Vegan potato broccoli soup recipe

Celebrate National Soup Month with this vegan potato broccoli soup. Ladle up this inspired homemade dish that features several plant-based substitutes for non-plant ingredients to create a delicious meal for your loved ones who are following a plant-based diet.

Much like our creamless creamy cauliflower soup recipe, this recipe achieves convincing dairy-like creaminess with 2 hearty ingredients in the vegan arsenal: cashew cream and nutritional yeast. The cashew cream is made by pureeing soaked, raw cashews with water. It’s a great stand-in for whipped cream or creme fraiche. Nutritional yeast is a good source of vitamin B12. Vegan diets often lack enough B12. This ingredient also has a taste and appearance that mimics grated parmesan.

Servings: 6 | Prep time: 15 minutes | Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup raw cashews
4 cups vegetable broth
2 large white potatoes, grated
1 large white onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1/2 cup white wine or water
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Sea salt, to taste
White pepper, to taste
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 cups broccoli florets, about 1/2 inch
Chives, for garnish
Smoked paprika, for garnish

Directions

Soak the cashews in enough water to cover them for at least an hour before blending into cashew cream in step 5.
Pour vegetable broth into a stockpot and bring to a simmer.
Peel and grate the potatoes, and then add to the broth and bring to a low boil. Stir often so the potatoes don’t stick to the pot.
In another large stockpot, add the diced onion and celery, the white wine or water, the dried thyme and oregano, salt, and a few dashes of white pepper. Cook over low heat, allowing the onions and celery to soften and turn translucent (about 10 minutes) while the potatoes continue to cook separately in the broth. Stir the onion and celery mixture frequently, then turn off and set aside when vegetables are soft.
While the pots are bubbling away, drain the cashews and add them to a blender with about 1/2 cup water, and blend until smooth. Then pour this cashew cream into the pot with the cooked onions and celery. Transfer the broth and potatoes into this pot along with 1/4 cup nutritional yeast. Simmer 4 to 5 minutes until all the vegetables are quite soft.
Take off the heat and use an immersion or stick blender to blend until smooth. (If you don’t have one, carefully blend in batches in a blender.)
Once blended, return to the pot and add broccoli florets. Simmer for another 15 minutes until the broccoli softens and the potatoes become fully cooked.
Taste and adjust salt, pepper, and herbs.
Serve in bowls with a sprinkling of smoked paprika and diced chives.

Nutrition Information (per serving)

Contributor: Linda Shiue, MD

This recipe first appeared on the Kaiser Permanente Food for Health blog. Find more recipes from Kaiser Permanente at Food For Health.

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