Simply delicious, broccoli potato soup, made using healthy ingredients in a warming, nourishing bowl of goodness. Chunks of potato, carrot, broccoli and white beans together with a rich and creamy broth. A tasty, yet guilt free, low calorie meal that will fill you up and leave you feeling satisfied.
This creamy vegan broccoli soup is exactly what you need right now!
Flavourful, wholesome, packed with veggies, and the perfect accompaniment to a sandwich, wrap, salad, or even a big ol’ crusty bun. It’s naturally gluten free and can be easily made nut free.
Bonus, it’s also oil free for those of you on a whole food plant based (WFPB) diet.
If you’re a cheese lover, don’t worry! Although this soup is dairy free and vegan, and technically there’s no cheese in it, there is definitely a “cheesy” flavour from using a boatload of nutritional yeast!
Not only does it add a delicious cheesiness, but it really ups the nutrients too!
What goes in to a healthy broccoli potato soup?
Fresh veggies and tons of healthy, nutrient dense ingredients.
In addition to all the veggies and nutritional yeast, I’m using low sodium vegetable broth and cashew milk (or coconut milk for nut free), and of course some seasoning.
See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full recipe and instructions!
How to make Broccoli Potato Soup
To a large pot, add your onions and carrots with a tablespoon or two of water and sauté until softened slightly, about 3 minutes. (photo 1)
Next, add all the remaining ingredients, EXCEPT the broccoli. (photos 2-3)
Bring your pot to a boil over high heat, and then reduce to a simmer for about 8 minutes, until potatoes are mostly cooked.
Now add the broccoli florets and simmer an additional 5 minutes. (photos 4-5)
Make sure to add the broccoli only once the potatoes are mostly cooked, or the broccoli will get too soft.
Once the soup is cooked, use a slotted spoon or similar tool to remove about 4 cups of the veggies from the pot. (photo 6)
Feel free to remove more or less, depending on your preferred level of chunkiness. Four cups was perfect for my taste.
Now puree the remaining soup in the pot, using an immersion blender. (photos 7-8)
If you don’t have an immersion blender, carefully transfer the soup to a standard blender. Make sure to do some in small batches, and do not overfill your blender. It’s best to let the soup cool first to prevent burns. Do not walk away from a running blender.
Now you may return the reserved veggies back to the pot.
(If you’re serving picky eaters and need to hide the ingredients, feel free to puree the entire soup instead.)
Stir in your plant milk of choice and then serve. (photos 9-10)
If you’d like, you may also save some of those veggies you removed to garnish each bowl, instead of returning it all to the pot.
Expert Tips
Don't blend the soup too much. This isn’t a cream of broccoli soup, but a chunky, hearty broccoli potato soup. I like using an immersion blender for this one, because it makes the soup smooth enough, without overdoing it like a blender would.
Make sure to remove a couple of cups worth of the soup before blending so you can add some nice texture back into your soup after blending the batch.
Taste and add more seasoning once blended if needed. I kept the seasoning selection to a minimum on this one to make it picky eater friendly. To amp up the flavour of your broccoli potato soup, add some cumin, paprika (sweet or smoked) or even some cayenne pepper to add a little heat if you’d like.
Substitutions/Variations
I really like Yukon Gold potatoes for this one, but you may also sub for whatever you have on hand, or even a mix of half sweet and half gold potatoes.
White kidney beans are nice and hearty and they won’t darken your soup, but again, use whatever you have on hand. Red kidney beans or navy beans also work well here.
If you don’t have fresh broccoli available, use frozen, or sub for leafy greens like spinach or kale, fresh or frozen.
Use any plant milk you like to sub for the cashew milk. Use soy or coconut for nut free, or whatever you have on hand. You may also sub for the canned kind of coconut milk to add even more richness and creaminess to your broccoli potato soup.
Can I make it in advance?
Absolutely!
I find that most soups taste even better the next day when reheated. The flavours really enhance and heighten over night.
This vegan broccoli soup is no exception!
However, the chunks of veggies will further soften, so if that’s not your thing, then enjoy right away.
Can I freeze broccoli potato soup?
Yes, like most soups, you can definitely freeze this one. In fact, this vegan broccoli soup is meal prep AND freezer friendly.
The chunks of beans and veggies will soften more from freezing and thawing though.
So you may want to add in a few more canned beans or even some frozen broccoli florets while reheating your soup to add some texture back in.
More Chunky Vegan Soup Recipes
- Thai Peanut Chickpea Soup Instant Pot
- Slow Cooker Vegetable Pot Pie Stew
- Instant Pot Vegan Chili (or stove top)
- Vegan Sloppy Joes Instant Pot (Soup or Sandwich!)
- Instant Pot Vegetable Soup with Quinoa
- Vegetable Barley Soup with Beans
If you tried this recipe, please let me know about it in the comments below. I always love hearing from you! Don't forget to Subscribe to This Healthy Kitchen to be among the first to get my new recipes! You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter to see more delicious food and get all the latest updates.
