Broccoli Potato Soup (vegan) 🥦 You'll feel so good indulging in this thick, hearty, and delicious cream of potato soup. The addition of broccoli, carrots, and white beans make this perfectly seasoned, plant-based soup so satisfying. Comfort food doesn't get much better than this! Gluten-free and oil-free.
Imagine a soup that's comforting, satisfying, and full of feel-good flavor. This vegan cream of potato soup is made with simple, plant-based ingredients like potatoes, broccoli, carrots, celery, and white beans. It's a back-to-basics recipe that lets the natural goodness of whole foods shine. With its creamy texture and rich, earthy taste, every spoonful feels like a warm, cozy hug - perfect for a nourishing meal any day of the week, and made without added oil or gluten.
I've always loved veggie soups, particularly cream soups, like cream of tomato and cream of mushroom soup. When my kids were young, I would frequently make a big pot of cream of broccoli or potato soup, sometimes adding homemade croutons and grated cheese. When my daughter Madison decided to become vegan, she started making her own plant-based version, combining both broccoli and potatoes, as well as carrots. It was so delicious!
★★★★★ "I made this soup today. I'm so proud of myself because it came out delicious!!! Thank you so much for this delicious soup recipe! I will definitely be making it again!!!!" Kathryn
Table of Contents
Not long ago, I was browsing through a Forks Over Knives magazine and ran across a recipe for a cream of broccoli soup that caught my attention. What intrigued me was the recipe required no added fat, oil or flour. I showed it to Madison and she decided to give it a try.
It was remarkably thick, rich and creamy. We loved the texture but felt the flavor could be bumped up quite a bit and it needed the oomph of a splash of color. By adding just the right herbs and seasonings, plus the vibrant goodness and sweet flavor of carrots, Madi's updated version of this creamy broccoli potato soup recipe instantly became our new favorite!
Why this recipe works
- Requires only a few basic ingredients
- Whole food, plant-based, 100% vegan
- Gluten-free, no-oil or processed carbohydrates
- Simple to make
- Easy to adjust the variety of veggies to your liking
- Filling, satisfying and delicious!
How to make the best vegan broccoli potato soup
You're going to love how quick and easy it is to prepare this broccoli potato soup recipe. Loaded with veggies and a few basic ingredients, in about an hour you'll have soup!
🥦 Ingredient Notes
🥕See the printable recipe card below for quantities & complete details
- Onion - yellow or brown
- Celery
- Garlic - fresh (preferred) or dried minced
- Potatoes - russet is our first choice, but you can use Yukon golds too
- Broccoli - fresh or frozen
- Carrots - fresh or frozen
- Vegan milk - almond milk or an unsweetened vegan milk of your choice
- Cannellini beans - or any white beans (canned and drained)
- Vegetable broth
- Basil - dried (we like to use sweet basil)
- Italian seasoning - dried
- Dill weed - dried
- Paprika
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
Variations
The beauty of this recipe is you can prepare it fully loaded like we do, or make a basic cream of potato or cream of broccoli soup simply by omitting the additional chopped veggies. You can also add or swap out veggies you prefer, such as:
- Cauliflower
- Green Beans
- Peas
- Asparagus
- Mushrooms
- Shallots
🥦 Instructions
- Wash, peel, and cut veggies.
2. Sauté onions, garlic and ½ of the celery inside a deep pot with a small amount of water.
3. Add seasonings, a portion of the uncooked potatoes, broccoli & cannellini beans.
4. Add non-dairy milk and broth. Bring to a rolling boil then lower heat and simmer until potatoes are tender.
5. Using an immersion blender, thoroughly purée until veggies are thick and creamy. Be careful not to splatter yourself, as it will be hot.
6. Using a medium size skillet or non-stick pan, sauté carrots & celery in a small amount of water until tender.
7. Steam or cook broccoli florets until just tender.
8. Boil remaining potatoes in water inside a separate pot until tender.
9. Stir in the additional cooked veggies. That's it, soup's ready!
🥕Serving suggestion
This soup is so hearty and satisfying, it can be a meal in itself. Garnish with fresh basil and a pinch of paprika or nutmeg. Sometimes I like to add a sprinkle of vegan parmesan on top. You can also serve it with croutons or crackers (gluten-free if preferred).
🥕Top Tips
- Keep it easy on yourself by prepping all your veggies at the same time. Since you will need to reserve about half of the broccoli, celery and potatoes, simply cut everything and set aside the extra veggies (including carrot).
- It's ok to use frozen broccoli florets and carrots that have been thawed in the fridge. I do suggest sticking with fresh produce for the other veggie ingredients in the soup.
- If you don't have an immersion blender, you can pour the soup into a high speed blender. Please be very careful when handling the hot soup while blending.
- As always, be sure to read through the recipe completely before starting.
🥦 Equipment
Here are the kitchen tools we use to prepare this soup.
- Large stove top pot (6 qt or more)
- Medium stove top pot with lid (5 qt or more)
- Skillet - medium size (non
- Steamer basket
- Immersion blender or high speed blender
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Veggie peeler
- Kitchen knife
- Large strainer or colander
- Cutting board
- Long handled spoon (for stirring)
FAQ's
Is cream of broccoli potato soup vegan?
