With tender broccoli florets, a rich and creamy texture, and zippy cheesy flavor, you'll never miss the dairy in this luscious vegan broccoli cheddar soup!
When I was growing up, I literally used to buy a box of prepackaged powdered broccoli cheese soup mix (intended to feed around four people) cook it up, and eat the whole pot, all by myself. Oh, the joys of being young.
This vegan broccoli cheddar soup is SO much better than those boxed soup mixes I used to eat. My sixteen year old self would've gladly taken this over the junky packaged (but, let's be honest, delicious) stuff I was so fond of eating at the time. And I think I wouldn't have even known that this version dairy-free.
Let's talk about how it's made!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Olive oil. You can substitute with another high-heat oil, such as canola or coconut oil if you'd like.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- Vegetable broth.
- Potato. We're using a russet potato because it's super starchy and will give our soup the best silky texture.
- Carrot.
- Raw cashews. It's really important that they're raw. Roasted cashews will mess with the flavor of your soup.
- Non-dairy milk. Use something that's unsweetened and unflavored. I like this soup best with almond milk.
- Nutritional yeast flakes. Don't confuse these with baker's yeast — they're two totally different things! Nutritional yeast will add a savory, cheesy flavor to your soup. Look for it in the natural foods section of your supermarket.
- Hot sauce. A mild, vinegar based hot sauce works best, and will actually add to the cheesy flavor of your soup. It will add a little kick though, so if you can't handle the heat add a splash of vinegar or lemon juice instead. I'm a big fan of Cholula in this soup.
- White miso paste. This will also make your soup taste extra cheesy. Look for it in the international foods section of your supermarket. If you absolutely insist on skipping this ingredient you'll need to season the soup with extra salt.
- Broccoli. The recipe calls for fresh broccoli, because that's what works best in this recipe. However, if you happen to have some frozen broccoli on hand that you'd like to use up, just thaw it and drain any excess water before adding it to your soup. It will only need a very brief simmer to heat up once you add it to the soup.
- Salt & pepper.
- Fresh chives. These are totally optional, but they make a great topping for vegan broccoli cheese soup.
How It's Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Start by heating your oil in a large pot and adding diced onion. Sweat the onion for a few minutes, until it starts to soften up, then add the garlic and cook everything for a minute more.
- Stir in the broth, chopped and peeled potato, chopped carrot, and raw cashews. Bring the broth to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer the soup until the veggies are soft.
Note: Lots of recipes will have you soak your cashews in water before getting started, but that's not required here because we're boiling them instead. Soaking won't hurt anything though, so feel free to do it if you're concerned about texture. Just cover them with water and let them sit for 4 to 8 hours, rinse, then drain them.
- Transfer your soup to a blender or food processor and blend everything together until smooth. Always be super careful when blending hot liquids.
- Return your soup to the pot and stir in the milk, nutritional yeast, hot sauce, miso paste, and milk. Keep stirring until everything has been incorporated and the mixture is smooth.
- Add the broccoli florets and continue simmering until they're bright green and tender.
- Take the pot off of the burner, season the soup with salt and pepper, and adjust any other seasonings to your liking.
- Top your soup with chopped fresh chives and dig in!
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover vegan broccoli cheddar soup will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 days. I don't recommend freezing this soup.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is!
I don't recommend it. Getting cashews smooth with an immersion blender would probably be challenging, and because they're so small you'll probably miss a few.
Because instead of using store-bought vegan cheese for this recipe, we're basically making our own vegan cheese with the mixture of cashews, veggies and seasonings. No prepackaged, processed vegan cheese needed!
More Cheesy Vegan Soups
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Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup
With tender broccoli florets, a rich and creamy texture, and zippy cheesy flavor, you'll never miss the dairy in this luscious vegan broccoli cheddar soup!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 medium russet potato (about 12 ounces), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 medium carrot, chopped
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 1 cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
- 2 tablespoons vinegar based hot sauce (such as Cholula)*, or to taste
- 3 tablespoons white miso paste
- 4 cups fresh broccoli florets (about 1 large crown)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh chives, for topping (optional)
Instructions
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Coat the bottom of a large pot with olive oil and place it over medium heat.
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When the oil is hot, add the onion. Sweat the onion until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
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Add the garlic and cook it with the onion for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
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Add the vegetable broth and stir in the potato, carrot, and cashews. Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat and allow the mixture to simmer, uncovered, until the carrot and potato are tender, about 20 minutes.
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Working in batches if needed, carefully transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
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Return the mixture to the pot and stir in the milk, nutritional yeast, hot sauce, and miso paste, followed by the the broccoli.
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Place the pot over medium-high heat and bring everything to a boil. Lower the heat and allow the soup to simmer until the broccoli is tender and the soup thickens up a bit, about 7 minutes.
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Remove the pot from heat and season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
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Ladle into bowls and serve.
Recipe Notes
*Add a splash of vinegar instead for a heat-free version of this soup.
Made this last night for dinner and it was great! Leftovers for lunch today. Next time I will reduce the broth and add beer. YUM!!!
Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and beer sounds like an awesome addition!
This soup was a great hit with my husband and my nephew, which is really saying something!
