This Vegan Broccoli Soup is super creamy and luscious and loaded with lots of healthy broccoli! Seasoned with jalapeno and corn, it has a flavorful Mexican twist. Video! Love Broccoli? See our  20+ Fresh, Yummy Broccoli Recipes

Vegan Broccoli "Cheddar" Soup with Jalapeño - a fast and easy vegan dinner recipe that is healthy, vegan and keto!

Ohhhhhhh how we’ve been loving this Vegan Broccoli Soup this week! Think of this like Broccoli Cheddar Soup, but made vegan and kicked up and notch with poblano peppers and jalapenos. Doesn’t that sound good? It is! 

It’s not spicy, just super flavorful!  Cashew cream (or sub hemp seeds) gives the soup its rich creaminess. Nutritional yeast gives it its cheesy flavor. Or feel free to use vegan Daiya Cheddar Shreds that actually melt.

What I like about this plant-based soup is how it really is mostly broccoli. Blending part of the cooked broccoli with the cashews gives it such a silky luxurious texture, it feels good in your mouth. But don’t take my word for it- give it a try and see.

To finish the creamy vegan broccoli soup, add the flavorful tempering oil. Quickly saute sliced jalapeno in olive oil with whole cumin seeds and Aleppo. Throw in some corn if you have some in your freezer, and just spoon this over the soup. So tasty!

 Vegan Broccoli “Cheddar” Soup | 60-sec Video

Broccoli florets, jalapeno and poblanos

Down here in Santa Barbara, where things grow year-round, the farmers market is full of veggies like broccoli and peppers. I feel a little spoiled after spending years in Eastern Washington where the farmer’s markets basically shut down for the long winter.

How to make Vegan Broccoli Soup:

For this recipe, you’ll need about a whole pound (or 7-8 cups) of broccoli florets. I always include the stems as well- slicing them thinly.

Steamed broccoli florets

The soup starts with sauteing the onion, garlic and peppers. I used two poblanos and 1 jalapeno. The soup was mildly spicy. Barely spicy truthfully.  There is a lot of broccoli to counteract the peppers.

If you are worried about heat, perhaps start with 1/2 a jalapeno.

saute onion, garlic, poblanos and jalapeno

Once the onions and peppers are tender, add the vegetable broth and water and herbs and spices and broccoli.

add broccoli florets

Bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer until the broccoli is tender, 10-12 minutes.

Add broth, salt and pepper, reduce heat and simmer.

Take two cups of the tender broccoli florets and two cups of the vegetable broth and place it in a blender.

blend the soup with the vegetable broth

Add the soaked cashews. If using a high-powered blender, no need to soak the cashews.

If using a regular blender, soak them 4-8 hours or overnight- or you could do a “cheater soak”- just simmer them in a small pot of hot water for about 15 minutes and drain.

Shush, don’t tell! No seriously, it’s fine in pinch.

So I usually start with just one cup broccoli and 1 cup broth with the cashews, blend until smooth, then add the second cup of broccoli and broth.

Blend the soup, add spinach for vibrant color.

How to make it Vibrant Green!

Now, the color of the soup will be a little drab- unless you do this trick, which if you’ve been here a while, you’ll already know. 😉

Add a couple of handfuls of raw baby spinach to the blender, and blend until smooth. This will give the soup a lovely vibrance that will make it far more appetizing.

Plus you get all the added nutrients from the spinach.

Win-win!

 creamy vegan broccoli soup in a blender

Pour this vibrant silky smooth concoction into the pot.

Add the creamy blended soup back into the pot

Reduce heat and gently stir over low heat, careful not to simmer too long, or you will lose the lovely color. Look at this vegan-ized cream of broccoli soup! So vibrant!

Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup in the pot

Vegan Broccoli "Cheddar" Soup with Jalapeño - a fast and easy vegan dinner recipe that is healthy, vegan and keto!

To make the flavorful tempering oil – which of course you can adapt to what you have on hand, simply saute a sliced jalapeno, some whole cumin seeds and maybe corn if you have it, or if not, pumpkin seeds, or something crunchy and some chili flakes or Aleppo.