Buon appetito,
Rosa
📖 Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large red onion finely chopped
- 4 large carrots thinly sliced
- 2 pounds yukon gold potatoes peeled & diced
- 19 ounce can white kidney beans drained & rinsed
- 1 large broccoli cut into bite size florets, approx 8 cups of small florets
- 6 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- sea salt to taste
- 1 cup unsweetened cashew milk or soy milk, or coconut milk
Instructions
- Add the onion and carrots to a large pot with a tablespoon or two of water. Sauté until slightly softened, about 2 minutes.
- Add the potatoes, beans, broth, nutritional yeast, thyme and garlic powder to the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, about 8 minutes. Then add the broccoli and simmer 5 more minutes.
- Turn off the heat and using a slotted spoon, remove and set aside about 4 cups of the veggies. Then puree the remaining soup in the pot, using an immersion blender. Or you may transfer to a stand blender in batches, using caution when pureeing hot liquids. Return the reserved 4 cups of veggies to the pot, stir in the plant milk and taste for salt. I added ½ a teaspoon at this point, but salt to your taste. Then serve and enjoy.
Instant Pot Directions
- Set your Instant Pot to the sauté function, then add the onion and carrots with a tablespoon or two of water. Sauté until slightly softened, about 2 minutes.
- Add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT the milk and close the lid, making sure the valve is in the sealing position. Cook at high pressure for 7 minutes and then quick release the steam valve. Remove the lid once safe to do so.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove 4 cups of the veggies and set aside. Then puree the remaining soup using an immersion blender. Or you may transfer to a stand blender in batches, using caution when pureeing hot liquids.
- Return the reserved veggies to the pot, stir in the milk and taste for salt. I added ½ a teaspoon at this point, but salt to your taste. Then serve and enjoy.
Michelle says
Sounds great going to make it now – approx how many potatoes are 2 lbs 🙏🏼
Rosa says
Approximately 4-5 medium potatoes.
Anita says
Very delicious, tasted so creamy. I did not have 2 pounds of regular potatoes, so I used one pound of Yukon potatoes and 1 pound of sweet potatoes.
Rosa says
Thrilled you enjoyed Anita! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Sharon says
Really tasty. I puréed it in my Vitamix. Added a can of coconut milk, 1 1/2 inches of ginger grated, 1/2 cup of lemon juice and squirt of Thai sweet pepper sauce. More fresh thyme. It tasted amazing. It’s our soup this year when we need something healthy after the holidays.
Rosa says
So glad you enjoyed Sharon!
grace says
oooh that sounds amazing. I hadn’t thought of adding the extra spices and flavors. yum
Eric says
I made it and it was easy and delicious. I blended the whole soup instead of leaving it chunky and it worked out great. (Full disclosure… I didn’t have beans so there was less stuff in there to blend)
Rosa says
So glad you enjoyed it Eric!
David Griggs says
I really enjoyed the original recipe, which was enhanced by the addition of lemon and cumin. Thanks, Rosa and Eric.
David Griggs says
Also, I sauteed a package of extra firm tofu, cut into little cubes and drizzled with Tamari sauce. No beans. I did add a diced red bell pepper.
Rosa says
Thrilled you enjoyed David!
Doug Tee says
What a great idea. I like adding more protein to my meals but hadn’t thought of adding tofu here. Thanks for the suggestion David!
Janet G says
I definitely had to add more flavour to this as I found it lacking (I know it was for picky eaters). With additional nutritional yeast, salt, pepper and garlic, and added cumin and turmeric plus a dose of lemon juice to spark it up, delicious!
Rosa says
Glad you enjoyed it Janet!
Laura Arteaga says
Hi Rosa, we tried your broccoli soup two days ago and it was delicious. We added red lentils instead of kidney beans and it was so so yummy! Both my 3-year-old and 8-month-old kids had seconds!
Rosa says
Thrilled to hear that Laura. Thanks so much for sharing.
Pam says
Can’t wait to try this recipe, looks yummy. Wondering, how will this recipe freeze?
Rosa says
It freezes well, enjoy!
Donna says
I made this today, October 2, 2022, and it was easy to make and yummy. I don’t use plant base milks but used evaporated canned milk and it was yummy. By the way, the nutritional yeast was easy to find in my local market.
Rosa says
So glad you enjoyed it Donna!
Anne says
YUM!!
I made this today and it is delicious!
Rosa says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it Anne.
Jody says
Absolutely delicious!
Rosa says
Glad you enjoyed!
Cindy says
Wonderful recipe, but more like 480 calories with all the potato’s, still love it, delicious!
Rosa says
Hi Cindy, so glad you enjoyed the soup. There are definitely not 480 calories in a serving. This makes a large batch of soup (8 servings) and the 2 pounds of potatoes account for approx. 700 calories in total, approx 78 cals per serving. Together with the remaining ingredients, each serving is around 200 calories.