Because I needed to use them up, I added mushrooms, sweet pepper (instead of carrot), jalapeño chile, fresh tomatoes, and turmeric to the soup and served with fresh cilantro. Yum!
Thanks for all of your inspiration,
-gloria
I'm so glad you all enjoyed it! Those sound like delicious additions!! Thanks Gloria!
Do I need to precook the potato or soak the cashews ahead of time?
Nope! The cashews soften and the potato cooks while they boil. :)
Hello .. what can I use instead of carrots?
I can't say for sure without some experimentation, but I'm thinking red bell peppers or sweet potato might work.
This was so yummy!! I added the miso and nutritional yeast prior to blending, and used my Vitamix instead of my food processor which made the soup very smooth and creamy. Thank you for the recipe! You are amazing!
I'm so glad you liked it!! Thanks Kari!
This is the best soup!!! Added rice, used half the amount of hot sauce and puréed the broccoli! You are a genius!
Yay!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Yum! Yum! And yum! So satisfying and easy to make. Who cares that we usually can't order soup at most restaurants when we can make stuff like this at home?
My only tweaking was roasting the broccoli and potato first and adding miso at the very end once it was hot and ready to serve since that supposedly preserves the fermentation nutrition better.
Thanks so much. Will be making this again, often!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! And I love roasted broccoli so I bet that was awesome! Thanks Ellen!
Anyone substituted the potato with cauliflower for the nightshade free paleo vegan?
oh my god. i have been a vegan for two and a half years and cook often. i found this recipe and made it on a whim because i had the ingredients and needed to use some things up. HOLY SMOKES THIS MAY JUST BE THE BEST RECIPE I'VE EVER MADE! my boyfriend and i both loved it so much and i think i'm going to make it again tonight. thank you for this! i'm looking forward to trying more of your recipes!
Wow!! That is awesome!! I'm SO glad you both enjoyed it! Thanks so much for the wonderful review!
Anyone make this substituting cauliflower for the white potatoes?
Need a substitute for the White Miso Paste if you have one.
I think soy sauce/tamari or liquid aminos would be your best bet! The flaveo can be a bit intense, so you might need to scale back on the amount. :)
We LOVE this soup! We've made it a few times now and purposely make a double batch so we have can have leftovers for lunch. This soup is great the night of and just as good, if not better, the day after!
Please keep sharing your ideas with us, Alyssa! I'm not vegan. But I'm married to a vegan. And we both love your recipes. To the point that when we think, we need a vegan version of this recipe, we say, "let's look at what's on Conniosseurus Veg"!
:)
Yay!! I'm so glad you liked this one and that you're enjoying the recipes!! I will absolutely keep sharing. :) Thanks so much Kim!
Can you use red miso or does it have to be white?
I think red would work. I'd add a tiny bit at a time and taste test, just in case you need a different amount.
I am allergic to cashews. Is there a substitute I could use? I would really like to try the recipe but am worried to make it without the cashews.
I'd try adding a little extra potato or subbing macadamia nuts. Enjoy!
How well do you think this would freeze? I'd love to make this for someone who needs to do some diet overhauling, but she'd need to freeze some left-overs since she prefers to microwave and likes convenience meals. Thanks!
I'm not sure, but I do know that potatoes can be tricky - the texture can change when you freeze them, so I'm not sure if it would work.
Hi Lanna, I freeze this all the time and it's still delicious!
This soup is on the stove right now and I can't believe how delicious it is! Trying to incorporate more vegan meals into my life and food like this makes it so easy!
I'm so glad you like it!! Enjoy!
just made this as recipe except used half amount of brown organic miso .What a treat ,absolutely stunning and surprisingly filling,can think of many uses for the sauce
I use a similar sauce for nachos and mac & cheese. :) I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Tony!
Absolutely delicious! I make a double batch of this soup regularly! My mom makes it constantly too! Thanks for an amazingly yummy & healthy plant based soup!
I'm so glad you're both enjoying it!! Thanks Mandi!
How many servings does this recipe make? Thanks!!
It makes 4 servings (about 1 1/2 cups each)! :)
This soup is AMAZING!!! All of my non-vegan family/friends who have tried it love it, and many have said it's their favorite broccoli and cheese soup ever.
Yay!! That's awesome! Thanks Susie!!
In the nutritional information, the sodium level seems very high.
Any way to reduce it?
Most of the sodium comes from the broth and miso, so you could try using low sodium broth and cutting back on the miso a bit. This is a great calculator if you want to make some modifications and see what the sodium content comes out to: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Just came across the recipewhile looking for healthy inspiration. It is absolutely delicious as is. I read through the comments and was a little surprised at all the tweaking that happens - and wowed by your gracious responses! For new cooks, be assured that this is a keeper!
Yay!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! And as someone who can never follow a recipe, I'm not surprised at all when people make changes - lol. :) I'm happy you enjoyed it just as is though! Thanks so much Shona!
I can't wait 2 try this. I had one questions since I search comments & don't see anyone has tried it. I don't often have fresh broccoli, can frozen b used?? TIA!
I haven't tried it with frozen, but I think it would work just fine. :)
I just realized that I never complimented you on this wonderful recipe when I made it last year!
