Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup
This dairy free broccoli cheese soup is made with a combination of almond and coconut milk, for a creamy, cheese soup that doesn’t have any cheese at all. It’s perfect when you’re craving a creamy, comforting soup, and it only takes about 30 minutes to make. Dairy free doesn’t get much better than this.
Contrary to what you may think, going dairy free doesn’t mean creamy soups are thing of the past. They are, in fact, just as easy to make and you won’t even be able to tell the difference.
I’d even so far as to say this soup is as good as Panera’s broccoli cheese soup. It’s creamy, savory and just as indulgent as you remember.
More creamy soup recipes: sweet potato soup / asparagus soup / autumn squash soup / baked potato soup
How to make vegan broccoli cheese soup:
To make this soup dairy free, I started building flavor from the beginning with onion and garlic. Then I used a combination of vegetable broth, almond milk and canned coconut milk for the liquid.
I used canned coconut milk because it’s as thick as heavy cream, but I always like to balance out the sweetness with another dairy free milk, like almond.
To give the soup the right color and flavory, I added 1/4 cup nutritional yeast and a little ground mustard, turmeric and paprika. And, of course, you’ll need salt.
Then I thickened it all up with a slurry of flour and the rest of my almond milk. I also added a pinch of nutmeg at the end, but you definitely don’t need it.
As for the broccoli, chop it as small or large as you want. I think it mimics restaurant quality if you let the broccoli cook way-down, so I cut mine fairly small.
You can top you soup with some vegan cheese shreds, or you can go for some homemade croutons. They get nice a soft in the soup and add a really good amount of flavor. Or, you can just stand at the stove and eat from the pot, no garnish necessary. It’s up to you.
Tips for making the creamiest vegan broccoli soup:
- Using a combination of broth, almond (or any alternative milk) and coconut milk gives you a creamy consistency.
- Turmeric, paprika and nutritional yeast contribute to a cheesy, cheddar-like color. You can skip one or the other, but don’t leave out all three.
- Don’t skimp on the salt. Cheese is naturally salty, so when you’re missing it, you’re missing out on that saltiness. Don’t be afraid to add enough salt to make it taste right.
More vegan soup recipes:
- Beer cheese soup
- Vegan cauliflower soup
- Vegan cream of mushroom
- Potage aux legumes
- Vegan tomato soup
More vegan recipes you’ll love:
- Vegan queso
- Almond cheese
- Vegan mac and cheese
- Vegan vodka sauce
- Irish soda bread
- Dairy free cheesecake
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion (diced)
- 3 garlic cloves (minced (1/2 tablespoon minced))
- 6 cups roughly chopped broccoli florets
- 1 14.5- ounce can vegetable broth
- 2 1/2 cups almond milk (divided)
- 1 1/3 cups canned coconut milk
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Pinch of nutmeg (optional)
Instructions
- In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil to medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic. Sauté, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add broccoli, broth, 2 cups of almond milk and coconut milk. Increase heat to high and bring to a low boil.
- Continue to boil soup until broccoli has softened, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce heat to medium.
- Add nutritional yeast, salt, mustard, turmeric and paprika. Stir to combine.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour and remaining almond milk until smooth. Add to soup.
- Add nutmeg, and continue to simmer soup over medium until desired thickness is reached.
This was delicious. You don’t even miss the cheese. Kids all loved it too. My only addition was carrots and canned coconut bc I didn’t have a chance to buy the culinary coconut. It probably would have helped make it thicker, next time I’ll buy that. Thanks for a great dairy free creamy soup!
I’m so glad to hear that you liked it! It definitely does make it a little thicker. You could also pour off some of the water from the coconut milk (if you have a separated can), or let it simmer a little longer thicken it (but the you run this risk of the broccoli turning to mush, so add them a little later if you do that). I will definitely try adding carrots next time I make it. I didn’t have any the last couple times.
Everything that I want in a recipe, healthy, quick, easy, and above all delicious! I can’t believe there isn’t any cheese or cream in it. Thank you 🙂
Could you use frozen broccoli for this or would it be too mushy?
