Vegan Sweet Potato Broccoli Cheese Soup. So incredibly rich, creamy, dairy-free, oil-free and just 8 easy ingredients.
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Who really loved broccoli cheese soup as a kid? Please tell me you said yes. Well, today I’ve got a vegan broccoli cheese soup with a twist….a sweet potato-ish, cheesy-ish broccoli soup. Not overly cheesy, but more of a combo of a sweet potato flavor and a cheesy flavor. As you all know by now, I love soup. They are so easy and fast to make and with my schedule lately and for this year, I need easy meals.
One of my absolute favorite recipes my mom made for us growing up, was broccoli cheese soup. I’m not talking about the purred broccoli soup where there is no visible broccoli florets left. No, I want the chunks please, thank you. Roasted chunks, to be exact. I did my usual roasted broccoli trick that I do for a lot of my soups. As I’ve mentioned before, I hate overly cooked/soggy broccoli, which happens a lot when you cook it in the pot. I avoid all this by roasting my broccoli under tender and just beginning to brown. It adds such a better flavor and texture to my soups.
VEGAN BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP
This Vegan Sweet Potato Broccoli Cheese Soup is so satisfying, creamy and comforting. Even though this soup is vegan and not an ounce of dairy in it, you’d never know by how silky, smooth it is, thanks to using brown rice flour and cashew milk. The soup my mom made was obviously loaded with dairy and processed cheese. Yummy, yes, but I’m no way interested in putting that in my body anymore.
I decided to give the traditional broccoli cheese soup a dairy-free version and a twist, by adding sweet potatoes. My first trial was with regular potatoes and it just was a bit bland for my taste and a bit too starchy for what I was going for. Sweet potatoes taste much less starchy than regular potatoes, plus they also give a beautiful color.
I’m a huge potato soup fan in general and if you are too, then make sure to check out one of my most popular recipes, this Low-fat Smoky Broccoli Potato Soup!
OTHER VEGAN SOUP RECIPES TO TRY:
- Lazy Red Lentil Curry Soup
- Vegan Cauliflower Curry Soup
- Lazy Day Vegan Tomato Bisque
- Easy Vegan Ramen Noodle Soup
- Vegan Black Bean Soup
- Hearty Veggie Potato Stew
- Smoky Sweet Potato Black-eyed Pea Soup
Sweet Potato Broccoli Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 2 heaping cups (270g) peeled and chopped 1/2 inch pieces sweet potatoes
- 1 packed cup (160g) finely diced white onion
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced (12g)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 3-4 cups frozen broccoli florets (depending on how chunky you want it)
- 3 tablespoons (30g) brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup (52g) nutritional yeast (I highly recommend this Sari brand, it is non-fortified with much better taste.)
- 1 1/2 cups (360g) HOMEMADE cashew milk (see NOTES at bottom for nut-free)
- 3-4 Tablespoons dill pickle juice-I used 4 and liked the flavor (this aids in the cheesy flavor)
- Optional: For a smoky element 1-2 teaspoons liquid smoke
NOTE
- This has a more non-traditional flavor than typical broccoli cheese soup. The sweet potatoes give it a more subtle sweet
NOTE
- The homemade cashew milk is amazing in this. Do not use store-bought cashew milk, as it will not produce near the same flavor or result. To make the cashew milk, add 1 cup raw cashews and 3 cups water to a Vitamix and blend until completely smooth. Use 1 1/2 cups for the recipe. Use extra for other recipes or in smoothies.
Instructions
- Add potatoes, onion, garlic, salt, pepper and water to a pot and bring to boil, once boiling, cover and turn to simmer for about 20 minutes until potatoes very tender. They need to be almost mushy so they can puree easily.
- Meanwhile roast the broccoli. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Spread your broccoli out and season well with salt and pepper. Bake 15 minutes or until just beginning to see the tips browning. Depending on your oven or the size of your broccoli florets, it may need longer, up to 10-15 more minutes. The frozen ones I buy are always relatively small florets and 15 minutes is perfect. You want them fork tender, but still fairly firm, as you will not be cooking them in the soup. If using fresh and not frozen, watch them so they don't burn.
- After your potatoes are tender in your soup, whisk in the brown rice flour and nutritional yeast until well mixed. Let it cook about a minute so it thickens up. Add the milk and pickle juice. Stir well, turn off the heat and then use a hand immersion blender to process the soup until it is completely smooth. Turn the heat back on to medium and once it's bubbling, turn down to low and let it cook another 5-10 minutes or until it thickens to desired consistency. Stir often to prevent sticking to the sides and bottom of pan. If you want it even thicker, you can always whisk in a tad more brown rice flour.
