A veganized version of broccoli cheese soup to make in your Vitamix
There are certain comfort foods that you just miss when you veganize your household.
For me, broccoli cheddar soup is one of them.
Doesn’t matter the season, snowy, rainy, windy, tropical… it’s always been a favorite.
This recipe couldn’t be any easier. Steam some broccoli and then throw all of your ingredients into your Vitamix.
It’s hearty, it’s comforting, and best of all, it’s dairy-free!
Make a batch for dinner tonight, you’re going to love it.
So easy, your sous chef could make it
I conceptualized this soup, bought all of the ingredients, and started to really crave the taste.
But then I got busy. Like crazy busy.
So I sent my sous chef, Lenny, a text.
Shalva: “Please make broccoli cheddar soup”
Lenny: “Um, I don’t do dairy”
Shalva: “Steam some broccoli, make your queso, and add some broth”
Lenny: “YUM!”
With those simple directions, I came home from running errands to a piping hot bowl of soup.
Well, the soup he served me was pretty good. But it wasn’t quite NOYOKE quality.
Side note: We’ve got a little joke in our kitchen that I always come in for the save.
For broccoli cheddar soup, you’re looking for a mild flavor. So I brainstormed what could cut the taste of the distinct nacho-ness a little.
Tofu! It’s virtually tasteless, has loads of protein and got us better optics (much closer to the original’s color and texture).
Perfect.
Make this soup and you’ll have a winner winner chicken-less dinner!
Recipe
Broccoli Cheese Soup
Vegan comfort food served piping hot
Almonds, Broccoli, Cashews, Nutmeg, Nutritional Yeast, Red Bell Pepper, Tofu, Vegetable Broth,Ingredients:
- STEAM
- broccoli - 1 head (400 g)
- CHEESE
- almond milk - 1 cup (240 mL)
- nutritional yeast - 1/4 cup (20 g)
- raw almonds - 1/2 cup (70 g)
- raw cashews - 1/2 cup (65 g)
- red bell pepper - 1 whole (de-seeded)
- kosher salt - 2 tsp (11 g)
- garlic powder - 1/2 tsp (1.5 g)
- onion powder - 2 tsp (5 g)
- crushed red pepper - to taste
- SOUP
- vegetable broth - 1 cup (240 mL)
- nutmeg - 1/4 tsp (.5 g)
- tofu - 1/2 block (210 g)
Instructions:
STEAM
- Steam some broccoli
- Save on the side for a moment
CHEESE
- Add all ingredients under the CHEESE category to your Vitamix container
- Ramp from variable speed 1-10
- Blend on High for 4-5 minutes (or use “Soup” preset”)
- Taste a little, so good
SOUP
- Add broth, nutmeg, and tofu
- Blend for another 2 minutes on High
- Add your broccoli
- Pulse on variable speed 4 about 5 times
- You want to keep some texture
SERVE
- Serve straight from the container to the bowl
- Snap a pic and tag #lifeisNOYOKE
- Enjoy!
Useful tips for Broccoli Cheese Soup
Just add steamed broccoli and some broth to our queso. Tough to mess this one up. 🙂
Wow, so good! And so easy!
Made as stated except I thought I had plenty of tofu on hand, but it turned out I only had marinated sesame ginger tofu, so I omitted the tofu and added an extra third each of cashews and almonds instead. Tasted amazing and consistency was great too. My husband said it was the best soup I ever made. The only thing I might do next time is lightly season the broccoli before it steams since a bite of broccoli was strong tasting even pulsed and I think it would just make the broccoli bites a little tastier if seasoned. But that’s probably just me analyzing it bite per bite hee.
Thank you for this sure-fire easy recipe! I might make it for my nonvegan family for Easter. Man, I love my Vitamix! It’s a game changer for me.
I’m a bite-per-bite analyzer too! Couldn’t hurt to season the broccoli if you’ve got the time/bandwidth.
Seems like an excellent Easter soup 🙂
I’ve made probably 75 batches of the queso and love it so much I didn’t want to change it up. But tonight I decided to make this soup and boy oh boy is it AMAZING! I personally skipped the tofu and it was a touch thin so next time I’ll add a bit less milk.
Hats off to you two for another winning recipe!
I always have that same reaction when making this soup! Like why would I not just stop at queso. Worth the extra couple of steps though 🙂
This is a recipe you should make a YouTube video of 😍
We have! This one (1m) and this one (9m)
I made this soup and it was fantastic! Thank you for all the Vitamix tips and great recipes. I’ve posted a lovely photo of it on Instagram that you’re welcome to use (9/9/2021 christine.jump)
Thanks, Christine!
Do the nuts need to be soaked overnight. I know usually almonds and cashews need to be soaked before blending.
Thanks,
Cheryl
If you’ve got a high-powered blender (like a Vitamix) then you don’t have to soak.
Made this soup with my new vitamix 750 pro blender and it was truly delicious and rich ..thank you so much for the recipes ..just wondering can I freeze it?
Yes! You can freeze it. Might need to add a little water or broth to get the right consistency after thawing.
I’ve been making this soup for years. Even my dairy-loving mom likes it! I made my most recent batch without cashews or almonds (nuts are expensive!) and it was still delicious.
Ooo, that’s good to know!
Hi. Did you just omit the nuts or did you add something like cooked white beans to replace the nuts. I’m looking to cut down on my fat intake. I make the Queso all the time and add canned beans to the original recipe to lower the fat content. I have never made it without the nuts. Thanks so very much.
If it works with the queso it will work for the soup! The base of the soup is our queso recipe. Great idea for cutting down on the calories and still adding nutrition and fiber.
Tip – if you don’t have veggie broth save some of the liquid from steaming the broccoli to sub in
Great idea!
Oh yum 😋
Happy is Happy and the soup looks divine.
It’s a family favorite!
This is the first attempt at soup I’ve made with my new Vitamix purchase. Totally delicious soup! This recipe was just as good as the regular broccoli cheese soup recipe I use but much healthier, faster, and clean up was a breeze. My husband couldn’t believe this soup was ‘hot’ and ready from the container I used to mix it in! I also did a taste test of the ‘cheese’, excellent as well. I will make soup again, and queso, too! Yummy! Thank you!
Nothing beats the feeling of impressing someone with your fancy blender skills! I’ll never get over how cool the steam coming out of the top is!
What type of tofu (silken, firm, or extra firm)?
We use extra firm but firm would work here too because you’re blending it.
Shalva,
Recipe calls for 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast but notes 60 grams? My whole bottle of nutritional yeast is only 120 grams. Am I using the wrong ingredient?
TIA, Michelle Bland
Good catch! It’s 1/4 cup which is 20 grams.