Did you get my message on Facebook? I hope you were able to make the soup!
I would also like to know if you can use frozen broccoli…
You definitely can! It will probably not need to cook as long though.
This soup was completely unbelievable! If I didn’t make it myself I would have been SURE that there was cheese in this!! It was hearty, creamy, healthy, and SO delicious! I made your Dairy-Free Croutons recipe to top off the soup and it could not have been better!! Passing this on to everyone!!
Yey! I’m so glad you liked it, and thank you so much for taking the time to comment 🙂
Prior to discovering my dairy allergy I really enjoyed broccoli cheese soup so when Melissa made this recipe I was really excited and it did not disappoint. Deliciously creamy and the flavor was spot on!
Before I make this, can I substitute another flour? We are GF as well. It is so hard to find dairy AND GF good recipes. I would LOVE to make this for my family!
Thanks in advance!
You could totally substitute cornstarch or whatever else you would use to thicken soup or make a roux! I wouldn’t suggest using almond flour or anything like that because it doesn’t have the same thickening properties. Use half the amount I wrote for flour if you use cornstarch.
Does this recipe work in a crockpot/slow cooker? If so, how would you make it?
Thanks!
Thank you!!!
After 50+ years of using dairy I can’t use cheese or milk products any longer. Love the creamy soups, especially broccoli cheese so I’d given up on ever eating it again until I found your website. This is so yummy and as has been said it is so flavorful I didn’t miss the cheese. I look forward to trying your other lactose free recipes in the near future. Thank you, this recipe made my chilly fall day a little warmer”
Is there anything I can use to substitute the coconut? My husband is highly allergic to it but I still want the soup to be creamy
Can you do cashew cream instead?
hi. can I use frozen broccoli for this recipe? or will it be too musht? should I reduce cooking time?
If you make it with frozen broccoli, try putting that in with just enough time to cook it. It won’t need as much time to soften.
Thanks for your answer to this question. I was just told to stop dairy. I was really missing this soup.
I am not a fan of nutritional yeast taste, but will try it Soany good reviews! Did you have “fails” using vegan cheese? I’m wondering how that woukd work.
This soup ROCKS! I only made a few minor changes … lowfat organic coconut milk (because I couldn’t find culinary coconut milk), 2 cups water with 1 No-Chick’n Cube (instead of broth), and I added carrots. I brought a pint of the soup and a small portion of your homemade croutons to work for my son to have for lunch (we work together) and he really liked it. He is not vegan or vegetarian and I didn’t tell him there wasn’t any cheese in it. He ate it up. Thank you for a great recipe! I’ll be making this one again and again.
I’m so happy to hear that you liked it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Talk to me more about this ingredient:
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
I have no idea what this is. I guess I find it in the baking aisle? Does the packaging SAY “nutritional yeast”? Thanks.
Usually, I find Dr Bragg’s Nutritional Yeast in the health food section of the grocery store. It’s also good on veggies and popcorn! We love it on popcorn instead of butter. Keeps it a bit healthier & satisfies my popcorn urges 🙂
I made this and love it! Really yummy with a additional spoonful of non dairy Chive cream cheese. Next time I’d reduce the salt too?
Loved this soup! It will become a part of the rotation. We happened to have some leftover Italian sausage and added just a couple tablespoons to each bowl. It was easy to prepare.
Do you use non sweetened or sweetened coconut milk and almond milk?
Unsweetened!
Love this recipe. I added Yukon gold potato chunks with the broccoli and it was delicious!
This is a great recipe! I tried another one online and I like this one better, because of the thickness. I used coconut cream. The spice mixture with the nutritional yeast was perfect – and thank you for the tip on not skimping on the salt. It makes a huge difference!
This is my GO-TO broccoli soup. I love it. I make it exactly as written – sometimes using reduced fat coconut milk. My omnivore family loves the soup as well. Tastes so cheesy! No one ever thinks it doesn’t contain dairy milk/cheese. Thanks for a great recipe.