It was absolutely delicious! Since then, I've tweaked it a little here and there - adding some dill, or a little liquid smoke and some diced tomatoes and caramelized onion in stead of broccoli, that kind of thing. It also works beautifully as a base for a dip if thickened up a bit!
I'm making it again tonight (and going with the beer addition that Darlene suggested last October - that sounded yummy!) and serving it with some sourdough French bread, oven-toasted with a vegan garlic butter and GOVEGGIE brand Parmesan.
Thanks again - this one's definitely a keeper!
Oh wow! Those all sound like delicious modifications! I actually made a vegan cheddar beer soup a while back, so I bet it will be delicious with beer. :) I'm so glad you're enjoying it!!
How spicy does the hot sauce make it? I dont want leave it out completely but i have a 3 1/2 year old and 1 yesr old who dont like spicy!
As long as you stick with something mild it won't be spicy at all! I really like Cholula for this. :)
I’ve been a vegan for almost 10 years, and this is the best soup recipe I’ve made. I LOVE it. It’s simple and quick, and uses things I already have at home. I used to love broccoli cheese soup. This is a PERFECT alternative. Thank you!!!
That's so great to hear!! Thanks so much Sue!
Wow this soup turned out GREAT! I don't think it tastes cheesy but it does have a good rich texture. I will defiantly put this broccoli soup on my rotation of recipes to make on a regular bases. I reduced the hot sauce to 2 Tbsp and nuked the broccoli till cooked then blended it in my food processor with the rest of the soup so I there were no whole pieces of broccoli in the soup. I also added 2 Tbsp all purpose flour and 1 tsp cornstarch to increase the thickness.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Laura!
Love the soup. Made if for my daughter who has been vegan for almost three years and my husband who has recently turned vegan. Added extra potato and carrots to thicken it up a bit without adding flour. Will be making it again soon!!
I'm glad it was a hit!
This soup was amazing! I've always been a vegan so never had the hankering/taste for broccoli cheese soup so I was surprised by how much I liked this :)
Awesome!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Wow, Alissa! This was excellent. I added about four ounces of beer. One of the other reviewers suggested that and it was a good idea. Mine was an IPA. I might use a darker beer next time. This was really tasty. Thank you very much for sharing the recipe. Like you, I used real Crystal brand hot sauce. I thought 1/4 cup sounded like a lot, but it was just right. Instead of using a blender or food processor, I just used an immersion blender (aka "boat motor") to blend it in the soup pot before adding the broccoli. That worked just fine. I'll be making this again!
Isn't it crazy how the hot sauce makes all the difference? I'm so glad you enjoyed this! Thanks so much Dot!
This is y all-time fav Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup! Thanks for making a sharing such a delish recipe!!
Yay! Glad you like it!
I love this soup. It's on my permanent rotation, I use my instant pot and it is so easy to make.
I'm so glad you like it!
I just made this soup and I cannot stop eating it! The one thing I miss the most since becoming vegan is cheese. This really tastes cheesy. So delicious! I don't like miso so I substituted about 3 teaspoons of coconut aminos. Easy to make too. I love it! Thank you
I'm so glad you're enjoying it! Good call with the coconut aminos. Thanks Shelly!
Hi, I want to make this tonight, what is a vinegar base hot sauce? Can I use any hot sauce like burbon hot sauce or Frank's red hot sauce or woodland hickory liquid? It's for my vegan daughter. Thanks 😊
Frank's will work, but I'm not sure about the other two. Check the label to see if vinegar is one of the first ingredients listed - if so, it will work! Cholula, Tobasco and Crystal are a few other brands you can use. I hope you and your daughter enjoy this!
What can I use instead of potatoes?
Cauliflower might work, or you may be able to thicken it with flour, like in this recipe: https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/vegan-mac-cheese-soup/
Hey Alissa, I do not see the Protein amount in the Nutritional Facts. Do you know how many grams of protein are in this recipe?
Oops! Thanks for catching that! I just added it - 16.9 grams per serving.
I finally made this recipe last night. I also loved broccoli cheddar soup as a teenager/young adult. I’d get it in college from Quizno’s which is a sandwich shop, not sure if they are still around. This reminded me of that, but way better and better for you! Not sure why it took me so long to make this recipe, it will be in the rotation from here on out. Thank you!!
So good! The only change I made was using red miso paste, since I don't have white. I love the soup so much, I went back for seconds!
Thanks so much for sharing this incredible recipe! It’s truly delicious. The first time I made it, I used a submersible blender and it didn’t look very appetizing and the soup was good but not spectacular. I made it for a second time today and doubled the carrots for extra color and used a vitamix instead of a submersible blender. The result was a golden, creamy, and delicious soup! It’s very hard to believe there’s no cheese in here!
Past the hubby's test for broccoli and cheese soup, that he truly missed.
I like the idea that someone said to add some other vegetables, I'll be adding a little red bell pepper as I packaged it.
Someone else said to sub some beer for some of the stock, I will certainly try that next time.
The one thing I added, thinking it was too thick, was sprinkled some Wondra flour in it, worked out perfectly