30-Minute Cream of Broccoli Soup (Dairy & Gluten-Free)
This recipe for dairy-free 30-Minute Cream of Broccoli Soup is as comforting, delicious, and straightforward as it can be! (It’s true!) We realize that it’s common to hear words such as easy, or simple, thrown out here and there about recipes. But that’s not a recipe promise we take for granted. When we say a dish is even somewhat easy to make, we mean it!
First of all, the broccoli you use in your batch of homemade, creamy, and rib-hugging soup can be fresh or frozen. The fact that you can use frozen broccoli in your Cream of Broccoli Soup automatically saves prep time. A recipe using frozen broccoli also means that you may already have some in your freezer. We like to use frozen vegetable options whenever possible, to make both prep time, meal planning, and even shopping a little easier.
We use a combo of blended cashews and lite coconut milk at the end of the cooking time to create creaminess without a drop of dairy. And we’re mentioning that because creaminess is a pleasant quality that many of us crave. Well, thanks to fabulous dishes like this 30–Minute Cream of Broccoli Soup, we can have our plant-based vegan lifestyle and our creamy soups, too!
The Plant-Based Scoop on Cooking with Cashews
Some folks try to avoid nuts and seeds because of fat content. And please allow us to clarify that when we say oil-free about our recipes, such as this one, we do not mean to suggest that it is fat-free. But not all fat is bad. Certain fats are good fat. The fat from cashews happens to be mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, which is considered good!
• When substituted for saturated fats and eaten in moderation, mono and polyunsaturated fats can help improve heart disease.
• They also reduce the risk of stroke and prevent weight gain.
• Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats also provide valuable Vitamin E.
• Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that is great for promoting positive cell growth and overall health.
• The magnesium in cashews is essential for regulating the metabolism of fat and carbohydrates, which may help you lose weight.
• Cashews are relatively good sources of protein, which is key to losing weight. And while nuts may be high in calories, eating the right amount each day can help you lose weight!
And don’t even get us started on the healthy attributes of enjoying a bowl of hearty, dairy and gluten-free, 30-Minute Cream of Broccoli Soup!
Broccoli is like having a friend with benefits! Broccoli is high in so many nutrients. Broccoli offers fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, iron, and potassium. Also, broccoli provides more protein than most other vegetables!
To Soak or Not to Soak; That is the Question
First, the longer you soak your cashews or another nut or seed, the creamier your 30-Minute Cream of Broccoli Soup will be! To us, that says, “Let the soaking begin ASAP!”
An excellent high powered blender will also help achieve the creamiest dreamiest texture, ever!
If you’re a planner, go ahead and soak your cashews overnight or for up to 24 hours, no problem! (It’s probably best to stash them in the fridge if it’s going to be a long soak.) But if you prefer to hurry things along so you can get to the eating part sooner, check out the quick soaking method that follows.
FAST Method for Soaking Nuts & Seeds
1. Heat enough water to cover your nuts or seeds or use very hot water.
2. Place the nuts or seeds in a glass dish large enough to also hold water.
3. Cover the nuts or seeds with hot water.
4. Soak for as little as 15 to 30 minutes. Drain before use.
7 Beautifully Simple Recipes for Cashews!
As you can tell, we LOVE cashews! So, to encourage you to explore the delicious possibilities of cooking with cashews, we’ve gathered the following exciting recipe suggestions for you from our blog and other plant-based cooks, too!
EASY Oil-Free Cashew Mayonnaise
Creamy Vegan Blue Cheese Dressing
Sun-Dried Tomato Cashew Cheese Spread
Sharing is Caring, Especially When it’s 30-Minute Cream of Broccoli Soup!
When you give this splendidly satisfying and straightforward recipe for 30-Minute Cream of Broccoli Soup recipe a go, we would love for you to leave a comment and tell us how your soup turned out. We enjoy hearing about your experiences in the kitchen, and your comments are helpful to others who want to try a recipe too.
And as they say, sharing is caring, so feel free to pin this recipe on Pinterest to keep it handy. We also encourage you to share our recipes on Facebook and other social media venues.
We’re convinced that getting the word out about the benefits of living a delicious plant-based lifestyle is a gift to folks lucky enough to encounter what we veggie eaters post… so share away!
To collect even more recipes from like-minded cooks, we invite you to join our Facebook Group called: VEEG Plant-Based, Vegan, Gluten-Free Recipes & Lifestyle. And by all means, follow our VEEG Facebook Page, too. On our Facebook Page, we often share helpful bits of encouraging plant-based news.
Thank you for visiting us and reading our recipes.
Happy eating!