Spoon this flavorful finishing oil over the soup, after you’ve dished it up, for a burst of flavor.

Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup with Jalapeño and Cashews

So there you have it… Jalapeño Broccoli Cheddar Soup.

So simple! So tasty! So healthy! Vegan Broccoli "Cheddar" Soup with Jalapeño - a fast and easy vegan dinner recipe that is healthy, vegan and keto!

This Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup cooks up quickly for weeknight dinners and heats up perfectly for midweek lunches (either in a microwave or on the stovetop- set on low) and best of all, packs a powerful punch of healthy nutrients.So much goodness here!

Can you substitute cauliflower for broccoli?

Cauliflower can easily be substituted for broccoli in the recipe, just be sure to use the same amount!

Vegan Broccoli "Cheddar" Soup with Jalapeño - a fast and easy vegan dinner recipe that is healthy, vegan and keto!

I hope you are having a good start to your workweek. Enjoy this Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup- it is one of my favorite vegan soups! Let us know what you think in the comments below.

xoxo

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Vegan Broccoli Soup

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 69 reviews
  • Author: Sylvia Fountaine
  • Prep Time: 18
  • Cook Time: 20
  • Total Time: 38 minutes
  • Yield: 5 1x
  • Category: soup, main, vegan,
  • Method: stovetop
  • Cuisine: northwest

Description

Vegan Broccoli Soup with “cheddar” and jalapeño – a fast and easy weeknight recipe that is healthy, vegan and keto!


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 46 fat garlic cloves, rough chopped
  • 12 poblano peppers, diced (I like 2)
  • 1 jalapeno, diced fine (use 1/2 for less spice- see notes)
  • 7 cups broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets (about 11 1/4 pound, stems ok if cut thinly)
  • 4 cups veggie broth (or 4 cups water + 1 tablespoon “Better than Bouillon” Vegetable Base)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 bay leaf (optional, remove before blending)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon coriander
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • —-
  • 3/4 cup raw cashews (soaked or simmered, see notes) or hemp hearts
  • 23 tablespoons nutritional yeast (see notes)
  • 12 large handful baby spinach (for vibrant color)

Optional Finishing oil: 

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 jalapeno sliced
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • pinch chili flakes (optional)
  • 1/4 cup corn kernals, frozen is ok (optional)
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (optional)

Optional Garnish:

  • cilantro or scallions, lime

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a big pot over medium heat, and add the onion, garlic, poblanos and jalapeno,  stirring occasionally, letting the onions get golden, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add the broccoli, broth, water, bay leaf, coriander, oregano, salt, and pepper. The liquid should just cover the veggies. Cover, bring to a boil, turn heat down and simmer gently until broccoli is tender, about 10-12. minutes. Turn heat off and remove bay leaf.
  3. BLEND: Place roughly 1 cup of the broccoli and 1 cup of broth into a blender. Let cool 5 minutes. Add the cashews and 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast.
  4. Cover tightly with blender lid and kitchen towel, holding it down firmly, when you start the motor (on the lowest setting, working up gradually) to prevent a blender “explosion”. Blend until silky smooth.
  5. Add one more cup broccoli and one more cup broth. Blend again until silky smooth.
  6. To the blender, add 1-2 big handfuls of fresh baby spinach for that extra vibrant “green” color, and blend until fully incorporated and smooth.
  7. Pour this back in the broccoli soup pot, mix and heat gently over low heat, careful not to boil or simmer too long, or you will lose the lovely vibrant green color.
  8. Taste for salt, heat, and acid. Add a little squeeze of lime if you like, or extra chili flakes or more pepper.  For extra “cheesy” flavor add another tablespoon of nutritional yeast.
  9. Make the finishing oil: Heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add sliced  jalapeno, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, chili flakes, and optional corn kernals or pumkin seeds. Heat until cumin is fragrant, about 1 minute. Serve the soup in bowls and spoon a little finishing oil over the soup (when serving) in a crescent shape.
  10. Garnish with fresh cilantro or scallions or a wedge of lime.

