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Thick, creamy, chunky, dairy-free vegan broccoli “cheddar” soup. You’ll never guess the secret ingredients that make this soup taste rich, creamy, and cheesy!
This soup is one of those ideas I’ve had mulling around my head for months but didn’t press the go button until I knew from start-to-finish how I was going to execute it.
You see, true to my non-perfectionist ways, it isn’t atypical for me to just fling myself into a recipe and see what surfaces, but as I age I’ve realized the true value in waiting it out until I can fully wrap my mind around the task at hand. #Progress.
At first, I thought I was going to blend this broccoli “cheddar” soup to make the whole thing silky-smooth and creamy, but truth be told, I’ve been more into the chunky soup lately.
There’s just something about the chewing process that makes a meal feel more substantial.
Needless to say, I arrived at this broccoli-carrot-potato trifecta chunk soup with a super flavorful broth that will blow your mind when you find out what it’s made out of in the next paragraph.
Trick to to making vegan soups creamy?
I’ve learned the secret to creamy cream-less soups is blending a boiled potato with the broth (in this case, I used store-bought vegetable broth), coconut milk, and some tapioca flour to give it that thick, creamy consistency without the use of dairy.
If tapioca flour isn’t an ingredient you regularly carry, you can omit it. If you have potato starch or corn starch, you can replace the tapioca flour with either, or simply leave out any added starches.
To give the soup that cheesy flavor while keeping it dairy-free, I use nutritional yeast. If you are new to nutritional yeast, it’s basically the alpha omega when it comes to making vegan sauces and soups taste cheesy and is a great topper for your salad and rice bowls.
You’ll notice I use two Yukon gold potatoes for the recipe – one gets blended for the broth for that creamy texture, and the other gets chopped to go into the soup.
If you’re trying to keep this lower on the carb end of the spectrum, you can absolutely omit the potato that gets chopped up.
AND if you’ve been into creamy soups lately, you can absolutely blend the whole thing for that ultra thick, silky soup.
If you aren’t vegan and love the concept of adding bacon, you can absolutely do so! If you aren’t sensitive to corn, you can toss in some fresh corn kernels as well and make this a sort of broccoli-corn chowder. I also love this soup with chicken bone broth instead of vegetable broth, so there’s always that option as well!
More Healthy Soup Recipes:
- Coconut Curry Vegetable Soup
- Vegan Corn Chowder
- Creamy Carrot Soup
- Thai Coconut Soup with Vegetables
- Immunity-Boosting Turmeric Soup with Vegetables
Chunky soup for president!
If you make this Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe, feel free to snap a photo and share it on Instagram, tagging me at @The.Roasted.Root!
Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Ingredients
- 2 medium yukon gold potatoes, boiled for 15 minutes
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil
- 2 cups carrot, peeled and chopped
- 2 crowns broccoli, chopped into florets (4 cups)
- 1/2 leek, chopped
- 32 ounces vegetable broth
- 1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon tapioca flour, optional
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Place potatoes in a pot and fill with water. Bring to a full boil and cook 12 to 15 minutes, until very soft when poked with a fork. Drain and place one potato in a blender and place the other potato on a cutting board to cool. Once cool enough to handle, peel and chop the potato.
- Add the broth, coconut milk, cider vinegar, nutritional yeast, tapioca flour, and sea salt to the blender and blend until completely smooth.
- Heat the oil to medium heat in a large stock pot. Add the carrot and broccoli and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables have softened but are still al dente, about 5 minutes. Add the leek and sauté until fragrant, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the chopped potato and the broth mixture to the stock pot. Bring to a full boil, reduce the heat and simmer 10 minutes.
- Serve soup with bread or side salad.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!
So many of your recipes are great for all my food sensitivity. I am looking forward to trying this as well. Is there a good substitute for the carrots? I am reacting to cauliflower and carrots. Thanks for any suggestions
Hi Caroline! You can leave the carrots out entirely, or swap them for another sweet vegetable you tolerate. Some pre-cooked sweet potato or butternut squash could be nice, but definitely not mandatory. Thank you for the sweet note!
It’s a great soup! I had some leftover mashed taters, so used those. Also, soups like this can always use celery, so I put in 3 stalks.
Love that! Thanks for sharing, Bob!
We made this soup last night, but we added a cup of shredded cheddar cheese. We didn’t mind the extra dairy. The soup was rich and creamy as if we had used cream, but without the heaviness or extra calories.
I’m so thrilled to hear you enjoyed it! I bet it was magnificent with the cheddar!
Is tapioca flour the same as tapioca starch?
Hi JoAnn! It is! Let me know if you have any other questions. xo
Do I peel the potato that goes into the blender?
Hi Shelby!
I typically peel the potato 😀 Hope you enjoy the soup!
Just made this. Absolutely delicious!
I’m so happy to hear it, Tracy! 😀 xo
I made this recipe last night and it was delicious! I love that it’s vegan, although I am not vegan I often eat that way because I am extremely lactose intolerant. It’s nice to get a creamy consistency in something without using milk products. I am a big fan of leeks and I did use the entire white parts of the stalk. Elevate the onion flavor by topping your serving with caramelized onions. Another modification was that I used an extra gold potatoes to add thickness. The type of potatoes you use will impact flavor and texture so I recommend not substituting with red or Idaho potatoes unless you must. In place of flour I substituted corn starch. Looking forward to left overs for dinner tonight with a salad. Thank you for the fantastic recipe!
I’m so glad you made and enjoyed the soup, Melonie! Thanks for letting us know your additions and thoughts…much appreciated! xo
This soup looks creamy and delicious. Thanks for sharing this nutritious recipe. 🙂
I LOVE the sound of this! I used a potato in a vegan cheese sauce a few weeks ago and was amazed out how creamy it made the dish! So I definitely can imagine how awesome it must make this soup! Looks deelicious – especially with that mug of tea 🙂 And now I need to go make some tea… haha
I was just wondering where you purchased the stoneware…love it!
Hi Mary!
The bowls and mug were actually made by a friend of mine, Paul Yoo (He’s on Instagram as @Paulharimyoo and @Paulyoopottery). He currently doesn’t have a website where you can purchase his work, but you might try to send him a message through instagram to see if he’ll make a custom order. At this point, pottery is his hobby and not his profession, so I’m not sure what his response will be, but it’s worth a try! xo