I think I may have found my new favorite thing.
I love soup. I love soup year round and I love a side of soup with sandwiches. The problem is most soups at restaurants are cream based. Even many tomatoes soups at restaurants have cream in them! When I developed a lactose intolerance, many of my favorite soups became enemies of my digestive tract. Crap. I can’t tell you how much I missed eating a side of broccoli cheddar soup with a hot, freshly-made panini.
But luckily in my quest to find a creamy vegan cheese sauce that I love, I also found a soup solution. More specifically, I created a Creamy Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe based on the best Vegan Cheddar Cheese Sauce recipe ever.
I was skeptical about the Vegan Cheddar Cheese Sauce, after all, it is made from carrots and potatoes, but it seriously blew my mind. Even Brian and Natalie agreed that it was amazing. I posted a photo of the vegan cheese sauce poured over roasted broccoli and raved about it on Facebook, and the comments included some of my friends wondering if this recipe could be adapted for other things like soup or macaroni and cheese.
I decided to try them both — Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup and Dairy-Free Bacon Macaroni And Cheese — and see what happened.
Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe
I used the original Vegan Cheese Sauce recipe as the base and adapted it first to create a Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup. The main changes I made was to increase the amount of almond milk used, and also increase the seasonings to keep the cheddar flavor intact.
This Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe is fantastic! We all agree that it is even better than the cream based soups. Not only does it have more flavor, but none of us felt bloated, overly full, or sleepy after eating it!
I combined the potato and carrot in a medium saucepan, covered them with water, brought it to a boil, and simmered the vegetables for about 20 minutes. While the carrots and potatoes were simmering, I chopped two medium heads of broccoli into very small pieces and sauteed them in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes.
When the carrots and potatoes were done, I transferred them to my Vitamix, added all of the remaining ingredients except the broccoli, and blended everything together for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture was completely smooth. I used the soup setting on the Vitamix to heat the mixture as it blended. I then added the broccoli, stirred it in with a spoon, and served it immediately.
Recipe Variations: I made my soup thick, creamy, and packed full of broccoli chunks. If you prefer your soup thinner, add almond milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency. If you have a nut allergy and want to make this soup nut-free, simply substitute water for the almond milk, and your soup will naturally be just a little thinner.
Creamy Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup
This delicious vegan soup recipe will leave you full, satisfied, and feeling great!
Prep Time
Cook Time
Total Time
Ingredients
- 2 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1.5 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 5 tbsp olivel oil
- 1 1/3 cup almond milk, unsweetened
- 3.5 tsp lemon juice
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp paprika
- 5 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 1/4 tsp soy sauce (or coconut aminos if doing Whole 30)
- 1 large head broccoli
Instructions
- Combine potato and carrot in a medium saucepan, cover with water, bring to a boil, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until tender.
- While potatoes and carrots are simmering, chop broccoli into very small pieces and saute in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes.
- Transfer potatoes and carrots to a food processor. Add all remaining ingredients, except the broccoli, to the food processor and process for about 2 minutes, or until completely smooth.
- Add broccoli to the soup, stir in, and serve immediately.
Notes:
I used my Vitamix to make this Broccoli Cheddar Soup, blending it on the soup setting to get it nice and hot and 2 medium heads of broccoli, to give our soup at little extra broccoli.
If you prefer your soup thinner, add almond milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency. Make this nut-free by substituting water for the Almond Milk.