30-Minute Cream of Broccoli Soup (Dairy & Gluten-Free)
- 15Prep:
- 15Cook Time:
- Yield: 6 Servings
Have you ever tasted a soup that makes you want to thank your lucky stars that you are sitting exactly where you are, enjoying every single delicious bite? This Cream of Broccoli Soup creates THAT moment! We believe you will enjoy this recipe because it tastes so good, and we know you’re going to love how quickly it comes together! This recipe makes enough for six, hearty, dinner-size portions of just under three cups each! Like all of our recipes, this one is plant-based, vegan, gluten-free, and refined oil-free! And if those are qualities that float your boat as much as they do ours, here are a couple more show-stopping main dish recipes for you to try. How about a crunchy-munchy Collard Wrap Salad Bowl? And when you’re in the mood for something playfully quick and cozy, whip up a fast batch of Cannellini Kale Noodle-y Soup! And since plant-based and gluten-free desserts are one of our favorite things ever, we are thrilled to offer you our recipe for 20-Minute Peanut Butter Chickpea Cookies – it’s cookies that begin with chickpeas!!!
Ingredients
- 1 cup of raw cashews, soaked and drained - If you enjoy buying in bulk to cut cost, be sure to check our notes below for some great finds!
- about 2 lbs of organic broccoli florets and tender stems, fresh or frozen, equal to at least six cups or so
- 2 to 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
- two onions, peeled and sliced into quarters or smaller
- 2 cups of water
- 4 cups of vegetable broth, or more water
- 1-13.5 oz unsweetened lite coconut milk or another unsweetened plant-based milk - We recently found this deal on 12 cans of lite coconut milk and this one on 12 cans of organic coconut milk.
- juice of about 1/2 of a lemon
- 1/4 - 1 tsp of pink Himalayan sea salt, or another salt, to taste
Instructions
- First, be sure to soak your raw cashews anywhere from 20 minutes to 24 hours so that they can blend easily.
- Next, chop the garlic and onions, superfine. We usually use a food processor, but you can opt to cut these ingredients by hand. If using fresh broccoli, chop the florets and tender portions of the stem into bite-sized pieces.
- In a stockpot, Dutch Oven or saucepan, large enough to contain your soup, saute the onions and garlic over medium-high heat using the water, stirring in a bit at a time as needed, to keep the veggies from sticking. Once the onions and garlic have softened a bit, stir in the freshly chopped or frozen broccoli, remaining water, and about two to three cups of the vegetable broth. Add the fresh lemon juice to the pot and cook over medium-high heat until the broccoli is tender. Then, reduce the heat to a low simmer. By the way, the lemon juice helps keep the color of the broccoli bright and adds flavor, reducing the need for too much salt. (We like that a lot, don't you?)
- Meanwhile, using a blender, combine the drained cashews, lite coconut milk, or another unsweetened plant-based milk, and the remaining vegetable broth. Once the broccoli is tender, add a few cups or so into the blender and blend until creamy. Stir the creamy mixture back into the simmering soup and season to taste with salt and additional lemon juice if needed.
Notes
- When we cannot find fresh organic broccoli, we use about 3 to 4, 10-oz bags of frozen broccoli florets.
- To keep our recipes free of unhealthy, refined oils, we use water or veggie broth in place of oil to saute ingredients. Frequent stirring also helps to prevent things from sticking.
- For a change, we sometimes sprinkle a bit of Everything But the Bagel Seasoning, on our broccoli soup - and it looks pretty, too!
- If you do not have a powerful blender, you can cream cashews that are very well soaked using a food processor. An immersion blender is also a great tool to use to cream the cashews and other ingredients in this recipe.
- We often purchase organic raw cashews two pounds at a time from this brand to save money. And if you mostly soak and blend your cashews to use in recipes, you can save even more by purchasing bits and pieces of organic cashews, four pounds at a time.
- Just in case you're curious about the bread snuggled in our Cream of Broccoli Soup, it's a gluten-free, vegan and plant-based bread we get from a local health food store called Debbie's Health Food Store. And lucky for us, the bread is made at DeLand Bakery, located in the very next town. Now is the perfect time to become a plant-eater!
Nutrition
% DV
- Total Fat 14.1 g 22 %
- Saturated Fat 5 g 25%
- Cholesterol 0 mg 0 %
- Sodium 524.8 mg 22 %
- Carbohydrates 31.2 g 22 %
- Fiber 8.2 g 33 %
- Sugar 8.9 g ---
- Protein 9.8 g 20 %
- Vitamin A 48 %
- Vitamin C 181 %
- Iron 16 %
- Calcium 10 %
30-Minute Cream of Broccoli Soup (Dairy & Gluten-Free)
BY VEEG.CO
Ingredients
- 1 cup of raw cashews, soaked and drained - If you enjoy buying in bulk to cut cost, be sure to check our notes below for some great finds!
- about 2 lbs of organic broccoli florets and tender stems, fresh or frozen, equal to at least six cups or so
- 2 to 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
- two onions, peeled and sliced into quarters or smaller
- 2 cups of water
- 4 cups of vegetable broth, or more water
- 1-13.5 oz unsweetened lite coconut milk or another unsweetened plant-based milk - We recently found this deal on 12 cans of lite coconut milk and this one on 12 cans of organic coconut milk.