I’m so glad you liked it!! Thanks for the review!
My kids both have a dairy allergy and they loved it. The only thing that I did differently was add 2
pouches of Daiya Cheddar Style Deluxe Cheeze Sauce because they wanted it to be a little more cheesy and thick.
Can you taste the coconut flavor? I’m dairy free but am feeding those who don’t like coconut flavor.
I was wondering the same thing. Did you make this? What did you think of the coconut?
Be sure to buy the canned unsweetened coconut milk and you will be pleasantly supposed as i was! You don’t even taste the coconut and it isn’t too sweet 🙂 hope this helps!
My son doesn’t care for coconut, but the flavor of this soup is so delicious, he didn’t complain at all!
this recipe is insanely good……and equally easy. I didn’t tell my kids it was vegan until AFTER they finished their first bowl. They both went back for seconds. I can’t wait to make it again!
Also – I substituted oat milk for almond milk (I’m an anti almond milk girl). Worked perfectly!
Thank you so much for this recipe!
This is the best Broccoli “Cheese” soup I have made since ditching dairy two years ago. So good! I swapped some of the almond milk for oat milk since I ran out, still amazing! Thanks for sharing!
This is by far my favorite broccoli soup recipe!! So very good I’ve made it 3 times since I first came across it! I do purée it a bit at the end just to blend up some of the broccoli pieces.
I’m not vegan so I was skeptical but this was amazing! I added 3 diced carrots and used Parmesan since i didn’t have nutritional yeast but otherwise I followed the recipe and it was DELICIOUS 😋 adding this to my repertoire of favorites, for sure.
Thanks for this great recipe. I made too much and was wondering if one can have it as leftovers the next day. I added a lot of nutritional yeast and this is a new ingredient for me, so don’t know if you can refrigerate it? Thanks.
This soup is amazing! I’m gluten free so I used one tbsp of arrowroot flour to half a cup of almond milk. I’m not vegan, so I used home made chicken broth I had on hand. I also like my soup a little smoother so I used an immersion blender to blend before adding flour/milk slurry. Will definitely be making again!
can i use soy milk instead of almond milk for this?
This soup is great! Made some minor adjustments to the ingredients like adding more garlic, nutritional yeast and replaced nutmeg with crushed red pepper. Turned out Excellent!
Harvested lots of broccoli and made this recipe as a creamy, blended soup.
We really enjoyed it… Yum!
Just a quick note. The title says nut free. This has almond milk and coconut. Oops.
We loved this soup!! So glad to find a great soup that meets my family’s food sensitivities. My son doesn’t care for coconut, but the flavor of this soup is so delicious, that he didn’t complain at all! This will be my go to broccoli soup!
This recipe is AMAZING. My husband can’t have onions so I just used 6 garlic cloves in total. Turned out amazing. I also used tapioca starch for the flour and added two more tablespoons to thicken. I am not a huge soup fan but I like cheese soup and this really hit the spot. I had it several days in a row. Awesome.
Absolutely love this recipe it has become a regular in our house I love to sometimes serve over pasta or rice too! 👏🏻💜
Do you have the nutrition facts?
I can’t believe how delicious this is!! Best broccoli cheddar soup recipe that I’ve tried in my 3 years of being vegan! Thank you 😋😋😋
Could I use regular coconut milk in addition to the full fat canned instead of the almond milk? I have the coconut mild in the fridge that I need to use before I go buy almond. I kind of alternate between the two of them.
Yes. You definitely can!
Wondering if this could be made in a slow cooker?
I think so!
Hi. Do you have any nutritional info on this soup? Grams of protein or carbs ?
This soup was legit! Love it. Didn’t use the coconut milk cuz I didn’t want it to be super thick cuz I grew up eating it a smidge more broth-but it was amazing on all levels! Thank you!
I was craving a broccoli cheddar soup & this hit the spot!! I am newly dairy free and was really wanted a creamy broccoli cheddar soup. I love this recipe so much I am adding it to my weekly meals! 🙂 this will be a staple in my house, I can’t wait to try with a bread bowl!!
