This Vegan Smoky Broccoli Potato Soup is low-fat, dairy-free, gluten-free, oil-free and features roasted broccoli and roasted potatoes on top for the most delicious flavor and texture. It uses only 8 ingredients and is ready in less than an hour.
VEGAN BROCCOLI POTATO SOUP
How can a soup be so incredibly delicious when it is totally dairy-free, oil-free and low-fat?! Well, this one is! We are talking smoky flavor, cheesy flavor, exceptional creaminess and so much roasted, crispy texture instead of just a plain old boring pureed potato soup. This vegan broccoli potato soup has almost a bacon type flavor from the smokiness and is so easy, being only 8 ingredients!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
(full measurements and instructions are in the recipe card below)
- Russet potatoes: Potatoes are the creamy base of the soup, but I take it a step further and roast some extra to top the soup with. You end up with SO much awesome texture and flavor!
- Broccoli florets: Roasting these and then adding to the end of the soup gives more flavor and texture.
- Nutritional yeast: This imparts a cheesy flavor to the soup.
- Smoked paprika: This spice obviously yields a wonderful smoky flavor to the soup.
- Garlic cloves: For extra yummy depth of flavor.
- White or yellow onion
- Dill pickle juice: From a jar of dill pickles. This is an odd ingredient, but trust me, it imparts extra depth of flavor and lends to its cheesiness!
- Canned lite coconut milk: There is only a small amount of milk used for this recipe, which keeps it low-fat. But the coconut milk is wonderfully creamy and leaves no coconut taste since it is the lite version.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN BROCCOLI POTATO SOUP
Step 1: Add only the potatoes to a medium pot. Add the water, salt/pepper, onion, garlic and smoked paprika. Stir well and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are really tender.
TIP: For the crispy potatoes on top as well for extra texture, measure out 2 cups extra of chopped potatoes. You will bake them at the same time as the broccoli below.
Step 2: Spread the broccoli out evenly on a lined pan with parchment paper. Season with salt and pepper and bake at 375°F for 15 minutes.
Step 3: For the extra potatoes for garnish, add them to a separate pan, season with salt and pepper and place them on the bottom rack.
Step 4: Once the potatoes in the pot are tender, add the coconut milk, nutritional yeast and pickle juice. Using a handheld immersion stick blender, blend until all the potatoes are smooth and creamy.
Step 5: Stir in the broccoli and top with extra baked potatoes.
LOW-FAT BUT FULL OF FLAVOR
Low-fat doesn’t mean boring or bland though, I can assure you. This soup is super creamy and full of flavor and yet, only has about 2 g fat per cup! Potatoes are my favorite food in the entire world….as if you hadn’t already figured that out by my recipe index. This is because they are basically fat-free, full of vitamins, so incredibly healthy, filling, give us fuel and energy, healthy carbs and fiber-rich, so they are slower to digest, keeping us full longer. The longer we are full, the less we are likely to indulge on unhealthy junk food. I don’t need to explain how much potatoes have healed my hubby’s gout either. No other food satisfies me like a potato. I got much love for the spud. Don’t be afraid of these types of carbs!
I debated on calling this a “cheesy” broccoli potato soup, but it only has a mild cheesy flavor, so I didn’t think it fit the title. I didn’t want to go overboard on the cheese flavor, but feel free to increase that cheese part if you like. Due to my recent discovery of pickle juice in cream cheese, I added a good amount to this soup and it really boosts the flavor and lends a bit of cheesy flavor.
This Vegan Broccoli Potato Soup comes together with very easy, basic ingredients and in under an hour.