- Taste and add any additional salt, I added another 1/4 teaspoon. Add the roasted broccoli and serve. I added some more freshly ground pepper right before serving.
I have tried and tried to like nutritional yeast (non-fortified) and it just never works out. Is there something I could use as a substitute? Perhaps cashews?
Hi Debbie! That’s tough since this recipe relies on quite a bit of nutritional yeast. Do you have my cookbook? If so, there is a broccoli cheese soup in there that is my fave of all-time and there is no nutritional yeast. Well, there is 2 tablespoons but it is optional. I’m afraid without the yeast in this one, it will be on the bland side since it really does amp up the overall flavor.
Do you happen to have a link to your cashew milk recipe? I can’t seem to find it. Thank you!! 🙂
Hi! It’s listed under NOTE on the recipe card!
Hiiii I’m so excited to make this. What can I substitute for the dill pickle juice? Thanks 🙂
Hi there, the pickle juice is a big part of the flavor profile, adding tang and a cheesy flavor. You an find dill pickles at any store these days so I wouldn’t recommend subbing it.
I made this with plain potatoes and it was absolutly delicious! Now I make this at least every other week – so addictive! 😀
This was amazing! I’m glad I read the reviews and made a double batch! Thank you for all of your delicious recipes!!
This is soooo good! I ate all 4 servings in one sitting by myself…oink, oink!
hahaha I’m so glad you loved it so much!!
I just made this and it is delicious! I love that it uses frozen broccoli as I usually have that on hand. I didn’t have any pickle juice so I improvised… I used some sauerkraut juice and a splash of ACV. Still came out so good! Thank you for this easy and yummy recipe!
Hello, can I use almond flour instead of brown rice flour. I have almond flour on hand.
Thank you, Barbara
Hi Barbara! I would not use almond flour, it will not thicken up the soup properly. I would just use regular all-purpose flour in place of the brown rice flour.
There have been ‘cheese’ recipe hits but mostly misses for me since becoming vegan a year ago. This one is DEFINITELY a hit! It’s quick and easy to prepare, and it’s creamy, cheesy delicious. Don’t skip the pickle juice, liquid smoke, or homemade cashew milk. Then it will taste almost like the real thing. Maybe better.
So happy to hear you loved it Mairi! I agree, definitely don’t want to leave out those ingredients, those are key ingredients I use for the flavor and texture!
This is soooo yummy! I tripled it for my family of 7 except used about 3 cups of cashew milk and 3 tb of pickle juice. (so those were not tripled). I used the air fryer for the broccoli bc our oven is broken. This is always a favorite!
OMG! This soup is so good! My husband said definitely make this again! I used the lite coconut milk instead of the homemade cashew milk and it was still amazing! We used fresh broccoli from our garden! Yummy!
Woohoo, so glad to hear that!!
We made this recipe tonight and we’re so impressed by the delicious flavor!! We decided to use the immersion blender on half of the broccoli too. It turned out great! I couldn’t get over how the pickle juice added so much to the flavor! So easy to put together and so yummy!
I made this much anticipated soup this week, and it was so amazing I sadly had no leftovers, it was such a hit! I LOVE the simplicity of using pre-cut frozen broccoli, it makes the recipe so much faster. This will be a repeat inour house for sure, thanks Brandi!!
That is wonderful to hear!
DEEEELICIOUS!!! Time to print this recipe out and and put a big star on the page marker…. This tastes a lot like the garlic alfredo sauce but the smokey flavor gave this an edge so highly recommended you add that optional ingredient.
I bought 2 flavors of liquid smoke–mesquite and hickory. I taste tested both and even tho both were good, the mesquite seemed to have more wow factor.
I think I overcooked the broccoli but still delicious. Will definitely make this again–but triple the amount!!!
Thank you for sharing this great recipe!
Ps
When do you add the liquid smoke? Just curious if it makes any difference as i added it with the pickle juice just before it was blended.
That sounds perfect!
I can’t believe how absolutely delicious this was. My non-vegan husband was moaning while he ate it with broccoli and toasted French bread, then just by itself. He gave it a 9.9 /10, (only because he believes nothing can be a 10 because there’s always room for improvement). I personally am confused why real cheese doesn’t taste like this! He asked to add it to the weekly rotation. Done and done!
Alterations: I didn’t have cashew milk so I used 120 calorie oat milk instead (Friendly Farms, from ALDI).
Made with soy milk and it was incredible!! Thank you
Wonderful!!