Also how long do you usually cook the soup for before you serve?! Thank you for posting !!
I’m incredibly thankful that I found this wonderful recipe! This recipe is ten times better than “dairy” broccoli & cheese soup. Honestly, I would never know the difference if I didn’t know this soup did not contain any dairy products.
I left out the nutritional yeast, but it still turned out delicious. This soup will sure be a new favorite of mine!
This is the best vegan broccoli “cheese” soup I have ever had! You don’t even miss the cheese, which is surprising to me. I’m from Wisconsin afterall. 🙂 I did use oat milk instead of the almond milk because that’s what I had and added a little cayenne pepper. Also, I replaced the flour with 1 T cornstarch to be gluten free and added 1 can of white beans, mashed with an immersion blender with some of the liquid, to thicken it a little more and for a little bit of protein. Thank you, Melissa, for an outstanding recipe!
Great idea on the white beans!!! I always read through the comments for ideas. Adding carrots and the white beans are definitely a plus.
Loved it! Hubby liked it too! I saved this recipe to make it again. Thank you for sharing!
Wow! I am shocked and ecstatic! I have been suffering from GERD and learned i have a dairy intolerance and was so bummed out at the thought of no longer being able to enjoy many meals i have loved (such as broc & Cheddar soup) thank you for this amazing recipe! And for introducing me to nutritional yeast as well 🙂 i was wondering if you had information on the nutritional facts for this recipe? I didn’t see it posted
This was excellent, Melissa!
I started dairy free within the last month. Before that, I was low carb and eating lots of cheese. So I wasn’t sure what was going to happen when I tried this recipe. But we were missing our low-carb broccoli cheese soup. Very grateful that you had this recipe on your website
The only changes I was making is using cashew milk (which is a little thicker), 6 cups of frozen broccoli that I cut up, and I didn’t add the extra milk plus flour/cornstarch at the end. We added a little bit of Follow Your Heart cheese on top.
I cooked it till the broccoli was very soft because I had intended to use my immersion blender. But I couldn’t find it!
It was absolutely terrific. Very surprising to me, and I intend to look at the rest of the recipes on your website.
With much gratitude,
Judy, and Larry
Do you have nutritional information for the soup?
Is one can of coconut milk equal to 1 1/3 c? I have all ingredients but only one can, didn’t want to start this soup if I was short on the coconut milk. Thanks. I’m looking to use this as a Lent recipe since there is no meat and it’s DF!!
1 can of coconut milk should be about 1 3/4 cup of coconut milk (depends on your can though).
Hi! How many calories per cup?
Ate this tonight. Seriously, exactly the flavor of broccoli cheese soup you want. This is going into the favs. Thanks!
Will this work for cauliflower as well?
Yes! You could totally use cauliflower!
Hello, just wondering if you have any nutritional info for this soup? Calories, carbs, etc.
It is awesome!
Thanks,
Alex
I just updated the nutrition facts on the post for you!
Just made this soup mixed with broccoli and cauliflower. If anyone is looking for a dairy free alternative, this is a good recipe to follow. It’s very important to read instructions and suggestions all the way through. Since no cheese is added you will need more salt or herbs to bring out the flavor.
This is one of my very favorite soup recipes. So easy and delicious. I added some carrot to it and it turned out perfect. Next time a double batch is a must.
This is so good! I used 1 cup of cauliflower that I had to use up and 5 cups of broccoli, soy milk instead of almond and corn starch instead of flour. Delicious!
This recipe is amazing! My husband and I are fasting this month and I’ve been looking for plant based recipes. It’s cold right now, so soups are ideal. Broccoli cheese soup is one of my favorites. I can’t believe how good this soup is. I didn’t miss the cheese or the heavy cream I usually use. My husband even loved it and he’s skeptical about any new recipe. I will definitely make this again!
I made this today for dinner, it was absolutely delicious. I used coconut milk instead of almond milk.