MORE VEGAN SOUP RECIPES TO TRY
- Hearty Italian White Bean Basil Soup
- Easy 1 Pot Creamy Curry Rice Soup
- Sweet Potato Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Creamy Sweet Potato Soup
- Hearty Veggie Potato Stew
- Healthy Potato Carrot Tomato Soup
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Vegan Smoky Broccoli Potato Soup (Low-fat)
Ingredients
- 4 heaping cups of chopped 1/2 inch pieces of russet potatoes (these produce the best texture result (with skins on, 570g, plus 2 extra cups {280g} for baking & garnish later)
- 2 cups (480g) water or low-sodium veggie broth
- salt & pepper (1 teaspoon salt and 1/8-1/4 teaspoon black pepper, to taste)
- 1/2 packed cup (80g) finely chopped onion
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 heaping cups (170g) broccoli florets, I used frozen
- 1/2 cup (120g) "lite" canned coconut milk (if you don't want to use coconut, make sure to select another creamy plant-based milk, such as cashew or soy. I wouldn't suggest almond b/c of the strong taste)
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons (30g) dill pickle juice (sounds odd I know, but it gives depth of flavor & aids in giving a somewhat cheesy flavor)
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- Add only the 4 cups chopped potatoes to a medium pot. Add the water, salt/pepper, onion, garlic and smoked paprika. Stir well and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and turn to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are really tender. Note: For the crispy potatoes on top as well for extra texture, measure out 2 cups extra of chopped potatoes. You will bake them at the same time as the broccoli below.
- Note: For the crispy potatoes on top as well for extra texture, measure out 2 cups extra of chopped potatoes. You will bake them at the same time as the broccoli below.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a pan with parchment paper. Spread the broccoli out evenly and lightly season with salt and pepper. If baking extra potatoes for garnish, add them to a separate pan, season with salt and pepper and place them on the bottom rack.
- Bake the broccoli on the middle rack for 15 minutes and remove. You will be leaving the potatoes in the oven for 10 minutes or more until golden brown. After you remove the broccoli, you can move the potatoes to the center rack to continue cooking.
- Once the potatoes in the pot are tender, add the coconut milk, nutritional yeast and pickle juice. Using a handheld immersion stick blender, blend until all the potatoes are smooth and the soup is creamy and thick. Taste and adjust spices if necessary.
- Stir in the broccoli and top with extra baked potatoes.
- This soup will thicken a lot in the fridge overnight, so you can add a little broth to thin it out if desired and reheat on very low heat on the stove.
Hello,
Do you have an idea of how to make this in a crockpot?
Thanks!
Hi Darian, I’m sorry I’ve never tried making it in a crockpot and really never use one, so I’m not sure. It is such a fast recipe that I don’t think a crockpot would do very well in it, is my guess though.
I just made this soup today. I found it on Pinterest and I had all the ingredient except for the coconut milk. I blended some cashews with water and added that instead. My whole family loved the soup and it is on my top favorites list! My husband said it tasted like potato-ham chowder and I think the roasted potatoes in the soup gave it almost a meaty texture. I think next time when I make a vegan ham I will add some pickle juice as well. It is awesome. When I was still a meat eater I used to make Rouladen wich have pickles in it and pickle juice in the gravy, which used to be my favorite food. This recipe surely reminded me a lot of it.
Great ob! Two thumbs up!!! I will check out your other recipes as well! 🙂
Wow Erika, thank you so much for the wonderful feedback! So happy it was such a huge hit, thank you very much for letting me know, loved reading it!
My second most favorite Vegan8 soup! Only Lazy Day Tomato Bisque is higher in my list. I find myself looking forward to dinner when I have made either one of thes soups. Life s good!
Yay, thank you so much! Loved reading this!
OMG, I LOVE this soup! It’s amazing! So delicious with such a unique and incredible flavor. I make a variety of soups from here every week. They’re my go-to recipes! Always superb 🙂
Oh yay! I’m so happy to hear that Jessica! Thank you so much for making the soup and I’m thrilled you loved it so much!
Oh, my! This was hands-down the best potato soup I have ever eaten! Thank you so much for creating and posting what is sure to be a family favorite!
Wow, thank you so much Michele for such wonderful feedback! This is my all-time favorite potato soup too!
Super easy! I love broccoli soup, but the delicious recipe I have requires a lot of work chopping so many ingredients! This is a great alternative, that I know I will be making more often than my other recipe. It is VERY thick, but I like thick; don’t care for watery soups as much.
Really like the hint of pickle juice. I added about 5 T nutritional yeast, cause that’s my favor at ingredient for a lot of things. I almost did NOT roast potatoes & broccoli; just figured I’d throw the broccoli in the pot & cook w/ potatoes. That would’ve been a big mistake! The roasted flavor is a must!
