Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

This Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup is a fantastic soup recipe served warm in the winter or chilled in the summer. It hits the spot when you are craving a creamy broccoli soup without cream. The creaminess comes from my secret ingredient! Cauliflower and Potato. It’s packed with vegetables, giving it a nutritional punch!

You’ll also love the flavor that the sauteed shallots provide and the hint of dried dill. Both are a fantastic flavor combination against the broccoli.

Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup in a white bowl with Breadsticks

Why You’ll Love This:

  • Completely vegan but doesn’t feel like it’s missing a thing! Non-Vegans will love it too!
  • The creaminess comes from adding cauliflower and potato
  • Quick and easy for a weeknight meal or lunch
  • Freezes well too! Make a big batch to last for up to 3 months in the freezer

Step#1: Saute The Vegetables

The first step involves sauteeing the onions, shallots, and garlic until translucent and fragrant. Sauteeing the vegetables first will make them sweeter and more flavorful. This will give your soup, better overall flavor too! So don’t skip this step.

shallots and onions sauting in a large soup pot

Step#2: Add the Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Potato

I use the pre-cut broccoli florets to make the prep on this soup even easier and you can also do the same for the cauliflower too!

adding broccoli to a large red pot

Cauliflower The Miracle Vegetable

  • I’m convinced that cauliflower is a wonder-vegetable!
  • Eaten raw it may not make the best impression, but once you cook it, especially in a soup, it imparts the silkiest texture to anything you put it in.
  • It’s the secret ingredient to my Potato Leek Soup Recipe and it’s also a fantastic thrown-in-the-air fryer too!
  • If you own one you must try my Air Fryer Cauliflower Recipe.

a bowl of cauliflower florets

Thicken the Soup with Potato

  • Another nice thing about this soup recipe is the fact that it’s also gluten-free!
  • Thanks to the potato that thickens it up. There’s no need for flour or cornstarch.
  • The potato works its magic by creating a thick texture without altering any of the fantastic broccoli flavors.

a russet potato on a board

Step#3: Add the Vegetable Broth

  • The vegetable broth will certainly give this soup the best flavor but in a pinch, you could also use water too!
  • The vegetables have so much flavor in them, this soup will still be delicious without the broth.
  • If using the water you may want to add one more garlic clove and a bit more salt after blending, to punch the flavors up.

adding vegetable broth to a large red pot

15-Minutes is All it Takes!

  • The key to getting this soup to cook quickly is to cut the potato into small cubes.
  • Since the potato will take the longest amount of time to become tender.
  • If the potato isn’t cut small, it will take longer to reach a tender stage and by that time the broccoli will become mushy and start to lose its fresh flavor.
  • It also helps to cover your pot with a lid while it simmers to speed up the process too.

vegetables in a large pot with vegetable broth

Step#4: Blend and Season

  • To get the creamiest, smoothest texture it’s best to blend the soup in batches.
  • I typically only fill the blender halfway full. If the blender is too full, it will leave some unblended chunks at the bottom.
  • While you puree the soup, you can store it in a heat-safe Pyrex bowl.

Blending vegetables and vegetable broth in a blender

Step#5: Simmer + Season

  • Then pour the blended soup back into a cleaned-out pot. That way you’ll have the smoothest, silkiest soup, without any residue or floating vegetables.
  • Check for seasoning, and add salt and pepper as desired.

transferring cream of broccoli soup into a large red soup pot

It’s All About The Seasonings

  • What people really love about this soup, is the flavor the dried dill imparts.
  • It’s such a fantastic combination against the broccoli. It creates this beautiful fresh taste that’s so unexpected for broccoli soup, it’s just delicious!
  • You could use fresh dill too, but I find the dried dill is more flavorful and imparts even more flavor. I also add a good amount of salt and pepper, to taste, as well.

cream of broccoli soup with dried dill, salt and pepper floating on top

Step#5: Garnish and Serve!

  • Before serving, add a drizzle of olive oil, to create a nice silky smooth finish, some freshly chopped parsley, and little cracked pepper on top.
  • If not serving this as a vegan dish, it’s also great with a drizzle of sour cream, thinned with a bit of warm water, and some fresh lemon zest too!

close up of chopped parsley on cream of broccoli soup

What To Serve with This Soup?

a person adding breadsticks to a Vegan cream of broccoli soup

More Vegan Recipes You’ll Enjoy!

 

Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

This Vegan Cream of Broccoli Soup Recipe uses cauliflower and potato to make it silky smooth and give the "illusion" of a decadent cream-based soup. without the dairy!

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
  • 1 ½ cups (225 g) yellow onion, diced
  • ½ cup (75 g) shallots, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3 cups (450 g) broccoli florets
  • 5 cups (750 g) cauliflower florets
  • 1 ½ cups (225 g) russet potato, diced
  • 6 cups (1400 ml) vegetable broth
  • ½ tsp (2.5 ml) salt
  • freshly cracked pepper to taste
  • ½ tsp (2.5 ml) dried dill
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) fresh parsley

Instructions

  1. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Sauté onions, shallots, and garlic until soft and tender.
  2. Add broccoli, cauliflower, and potato. Then pour in vegetable broth.
  3. Cook covered 15 mins. Puree in batches in a blender until smooth. Pour into a cleaned-out soup pot.
  4. Season with salt, pepper, and dried dill.
  5. Ladle into bowls, drizzle with olive oil, and chopped parsley. Serve with Italian breadsticks.

Notes

This soup freezes beautifully! So you can make a big batch of it on Sunday and have it on hand for the rest of the week. Just portion out individual portions and pop in the freezer.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 182Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 398mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 8g
Brownie cake scooped into a mug with ice cream

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10 Comments

  1. Hi Beth! Another fantastic and easy recipe! My mother’s cream of broccoli soup always included a big squeeze of a fresh lemon – indistinguishable but adds additional complexity that is delish!
    Thanks!

  2. 3.5/5. Definitely get a pepper cracker because the fresh cracked pepper is what gives it some flavor. I would rec low sodium veg broth. Also would separately steam broccoli, chop it up, and throw it in the soup after its done cooking to give the soup more texture (my group doesn’t love really creamy soups). We served it with fresh shredded cheddar cheese. I also think it needs to cook for more than 15 mins. I would love to see an instapot adaption of the cooking instructions to make this even easier! We served with copy-cat red lobster rolls

  3. I made this today, a snow day on the NE. I didn’t have all the right proportions, a lot of fresh cauliflower, a small amount of frozen broccoli a sweet potato instead of a white potato. Wow so flavorful, healthy, low calorie and easy! This one is going down in my recipe book. You can’t mess it up. Oh, my husband who hates cauliflower loved it. I used my immersion blender.