Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I love a comforting, thick, and loaded soup for my family on cold days, like my Mexican Soup, Vegan Potato Soup, or Zucchini Potato Soup. Plus, my kids love broccoli, so this broccoli soup is always much loved by everyone. This classic cheddar broccoli soup contains butter and loads of cheddar cheese. It’s the key ingredient to its creamy, ultra-thick, and cheesy texture. As a result, broccoli cheddar soup is not vegan, and you can’t use a classic soup recipe, using store-bought vegan cheddar instead. Vegan cheddar is oily and won’t provide the same thick, stringy texture you get from real cheese. If you are wondering how one can make a cheesy vegan soup without adding vegan cheese, let me show you how amazing potatoes, carrots, and nutritional yeast are to mimic cheese.

Ingredients and Substitutions

All you need to make this creamy broccoli soup are:

Fresh Broccoli Head – You need fresh, crunchy broccoli to add texture to the soup. I don’t recommend frozen broccoli florets. Carrots – Fresh, organic carrots are the best. Celery – Fresh washed celery. Remove the leaves. Potatoes – Most varieties work, but I like to use Russet potatoes. Onion – Fresh or frozen. You can also use shallots if you have some. Garlic – Fresh crushed garlic or garlic powder. Paprika – I like to use smoked paprika. Lemon Juice – Either freshly squeezed or form a store-bought bottle. Vegetable Stock – Either bottled veggie stock, or a stock cube with water. Cashew Nuts – Unroasted. Soak the cashews in boiled water for 30 minutes if your blender is not powerful enough to blend the soup. Salt and Pepper – to taste. Nutritional Yeast – This adds a lovely cheesy flavor to the soup and a yellow color.

How To Make Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup

This vegan broccoli soup may look overwhelming based on the list of ingredients you need, but it’s actually an easy vegan soup, ready in under 30 minutes.

Serving Broccoli Soup

This vegan broccoli soup is delicious with some toppings like:

Homemade croutons Drizzle cashew cream or soy cream Grated vegan cheddar Toasted seeds Roasted nuts Bread – like my Vegan Irish Soda Bread, Oat Flour Bread, or 2-Ingredient Bread. Vegan bacon Crispy broccoli florets – try my air fryer broccoli recipe to make a batch Crispy quinoa to boost the protein content

Storage Instructions

Store leftover broccoli soup in an airtight container in the fridge or a bowl covered with a piece of foil. This broccoli soup lasts for up to 4 days in the fridge or can be frozen and thawed in the fridge the day before. To rewarm the soup, bring the soup into a non-stick saucepan. Bring over medium heat and rewarm, adding more water or a splash of almond milk if too thick. You can also rewarm the soup in the microwave, in a microwave-safe bowl.

Allergy Swaps

If you have food allergies, I listed some substitution options for you below to try.

Oil-Free – Skip the oil and butter and cook the vegetables into the vegetable stock. Low-FODMAP – Skip the garlic and onion and use a low-FODMAP vegetable stock. Then, use only broccoli florets, not the stalks. Nutritional-Yeast-Free – This is the key ingredient that gives the soup its cheesy flavor. If not used, you must use store-bought vegan cheddar, or it won’t taste like cheese. Nut-Free – Cashew nuts are the best at providing a thick creamy texture to the soup. However, if you have nut allergies, make a cornstarch slurry by stirring 3 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/3 cup of water. Stir in the soup just before blending. If not thick enough, repeat and add more slurry.

Below are my answers to your most frequent questions about this vegan soup recipe.