Notes

If using a high-powered blender, no need to soak the cashews. Regular Blender? Soak  cashews for 4-8 hours (or overnight) in cold water. OR for a quick “cheater” soak, simmer cashews in a little pot of simmering water for 15 mintues to soften, drain before blending.

No Cashews? Feel free substitute hemp seeds for the cashews (or sour cream).

No Nutritional Yeast? Feel free to sub vegan melty cheese (like Daiya chedder shreds) for the nutritional yeast -just add it to the pot (1/2 cup or so) or sprinkle a little over individual servings.

Spice level: With 2 poblanos and 1 jalpeno, soup was still very mildly spicy. You can double or half the jalapeno or leave it out entirely if worried about heat. Up to you. 🙂

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 1/4 cup- with the finishing oil.
  • Calories: 267
  • Sugar: 7.3 g
  • Sodium: 436.6 mg
  • Fat: 18.1 g
  • Saturated Fat: 3.1 g
  • Carbohydrates: 24 g
  • Fiber: 6.2 g
  • Protein: 7.8 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg

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Comments

  1. Hi Sylvia,
    I love your recipes and can’t wait to try this one but could you please offer any alternative in place of cashews? Our son is severely allergic and it’s been tricky to find a nice alternative. Could tofu work?
    Thank you so much!
    Janis

    1. How about hemp hearts Janis? Or silken tofu would give good creamy texture though you may need to boost up the seasonings. Let us know what you try!

      1. Thank you, Tonia! I tried the recipe today with hemp hearts instead of cashews and it worked perfectly! Absolutely delicious flavour and creamy consistency. This one is ‘going in the rotation’ and I’ve now learned an awesome replacement for cooking in place of cashews. Thanks so much!! ❤️

  2. THIS BROC SOUP WAS GREAT. HUSBAND LOVED IT. HAD RECENTLY MADE CASHEW JALAPENO SAUCE. IT WAS THICK. ADDED TO BLENDER. BLENDED IT ALL. WILL MAKE IT AGAIN FOR SURE.






  3. I’ve made this recipe 3 times now. Each one has received rave reviews by even the pickiest of eaters.

    This is a showstopper.

    Matt






  4. This is the best brocoli soup I ever had. The corn and pumpkin seed topping adds a very nice crunch to this rich, creamy and flavourful meal. Will make this again!






  5. LOVED this broccoli soup!! I wasn’t able to make the topping, but added my own of chopped fresh tomatoes and pumpkin seeds. Very filling. Will be making more!

  6. This is the best tasting soup I’ve had in a long time!! I used hemp hearts because of a cashew allergy and it came out nice and creamy. I didn’t make the topping but will definitely do that next time. And there will be many more times for this soup!! It is so incredibly flavorful. Love a recipe that I don’t need to change anything. It’s perfect as written.






  7. This was an incredible recipe. I fed it non-plant based people without telling them it was cheese-less. They could not tell!! So delicious and rich. Thank you. Used hemp seeds.






  8. Probably have made this soup ten times – it’s amazing and now a wintertime go-to. I add nutritional yeast + non dairy cheese for extra creamy goodness.






  9. Cant get enough of this luscious soup! Making it two Sundays in a row to pack for lunch.
    Simply the best, tastes so creamy and satisfying. Yum! I love your recipes, even though I’m not vegan, just like to eat healthy.

  10. I’ve made this many times for my vegan and dairy-allergic teens. It never disappoints. Thank you for all the vegan recipes!

  11. Delicious — brings me back to when I was little. I LOVED broccoli & cheese soup. We didnt have anything on hand for the finishing oil, but went for it anyway. Still lovely. Will for sure make again.






  12. I’ve made this sooo many times and it’s a winner every time – with or without the finishing oil. The spinich adds such a beautiful color and the poblano adds a punch of flavor that is unique. Thank you!






  13. This soup was so flavorful! I’ve just recently become vegan and this has been definitely one of the better vegan recipes. I have found. The more nutritional yeast the better! We also roasted some broccoli in the oven and threw that in there as well. I will definitely be making this again.






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