Description
Hearty vegan broccoli cheddar soup delivers creamy comfort without dairy, bringing plant-based warmth to classic soup lovers. Nutritional yeast and cashew cream provide rich, cheesy flavor that satisfies both vegans and traditional soup enthusiasts.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 cups (950 ml) broccoli florets, chopped
- 4 cups (950 ml) vegetable broth
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk or oat milk
- 2 tbsps olive oil or vegan butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- Fresh parsley or chives (optional)
- Vegan shredded cheese (optional)
- Croutons (optional)
Instructions
- Aromatic Base Development: Sauté onions, garlic, carrots, and celery in olive oil over medium heat until vegetables become translucent and fragrant, releasing their essential flavors.
- Blender Transformation: Transfer softened vegetables to high-powered blender, combining with soaked cashews, vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, paprika, and turmeric to create a luxuriously smooth base mixture.
- Liquid Integration: Return blended mixture to cooking pot, reheating to generate a gentle, bubbling simmer while incorporating broccoli florets and almond milk with careful, even stirring.
- Cooking and Texture Refinement: Simmer broccoli for 10-12 minutes, maintaining its vibrant green color and nutritional quality. Use immersion blender to adjust soup consistency, breaking down broccoli to desired smoothness.
- Flavor Calibration: Season with sea salt and black pepper, tasting and adjusting to achieve a perfectly balanced flavor profile.
- Presentation and Garnish: Ladle soup into warm bowls, elevating the dish with optional garnishes like fresh parsley, sprinkled vegan cheese, or crispy croutons to enhance visual and textural dimensions.
Notes
- Optimize Cashew Soaking: Soak cashews in hot water for at least 30 minutes or overnight to ensure maximum creaminess and easier blending, creating a smoother, more luxurious soup texture.
- Manage Broccoli Cooking: Cook broccoli just until bright green and tender-crisp to preserve nutrients and prevent mushiness, maintaining the vegetable’s vibrant color and nutritional value.
- Control Soup Consistency: Adjust vegetable broth or almond milk quantity to achieve desired thickness, using less liquid for a thicker soup or more for a lighter, more broth-like consistency.
- Enhance Flavor Depth: Layer seasonings by toasting nutritional yeast briefly before blending and adding a splash of apple cider vinegar at the end to brighten the overall flavor profile and add complexity.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Dinner, Appetizer
- Method: Sautéing
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3
- Calories: 210
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 400 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 22 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg