Creamy Broccoli Soup
The Gracious Vegan
Broccoli cheese soup is popular in restaurants for at least two reasons. Number one, it’s tasty. But it also lets you feel virtuous about eating your vegetables. This plant-based version uses nutritional yeast to get that cheesy flavor. Filling, delicious, and healthy, this soup hits the bulls-eye.
Makes 7.5 cups or 5 servings (about 155 calories per serving)
Quick-soak the cashews. Pour boiling water over the cashews, cover, and let them soak while you make the rest of the soup. They should soak for about 20 minutes. (You can skip this step if you have a high-speed blender.)
3/4 cup raw cashews, pieces or halves
Start the soup. Water-sauté the onion and garlic in a soup pot or Dutch oven until the onion is transparent, 8-10 minutes. (What is water-sauté?)
1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup dice)
3 cloves garlic, minced
Add the following ingredients and stir. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to a simmer. Cook about 10 minutes until the carrots are tender.
4 cups chopped broccoli – stems and florets
3 cups vegetable broth
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
Finish the cashew cream and the soup. Drain the cashews and place them in a blender with the following ingredients.
2 cups vegetable broth
3 Tablespoons yellow or white miso (What is Miso?)
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes (What is Nutritional Yeast?)
Blend on high until the cashew cream is very smooth with no visible grit.
If your blender is large enough, add the vegetables and broth into the blender with the cashew mixture and puree the soup until only small chunks of broccoli and carrots are visible. Alternatively, add the creamy mixture to the pot and use an immersion (stick) blender to puree it. Cook the soup on low heat, partially covered, for about 5 minutes, until thickened, stirring occasionally so that it doesn’t burn on the bottom.
The soup is ready to serve. It will keep well for about a week in the refrigerator. It can be frozen, although the texture and color will not be quite as fresh once thawed.
Timing: About 35 minutes
Nutrition information per serving: 157 calories, 8g fat, 2g sat. fat, 17g carbs, 483mg sodium, 4g fiber, 6g protein
Gluten-free