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Some nights, dinner comes out of nowhere and I’m like, “Oops… guess I should feed people.” In those moments, fast and filling sounds amazing—like hitting the drive-thru. But I also want to feel good, sleep well, and keep fitting into my favorite jeans. That’s why I love this 25-minute vegan broccoli soup—it totally saves the day—and its dairy-free!
What is Vegan Broccoli Soup?
Vegan broccoli soup is a creamy, dairy-free comfort made with simple plant-based ingredients. Potatoes blend into a silky base, while broccoli, carrots, onion, and garlic add flavor and nutrients. Nutritional yeast and pureed potatoes replace cream and cheese, creating a wholesome, satisfying soup—smooth or chunky.
Table of contents
Serving Suggestions
This soup recipe is hearty enough to eat as a meal on it’s own, but delish with warm, crusty bread or a slice of toasted sourdough for dipping into the creamy goodness. Here’s a few more ways to bulk it up:
- For a heartier meal, serve it alongside a veggie wrap, roasted chickpeas, or baked potato wedges.
- If you want a lighter side dish, pair it with a side of skillet green beans or a chopped green salad topped with avocado and seeds for extra crunch.
Ingredients You’ll Need
To make a broccoli soup this amazing without dairy, you’ll need a few veggies, some pantry staples, and a couple of plant-based boosters. Together, they’ll transform this into the ultimate cozy, nourishing, and totally satisfying broccoli soup recipe in minutes!
- Mirepoix (onion, carrots, celery)
- Gold potatoes
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Vegetable stock
- Nutritional yeast
- Crispy Toppings: nuts + seeds
How to Make Vegan Broccoli Soup
Heat avocado oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery, then sauté for 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
Add potatoes, broccoli, and vegetable stock.
Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, reduce heat, and cook for 15 minutes or until potatoes are very tender.
Remove half of the chunky vegetables and set them aside in a bowl. Stir the spinach into the pot and let it wilt until softened.
Blend the remaining soup with an immersion blender on low until everything is somewhat combined.
Increase immersion blender speed to high until smooth and creamy texture, then return the reserved vegetables to the pot.
Stir in nutritional yeast, salt, and black pepper, adjusting to taste.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with a dollop of vegan sour cream, seeds, and extra broccoli florets, if desired.
Recipe Tips
Try swapping the potatoes for 2 cups raw cashews, soaked and blended with 1/2 cup water. This will create a creamy soup that’s still dairy-free and even higher in protein.
Swap spinach for kale, parsley, Swiss chard, or basil for additional flavor profiles.
Drizzle olive oil on top right before serving for an elevated silky texture. You’ll be wowed!
If you make this vegan broccoli soup recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment box below. Your feedback helps me and all the readers in this community. And if you’re interested in more plant-based recipes (and exclusive content), sign up for my weekly recipe newsletter.
Creamy Vegan Broccoli Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil
- ½ yellow onion diced
- 1 carrot diced
- 1 celery rib diced
- 4 garlic clove minced
- 3 gold potatoes cubed
- 4 cups broccoli florets frozen
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 2 cups spinach
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt, unrefined
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ground ground
Toppings
- 2 tablespoon raw sunflower seeds
- 2 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoon raw pepitas
- 2 tablespoon hemp hearts
- ½ cup dairy-free sour cream optional
Instructions
- Heat the avocado oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery, and sauté for about 5 minutes, or until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Add the potatoes, broccoli, and vegetable stock. Bring to a gentle simmer, then cover and reduce the heat. Cook for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are very tender.
- Remove about half of the soup’s chunky vegetables and set aside in a bowl. Add the spinach to the pot, then blend the remaining soup with an immersion blender until smooth and creamy.
- Return the reserved vegetables to the pot and stir in the nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper. Adjust seasoning to taste.
- Ladle the soup into bowls. Swirl with vegan sour cream and garnish with seeds and extra broccoli florets, if desired.
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Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review for a chance to win signed copies of my cookbooks!Common Questions
Yes! Fresh broccoli works perfectly in broccoli potato soup. Just chop it into small florets so they cook evenly and soften in about the same time as the potatoes.
The potatoes already create a creamy base, but if you want even more richness in your broccoli potato soup, blend in cashew cream, a splash of oat milk, or a little full-fat coconut milk.
Absolutely! Broccoli potato soup holds up great in the freezer for up to 3 months. Store in freezer-safe containers, thaw overnight in the fridge, and reheat gently on the stove.
This soup will stay fresh for about 4 days in the refrigerator when stored in an airtight container—perfect for meal prep or easy leftovers.
Nutritional yeast adds a cheesy, nutty flavor to broccoli potato soup. If you don’t have it, try vegan parmesan or a squeeze of lemon juice to brighten the flavors.
If you’d like a heartier broccoli potato soup, stir in cooked lentils, white beans, or rice. These boost the plant-based protein and fiber, helping you feel satisfied longer.
I haven’t before had “cheese” soup with nutritional yeast, so this was a nice flavor surprise. (But I do love broccoli!) And even though I forgot to add the spinach — oh, brother! — the soup still turned out wonderful. Definitely 5 stars.