Yay! I’m so happy you loved this so much, thank you for the wonderful feedback! I agree, the roasted broccoli is so much better than cooking it IN the soup! I agree too, watery soups overall I don’t prefer and since this is potato soup, I like those really creamy and thick 🙂
Wow!! This is easily the best soup I have ever had…. Thank you!
Wow, thank you so much! So happy to hear that! It is definitely my favorite potato soup! Thank you for the feedback!
This is so creamy and delicious! I will definitely be making this soup again. Perfect comfort food.
Wonderful Janice, I am so happy to hear it was a hit!
This looks great! I love broccoli in my soups.
WOW! This soup is delicious! I used red skinned potatoes as they were what I had on hand, and though the texture was a tad gummy, the flavour was incredible!! I love using smoked paprika 🙂 And the dill pickle juice was an unexpected, but tasty addition!
So glad you loved this soup Tracey! Yes, I used russet potatoes, they are a much flakier type of potato, less gluey than red or gold, so I would definitely try the russet next time, because the soup is not gummy, rather smooth, thick and creamy. Also, I use my hand immersion blender to blend it just until pureed, if you use a traditional blender, you would have to be really careful not to overblend it because releasing the starches too much will make it gummy.
Hello Brandi,
thank you so much for this recipe. So I finally tried the soup. I made few changes to suit my current possibilities.
I did not have the russet potatoes but some… well, some potatoes 🙂 they were, what we call “old” potatoes so they were not suitable for use with skins, so I peeled them. When I get “new” potatoes or some other with nicer skins, I will definitely skip peeling as I simply love the taste of potato skins, especially if baked in an oven.
I also had to add a little more water (about 1/4 cup, so not so much) and as I did not have a coconut milk (only coconut cream and I did not want to use that), I used oat milk (tastes alright and tomorrow I will have a chia pudding as breakfast at work, ha ha!).
I was worried a little that I won’t manage to cook it (I hade a HUGE failure with your pancakes recipe), but it went smooth and now, there is a pot on the stove with amazing soup.
I love your recipes. 🙂 You caught me on the Creamy Red Pepper Sauce and since then, you’re my favourite food blogger!
Hi Kristyna! So glad you loved this soup! Yes, the coconut milk definitely lends the best taste and texture, which is why I always love to use it, but glad you made it work with the oat milk! What pancake recipe are you referring to? I’ve received amazing feedback on all of them, but you have to make sure to use the listed ingredients, pancakes are very finicky, especially gluten-free, so trying to change a pancake recipe can cause “failure”, so let me know what you did on which recipe and I will try to help 🙂
And a big thank you for your kind words!! So nice of you to say that, so happy you love my blog and recipes, I truly appreciate it!
This is delicious! I added about a 1/4 cup of raw cashews to make it a little creamier because my soy milk is not very rich. I also had frozen broccoli florets so I just threw them directly into the soup once it was done. Another winner as always Brandi!
So glad to hear Shari! Thank you so much for the feedback!
This soup was WONDERFUL!!! Thoroughly enjoyed by my non-vegan friends. Definitely a keeper!
this looks delicious. I was just wondering if you could use fat free milk instead of coconut milk because my husband is on a very low fat diet
Sure, I think that would work fine! The potatoes do a great job of making it creamy, so fat-free milk should work well, let me know how it turns out!
Ive had this tab opened in browser since you published it, and just finally made it. I used the vitamix in place of the immersion blender (the one kitchen toy I don’t have), and it was amazing. I now am a soup fiend!!!
Wonderful Pasha! I’m so happy to hear you loved it so much, thank you for the feedback!!
I forgot to say, adding the pickle juice was brilliant!
Thank you so much! I was really happy with the flavor it added 🙂
Fantastic recipe, I made it for dinner tonight and we loved it. Well, I should say that my husband (not a vegan) and I loved it. Sadly, my son didn’t care for it. I was hoping he might- I’ve managed to get the kids and my husband to decrease their dairy consumption quite a lot (by simply not buying any, lol), and I was hoping my youngest might like this in place of broccoli cheese soup, which he loves.