- juice of about 1/2 of a lemon
- 1/4 - 1 tsp of pink Himalayan sea salt, or another salt, to taste
Instructions
- First, be sure to soak your raw cashews anywhere from 20 minutes to 24 hours so that they can blend easily.
- Next, chop the garlic and onions, superfine. We usually use a food processor, but you can opt to cut these ingredients by hand. If using fresh broccoli, chop the florets and tender portions of the stem into bite-sized pieces.
- In a stockpot, Dutch Oven or saucepan, large enough to contain your soup, saute the onions and garlic over medium-high heat using the water, stirring in a bit at a time as needed, to keep the veggies from sticking. Once the onions and garlic have softened a bit, stir in the freshly chopped or frozen broccoli, remaining water, and about two to three cups of the vegetable broth. Add the fresh lemon juice to the pot and cook over medium-high heat until the broccoli is tender. Then, reduce the heat to a low simmer. By the way, the lemon juice helps keep the color of the broccoli bright and adds flavor, reducing the need for too much salt. (We like that a lot, don't you?)
- Meanwhile, using a blender, combine the drained cashews, lite coconut milk, or another unsweetened plant-based milk, and the remaining vegetable broth. Once the broccoli is tender, add a few cups or so into the blender and blend until creamy. Stir the creamy mixture back into the simmering soup and season to taste with salt and additional lemon juice if needed.
Notes
- When we cannot find fresh organic broccoli, we use about 3 to 4, 10-oz bags of frozen broccoli florets.
- To keep our recipes free of unhealthy, refined oils, we use water or veggie broth in place of oil to saute ingredients. Frequent stirring also helps to prevent things from sticking.
- For a change, we sometimes sprinkle a bit of Everything But the Bagel Seasoning, on our broccoli soup - and it looks pretty, too!
- If you do not have a powerful blender, you can cream cashews that are very well soaked using a food processor. An immersion blender is also a great tool to use to cream the cashews and other ingredients in this recipe.
- We often purchase organic raw cashews two pounds at a time from this brand to save money. And if you mostly soak and blend your cashews to use in recipes, you can save even more by purchasing bits and pieces of organic cashews, four pounds at a time.
- Just in case you're curious about the bread snuggled in our Cream of Broccoli Soup, it's a gluten-free, vegan and plant-based bread we get from a local health food store called Debbie's Health Food Store. And lucky for us, the bread is made at DeLand Bakery, located in the very next town. Now is the perfect time to become a plant-eater!
Leave a Comment
Comments
This soup is incredibly creamy & delicious! However, my husband prefers his food more spicy than I do. I often dish some out for me then add more spices to the rest for him. I did increase the onions & garlic but am at a loss trying to think of spices that work with broccoli. What would you suggest? Thanks!
Thank you for taking the time to comment and share your experience with this recipe, Patricia.
As for making this soup spicier, I think trying to do so would basically change this dish into a new recipe since it would be so different than how it is intended. That being said, red pepper flakes are a go-to to add heat without totally covering up flavors and can be added at the table, per serving. And one spice that I have used successfully in a creamy, veggie-based soup is nutmeg, but again, that is a more subtle, earthy, flavor.
I hope something in my response is helpful and I’m glad you got to enjoy this creamy, delicious soup!
Made this soup today and it is delicious! Thank you
And thank you for taking the time to share how much you enjoyed this recipe, Cassie.
Such a creamy and delicious looking broccoli soup. Adding cashews and coconut milk for the creaminess is a good suggestion. A change from the normal fresh cream that I add.
Thank you for letting us know that you’re enjoying this wonderfully creamy broccoli soup recipe, Mayuri – it’s amazing how plants can provide us with the flavors and textures we love!
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How can I adept it for instant pot? Any suggestions?
Great question, Diana—I love using my Instant Pot to speed up the cooking times of ingredients that usually take a long time to cook.
So, on that note, given that the ingredients in this soup take only about 15 minutes to cook, at most, I believe this particular recipe delivers the best results and retains the most nutrients prepared as it’s written.
Thank you for the answer on IP.
How long do I have to simmer it?
It’s a very quick simmer—just until the broccoli becomes tender as described in the fourth and final instruction.
And you got me thinking of ways to make a hands off cream of broccoli soup in an Instant Pot, so thank you for taking the time to ask.
I am looking for vegan recipes that my kids will eat too. Both like broccoli so I wanted to try this soup. Problem is one of them has food allergies and I can’t use nuts. Will this work with subbing cashews for either more coconut milk or oat milk?
Thank you for asking, Lara. It’s terrific that your kids like broccoli, and your ideas sound spot on!
Since the cashews add quite a bit of richness, I’d try subbing the cashews with regular unsweetened coconut milk, meaning full-fat rather than lite, though any unsweetened plant-based milk should work.