"Cheesy" Broccoli Soup
It's starting to get colder where am I, and when the temperatures drop I enjoy having a nice soup to keep me warm. One soup that often reminds me of feeling comforted on these cold January days was Broccoli Soup. When I have it I'm always taken back to getting home from school in the winter and evening study groups at Panera. During my younger years, my mom would make a big batch of broccoli soup for us, paired with cheddar cheese and bread. This soup was always AMAZING and I always felt better, even if I wasn’t sick. Since transitioning to a vegan lifestyle I have found it’s pretty easy to veganize this soup, eliminating just the dairy and replacing it with my favorite flavoring, nutritional yeast.
This soup is perfect to make on a weekend afternoon to have for dinner the same day or to save for lunch. I have it packed with starches for energy and veggies to give me vitamins I need to enjoy this soup. I also like adding plant-based cheese shred for some extra dairy-free cheese goodness, I just love the way that the plant-based cheese brings the whole meal together. I often find myself using the Follow Your Heart's Cheddar shreds, as they are my favorite in texture but I have also tried it with the SO Delicious vegan pepper jack cheeze as well. I love to pair this soup with a nice slice or two of warm bread.
*Cooking tips: I use a blender to combine my cooked vegetables, but you are also welcome to use an immersion blender. If you do choose to do so, I would recommend that you reserve water into a bowl and only add in about ½ cup of water at a time and gradually increase blend speed until blended to desired consistency.
"Cheesy" Broccoli Soup
Prep Time 10 Mins l Cook time 40 mins l Total Time 50 mins l Serves 6
Ingredients
6 cups of water
3 Potatoes diced into large pieces
1 Diced Carrot
1 Head of Cauliflower chopped
2 Cups Frozen Broccoli
6 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1 ½ Tbsp Garlic Powder
1 ½ Tbsp Onion Powder
1 Tbsp Salt
¾ Cups of Veggie Broth
Directions
1. In a large pot bring water to a boil, turn the heat down to med-high and cook potatoes, carrots, and cauliflower until tender. 2. Once the vegetables are tender, add Broccoli and cook by package instructions.
3. Drain cooked vegetables and transfer to a bowl, reserve water in a separate bowl for blending.
4. Add 2 cups of vegetables in your blender and 1 cup of water and blend to desired consistency (I like my soup in a puree form but you can make it chunkier if you prefer) and transfer back into the pot.
5. Blend remaining vegetables and transfer to the large pot.
6. Turn pot to low, and stir in Veggie Broth, Garlic powder, Onion powder, Nutritional Yeast and salt
7. Serve warm and enjoy