresh bread or garlic bread, or with grilled cheese.

Can I skip the nutritional yeast?

Nutritional yeast is not necessary for texture, but it adds a yummy, salty, cheesy flavor and some extra vitamins, too.

Description

This creamy, “cheesy”, vegan broccoli cheese soup has silky smooth texture and classic broccoli cheese flavor with exactly zero ingredients out of a can. Real food meets comfort food.

Instructions

Make Soup Base: Heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the mirepoix, garlic, and potatoes. Saute until softened, about 10 minutes.
Add Broccoli: Add broccoli, vegetable broth, and almond milk. Simmer until bubbly and broccoli is bright green, about 5 minutes.
Blend Blend Blend: Using tongs, pull out most of the broccoli pieces and set aside. Blend the soup, sans broccoli, to a suuuper creamy, cheesy-looking consistency, and then add the broccoli and just pulse a few times to mix it in. This will likely need to be done in batches. Return to pot; stir in nutritional yeast and salt. Taste and adjust and serve!

Notes

HERE’S HOW TO MAKE THE MOST AMAZING CROUTONS: Heat 1/4 cup olive oil (more as needed) in a skillet over medium high heat. Add a clove of smashed garlic and let it hang out (WITHOUT browning) for a few minutes. Remove garlic. Add cubed bread (about 6 thick slices cut into chunks) and toss around in the pan until golden brown and chewy/crispy. Drain on paper towels. Season with salt.

FYI, I’ve also casually thrown a spoonful of pesto in there for good measure – it was Level 900 Awesome. Just saying.

If the blended soup looks too thick for you, just add an additional 1/2 cup or so of liquid.