This has been an educational week for me. Trying new flavors and feeling good about nourishing my body. All the soups, except the cabbage soup which was on me, have been very good and tasty. I have never been a big soup eater but I have learned this week that I like thicker creamier soups.
Thank you for a great experience.
I did not expect to like this because I normally don’t like puréed soups. After cooking it and adding some coconut milk, it was very good and so I decided not to purée it. Then I added some curry powder and that made it even better! I also used 4 cups of water since that seemed like enough, and pressure cooked for 5 min on my stovetop pressure cooker.
I have always used always milk and cheddar cheese, so this recipe was truly a challenge for me. Ha Ha. In the end, I liked it. I love nutritional yeast so that ingredient made me smile. The potato and cashews added a lovely texture. I did not totally puree it because we like thicker soups. I eat too much dairy so I appreciate trying a new recipe and challenging myself.
I’m a life long vegetarian and I used to love broccoli. Now I force myself to eat it for the nutritional value. Hurray for this soup, a new way to enjoy it. I add nutritional yeast to things all the time. It’s a great addition to this soup. Although I didn’t report yesterday I did make the cabbage soup. The color was amazing. A friend in her 70’s says she remembers her mother making this soup ( or aversion of it) when she wanted to shed a few pounds. Thanks for the soup challenge. I love cooking and this was a good distraction and healing thing to do for myself and family this week. I am a caregiver and have caregivers to help. We all enjoyed the soups all week. Everyday they came the first thing they would ask is this day 2 or 3 for the soups. There was plenty to share and they went home with some them everyday. Thanks for the good eats and brightening our week.
This is my favorite soup of the week. It can’t out so delicious and I highly recommend it. Scrumptious!!
This soup was quite good in spite of my worries of it having broccoli aroma which I find a bit noxious. I swapped butternut squash for the carrots and rutabaga for the potatoes due to allergies. I think they are good substitutes in many dishes I make. The only milk I had on hand while traveling this week was coconut milk which worked well. Once the spinach was added I was thrilled to finally see that brilliant green color arrive. I had to use the blender where I was staying and puree in two batches. I left some of the veggies chunky. I did need to add some extra salt and pepper and then topped it with chili lime pepitas. Pretty good stuff!
I like the creaminess. I will use this recipe instead of my broccoli cream cheese (gasp!) soup this winter on soup night!
This one wasn’t my favorite. I like broccoli, but I guess I’m not a fan of it pureed. It did have a nice flavor – I added more salt and pepper than the recipe called for – and I’m glad to have some chunky veggies to chew on. It’s not bad, just not my fav. I’m not sure if I’d make it again. Maybe once more to be sure.
I decided to not cream this soup. I love the green color of the blended soup but the chunky broccoli is appealing too. My husband and I are enjoying the benefits of the nutrient dense soups.
Thank you for this challenge. I’m glad I doubled the recipes and will have an array of options to choose from. Batch cooking is the way to go!
So at first, the soup was not as green as the picture in the challenge book, then once I added that spinach, and put in it in the blender, it seem like the soup came to life. Then I started singing its not easy being green, in the Kermit the frog voice LOL This one was good but I really wanted figure out something to eat it with. It was flavorful but I am not sure if I will make it again!
Loved it without the drizzle of oil at the end…. A real compliment from me because I generally do not like broccoli !
That seems to be the sentiment, with both the broccoli and the cabbage recipes. Thanks so much for taking a chance on it then, Lorraine.
This vegan broccoli soup is absolute comfort in a bowl! It’s rich, creamy, and so satisfying, you’d never believe there’s no dairy in it. The flavor is perfectly balanced: the fresh broccoli shines, the cashew cream adds the dreamiest texture, and the hint of spices gives it that cozy, homemade warmth. Each spoonful feels nourishing, wholesome, and full of love. I added some red crushed pepper on top and it was amazing.
I could eat this every day, it’s the kind of soup that makes you slow down and savor each bite. Bonus points for being packed with plant-based protein and nutrients!
For those of us cutting back or out the dairy, there’s no bigger compliment to a recipe. Would love to hear how eating this way affects your energy level.
Finding a good vegan broccoli soup has been an adventure the last 4 years. Jen nailed it with this one! The vibrant green color shows me that I’m getting all the yummy goodness from veggies and the flavor is spot on. Definitely not broc cheddar soup from a restaurants but a damn good substitute for non-dairy eaters.
PREACH, Sister Sarah! 100% with you.
This recipe is unlike any other broccoli soup I’ve seen! I loved the addition of potatoes and spinach. I’ve never used nutritional yeast before and enjoyed the flavor and the nutritional benefits. Enjoyed the various textures from blending some of the ingredients.
I had almost everything (not the toppings) so I went for it! This was soooo good! I’m surprised there’s no dairy in it— you don”t even miss it. I would recommend keeping out 3/4 of the chunks so it’s less pureed. Great soup recipe!
Thanks for trying it, Ashley, and for the tip!