Vegan Broccoli & Cheddar Soup

I am in love with this Vegan Broccoli & Cheddar Soup! It is creamy. It is comforting. AND it packs in LOTS of veggies! I do use vegan cheddar cheese in this recipe, but it can easily be omitted if vegan cheese isn’t your thing. This is one you will want to have on repeat!

here’s what you need

ingredients

• oil
• yellow onion
• garlic
• carrot
• cumin
• smoked paprika
• pepper 
• fresh thyme
• cauliflower florets
• broth
• broccoli florets
• coconut milk
• shredded vegan cheddar
• toasted baguette – optional, for serving

equipment

You need a stock pot and a blender!

Steps

step 1: build the base

So the great thing about this recipe is the amount of veggies we are getting in there. You’re not only getting the obvious veggies – broccoli, onions & carrots. We’re also sneaking in some cauliflower! This is going to thicken the soup and make it extra creamy!

Heat the oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, dry seasonings and thyme. Cook down for 3-5 minutes, or until tender. Add in the cauliflower and 4 cups of broth and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender.

Transfer everything in the pot to a standing blender. Blend until smooth and pour back in the pot.

step 2: broccoli time

Now our broccoli is going to come into play. Add the remaining 2 cups of broth and the broccoli to the pot. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender.

Transfer the broccoli and some of the soup to the blender and pulse a couple of times – you just want the broccoli to be in small pieces, not pureed. Add everything in the blender back to the pot.

step 3: finish & serve

To finish off the soup, we are going to make it creamy. Pour in a can of coconut milk and the vegan cheddar cheese.

Mix until the coconut milk is heated through and the vegan cheese is melted. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with some more fresh thyme.

I like to serve this with toasted baguette slices for dipping, but a crouton would be great too!

tips & tricks

The vegan cheddar is totally optional. The soup tastes great without it, so skip it if you don’t want to use it.

When blending the broccoli, you don’t need to add ALL of the soup to the blender, just enough to pulse the broccoli.

If you don’t like coconut milk you can sub another non-dairy milk that is unsweetened.

For a thicker soup, omit the extra 2 cups of broth.