I’ve made this two times. The first time, I substituted the almond milk for soy milk because one of my friend’s is allergic too all kinds of nuts. I also added shredded carrots. It was the hit of the party!
The second time, I substituted the almond milk for cashew milk! This recipe will always be one of my favorites. Aside from those substitutions, I followed the recipe EXACTLY the way it is written. The best broccoli soup I’ve ever made/had. That’s no exaggeration.
Absolutely amazing!! I’ve been looking for a vegan broccoli cheddar soup made with coconut milk instead of cashews, and this recipe was so perfect. Super super easy to make, SO creamy and cheesy, and tastes just like panera breads broccoli cheddar soup. 11/10 from me!
Oof!
I really want to love this. I am currently boiling potatos into the soup because I just gave it a taste test and found it way too salty for me. I followed the recipe exactly. Not sure if it’s just my tastebuds or what because other commentors don’t seem to feel same. Hoping the potatos will help!
I am truly blown away by this recipe.
I’ve been lactose intolerant most of my life and am now vegan. While I’ve tried a couple of broccoli cheese recipes, none of them have compared to this one. Seriously. I was a little apprehensive because the ingredient list and recipe seemed so simple compared to others that I have tried/seen. But the comments really swayed me and I just had to try it out.
I did add some extra nutritional yeast, salt and pepper and I will also be adding shredded carrots next time, but this recipe is amazing!
This is a keeper. Best vegan broccoli soup ever. I left out the oil and didn’t have dry mustard Still the best I’ve ever made.
Made this tonight and it is delicious! The only change was cashew milk instead of almond and arrowroot instead of flour dot make it Candida friendly. Thank you so much for this recipe as the Candida diet is HARD so I now have a new recipe!
You can totally have almond milk on the candida diet.
OMG! This soup is delicious! So tasty! I wish I had made more! Can’t wait to make this again. Thank you for this amazing recipe! So creamy! I made my own almond milk and I made it extra creamy!
Third time making this, so I figured I should leave a comment. This soup is my absolute favorite. I love cheese but cheese doesn’t love me back, so I have been looking for a good option. I have tweaked the ingredients based on what I have in the kitchen (no ground mustard, oat and almond milk with Nutpods cream for liquids, arrowroot instead of flour) not because of anything that needs changing, but rather the deficits in my pantry when I decide this is for dinner. Reheats beautifully, and I am going to try freezing leftovers today as well. Thank you for this great recipe!!
So yummy! I try to avoid heavy cream and don’t do much dairy aside from cheese so this was the perfect recipe. Love the flavor the nutritional yeast adds and I did throw in some sharp cheddar, which made it even better in my opinion 🙂 super simple and quick
Hi! Can you freeze this soup? We love it and so I’d rather make a big batch to have on hand ☺️
Does this freeze?
I haven’t tried freezing it myself, but I think it would be fine to freeze. You may get some separation when thawing, but I’m sure it will come back together when reheating.
I’ve just gotten my wisdom teeth out and needed something soft to make. I’ve used your recipes before for your vanilla cupcakes and knew this would be good… and it was amazing. Hit the spot after not having a proper meal in my belly. Thank you!
Loved this recipe! I probably tripled the amount of nutritional yeast cause I like the “slap you in the taste buds” kinda cheese flavor. And at the end I took my immersion blender to it to give it a more bisque like texture (I don’t love chunky soups). 10/10 loved this. I also froze part of the batch and it thawed/reheated well
This was so good and tasted like broccoli cheese soup! I added some potatoes too 😍
Looks delicious, do you know if this would freeze well?
I don’t recommend freezing this soup. Coconut milk doesn’t do well when frozen. The fats and solids separate from the liquid and it will ruin the texture of the soup.
This is delicious! I changed a few things and here are my adaptations:
1. Added sliced carrots at the time I started the broccoli cooking
2. Omitted the ground mustard
3. Instead of the flour and milk thickener I did a low-speed immersion blend until I reached the desired chunkiness/thickness
I made homemade bread and yummy! I’m making a second pot per my 6 year old’s request.