Creamy Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup

🧂 Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ large onion, diced

  (about 1 ½ cups)
• 1 medium carrot, diced

  (about ½ cup)
• 2 tablespoon gluten-free or regular flour
• 2 ½ cups low sodium vegetable stock or water
• 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 2 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced

  (about 1 cup)
• 4 cups broccoli florets and core, chopped
• 2 cups broccoli florets, bite size

  (set aside from chopped broccoli)
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 pinch cayenne

  (optional )
• 1 pinch turmeric

  (optional for color)
• ½ to 1 teaspoon salt

  (season to taste at the end)

Instructions

• 1 Add the olive oil, garlic, and onions with a pinch of salt to a deep pot. Turn
  the heat on to medium high and cook for about 2-4 minutes until the onions are
  translucent. You want to sweat the onions and garlic not fry them, so it is
  important that you aren’t adding the onions and garlic to hot oil. This is why
  you want to begin with a cold pot and then turn the heat on with the onions,
  garlic, and oil starting out at the same temperature.
• 2 Next, add the carrots and cook for another 2 minutes.
• 3 Now, sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir to coat. Don’t spend too much
  time to get to the next step as you don’t want the flour to burn.
• 4 Add the vegetable stock and almond milk. Now, scrap the bottom of the pan to
  make sure there are no flour bits sticking.
• 5 Add in the potatoes and 4 cups of chopped broccoli florets and core. Bring to a
  boil, turn down the heat, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.
  
  Note, if you don't want a chunky broccoli soup then add the other 2 cups of
  broccoli florets now. If you do this it will mean that your soup is closer to a
  pureed soup having less texture and little to no chunks.
• 6 While the soup is simmering, steam the other 2 cups of bite size broccoli
  florets in a steamer or the microwave.
• 7 Once the 15 minutes have passed, the potatoes, carrots, and broccoli in the pot
  should be nice and soft. If they aren't fully done then cook for a few more
  minutes. Now, in two batches, puree the mixture in a blender or food processor
  along with the nutritional yeast. You can pour the pureed soup into another pot
  or bowl for now.
  
  Make sure to be careful when working with hot soup. To be safe, only fill your
  blender or food processor to ¾ of its capacity. Do not overfill or you could end
  up with soup everywhere and a minor burn. If your blender or food processor is
  on the small side do more batches.
• 8 Once the soup is fully pureed, add a portion of it back into your blender or
  food processor with the remaining 2 cups of steamed broccoli. Pulse the mixture
  until you reach your desired consistency. I left a few broccoli chunks, but you
  can make it as chunky or smooth as you like. You can also skip this step and
  just add the bite size florets to the soup for extra chunky soup.
• 9 Now pour all the soup back into the pot and add the dijon mustard, apple cider
  vinegar, cayenne, and turmeric. Heat the soup to a simmer and cook for about 5
  minutes to meld the flavors. If the soup is too thin cook a tad longer to
  thicken. If the soup is too thick add a bit of vegetable stock or water.
• 10 Once the flavors have had a few minutes to develop, taste for salt and season to
  your liking. If you used water in place of vegetable stock you will likely need
  more salt.
  
  My recommendation is to start with ¼ teaspoon if you used vegetable stock and 1
  teaspoon if you used water. Then add in ¼ teaspoon increments until you reach
  your desired taste. I used low sodium vegetable stock and ended up adding an
  additional ½ teaspoon of salt. How much salt you add will be based on not only
  your preference, but the type of stock you use, type of salt you use, and if you
  use or add additional water.
• 11 To serve, top the soup with fresh chopped tomatoes, croutons, or vegan cheese.

Nutrition Info