I’ve pinned a bunch of your recipes to try, though and I’m sure I’ll find something the whole family loves- they all sound amazing!
Hi Laura! Oh that is so awesome to hear how much you and your hubby loved it! Understandable about your young son though, especially if he was looking for a traditional broccoli cheese soup, which this one definitely is not cheesy. I made sure and didn’t even name it that because it’s definitely a potato broccoli, not cheesy broccoli soup, lol! Maybe you could try making my fat-free cheese sauce and adding in some of that to the soup? That might give him that cheesy craving. You could just replace some of the potatoes with it and play around with it. I’ve been planning on doing that again myself! Thanks again for the feedback! 🙂
Mmmmmmmmmmm delicious, both the vegan husband and the non-vegan daughter loved it, too. Smoky, rich and very filling. I’m going to make it again and sub cauliflower for the broccoli, just to see what happens. I’m sure it’ll be wonderful.
Thank you for another great recipe!
Hi !
I am hoping to make this soup this weekend. I have a question about the “light” canned coconut milk. You mention that it can be subbed out for cashew or soy milk, can it just be regular cashew milk or does it have to be thicker like the canned version of coconut milk? I am sorry if this was already asked but I didn’t see it!
Thanks!
Hi KJ! Regular cashew milk is fine 🙂 The soup is really thick on it’s own, so you are just adding the milk for that touch of creamy effect. Let me know after you make it! Thank you!
I made this and it was DELICIOUS!!!!!!! Thank you!
Yay!! So happy to hear, thank you for leaving feedback, it is so appreciated!
Looks amazing, Brandi! So cozy & hearty, …and spuddy! 🙂 I love it. Saving this to my to try pile! <3
Thank you Audrey! It’s a new favorite soup with everybody now and it’s just so easy!
Thanks, Brandi for this recipe. I made it over the weekend and it was great (I used soy milk since I didn’t have coconut milk). I would say definitely don’t skip roasted potatoes as they do help a lot with the texture. While I discovered your blog recently I think I already read through most of your recipes. The smokey zucchini cakes and especially the creamy lemon pepper sauce were amazing.
While there are tons of vegan recipes and blogs out there, there are maybe three (this one included) that cook without oil. I’ve been cooking without oil for 1.5 years now and honestly don’t think that oil gives anything to the taste. I actually prefer the non oily taste. And it is so much better and healthier for you. While some consider this an extreme and “alternative” lifestyle (cooking without oil) I think it is great and problems arise only when eating outside of the house. Waiters have looked at me like I have two heads when I asked to prepare something without oil. Hahaha. “Not possible” they say. Not a very good chef if they can’t do it (especially if I can), I would say. But of course I keep quiet and just smile to myself.
In any case, how can I make a request? ? I looked through your recipes but did not find anything with cabbage. Do you not cook with it? I don’t know many dished with cabbage but would like to incorporate more of it in my daily cooking. Since I didn’t know where I can leave the request I’m leaving it here. Appologies if this is not the right place. Thanks again.
I agree Milda! That’s why I added that roasted potatoes in the end because I love to have a contrast in texture in my soups! 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind words too, I completely agree about the oil, I think it just makes things taste greasy now and detracts from the flavor of food! I find it really gross now! Most people use oil daily and I’m so glad I no longer do and I don’t miss it at all! So much healthier too.
Oh and yes, the recipe request here is just fine! You can also send it to me through my contact page…most readers seem to do it that way, but honestly here is fine too 🙂 Yes, you are correct, I’m not really a fan of cabbage, but maybe I can come up with a soup utilizing some. You are a soup fan, correct?
Oh, and I’m so happy you loved the zucchini cakes and lemon pepper sauce, thank you!
So I just made this and I have to say it was so delicious! I find that soups can be a bit tricky to make so that they have the right flavor you want, but this recipe was golden. And fairly easy to make. Definitely adding it my go-to list of recipes. Thank you for this recipe!!
Wonderful Molly! Thank you so much for this amazing feedback, I’m so happy you loved it so much! Thank you again!
Yummy! This sounds just perfect for cold fall days! 🙂
Thank you so much Sina!