Not always. In fact, most traditional cream soups, including cream of broccoli or potato, contain dairy products like milk and butter. This recipe is 100% vegan.
Can I use almond milk instead of dairy milk in this soup?
Yes, absolutely! You can use most nut milks or plant-based milks. I suggest using almond, oat, cashew, soy or rice milk. Avoid sweetened, coconut or any flavored milk that might overpower the taste of this soup.
How do you thicken cream soups?
Some recipes use equal parts butter and flour to create a paste known as a 'roux', which thickens the soup as it is heated and stirred. In this recipe, we use potatoes and broccoli that are puréed with an immersion blender, creating a thick creamy consistency.
How should I store vegan cream of broccoli potato soup?
Leftover soup should be stored refrigerated in an air tight container up to three days or frozen in freezer-proof containers up to 3 months. Thaw in a refrigerator before re-heating. Soup can be microwaved in a microwave-safe container or re-heated in a saucepan on a stovetop over low heat. Stir occasionally while re-heating.
If you love this recipe ★★★★★ please be sure to rate it below! Sharing your experience lets me know that you enjoyed it and will help other readers decide if they should give the recipe a try too. Thanks a bunch!🥕
Recipe
Broccoli Potato Soup (vegan)
Equipment
- Large stove top pot (6 qt or more)
- Medium stove top pot with lid (5 qt or more)
- Skillet - medium size
- Steamer basket
- Immersion blender or standard blender
- large strainer or colander
Ingredients
- 1 C yellow onion diced
- 1 C celery diced (reserve half)
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ C water
- 5 C potato russet - peeled and cubed (reserve 2 cups)
- 4 C broccoli small florets - reserve half
- 1 carrot peeled & cut into rounds
- 2 C almond milk or an unsweetened vegan milk of your choice - rice, soy, oat
- 1 15 oz can cannellini beans drained & rinsed
- 2 C vegetable broth
- 2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon dried dill
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon sea salt add more to taste if desired
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
Instructions
- Place onion, ½ C celery, and 3 cloves garlic into 5 qt. or larger pot.
- Place over medium heat.
- Add water, one tablespoon at a time to keep veggies from sticking.
- Continue cooking for about 5 minutes.
- Add seasonings, 3 C potatoes, 2 C broccoli, beans, non-dairy milk, and broth.
- Cover pot. Raise heat to high. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until potatoes are tender.
- Once potatoes are tender, use immersion blender to thoroughly puree soup.
- In a separate pot, steam remaining broccoli, celery and carrots until just tender, or sauté in a skillet with a small amount of water. Add additional water as needed, Don't let the veggies burn.
- Place remaining 2 C potatoes in a stove top pot. Cover with water (about 2 inches above potatoes) and place over high heat. Place lid on pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to med-high and simmer for 7 - 10 minutes until they can be easily pierced with the end of a knife. Remove from heat and drain.
- Add remaining broccoli, celery, carrots and potatoes to soup. Continue heating on low for an additional 5-10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
These are estimated values generated from a nutritional database using unbranded products. Please do your own research with the products you're using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.
Love this site? 💚 Add us as a preferred source on Google ↓
Lori says
Anyway to make this in a slow cooker for those of us who are cooking challenged and down right lazy? I love food. Hate to cook. Trying to be healthy and eat non processed. hmmmm... I need to be rich and hire someone. lol
Connie Edwards McGaughy says
Haha Lori, I know, wouldn't it be fantastic to have a personal cook? I think you may be able to do the first step of this recipe in a slow cooker (the ingredients that will be blended together). For the second step (cooking the add-in veggies) you could steam the carrots, celery and broccoli together in the same pot. The potatoes would still need to boil separately. Hope that helps!
Kathy says
It sounds delicious. Do you have an Instant Pot version?
Connie Edwards McGaughy says
Hi Kathy! Full disclosure - I have owned an Instant Pot for a couple years, but have yet to take it out of the box.😂 I know, I'm a dinosaur!🦕 The veggies in this recipe are cooked in a few different batches, and I'm not sure what the proper method would be to achieve the same result with an Instant Pot. I would love it if an experienced IP user could figure it out and share it with the rest of us! (wink wink!)
Connie Edwards McGaughy says
My favorite soup of the year. This thick & creamy soup is chock full of fresh veggies & fabulous flavor.
Kathryn says
I made this soup today.. I’m so proud of myself because it came out delicious!!!
Thank you so much for this delicious soup recipe!
I will definitely be making it again!!!!
Connie Edwards McGaughy says
Yay Kathryn! I'm proud of you too and so happy you love the soup! It's been my favorite dish during the pandemic. Honestly, I could have it every week. Thanks for sharing!💚🥕
Kathleen todd says
Why is the sodium so high
Connie Edwards McGaughy says
Kathleen - holy moly I'm so glad you caught that! I've no idea why the software calculated it so high. I fact checked the sodium in one tsp of salt, which is 2,325 mg. The recipe specified 2 tsp, so with 8 servings, the total sodium from salt should have 581.25 mg per serving.This gave me an opportunity to rethink the quantity of salt in the recipe, which I decided to cut in half. As my mother always said, you can add more if needed, but you can't take it out once it's in the soup. Thank you so much for calling it to my attention! 💚🥕
Alison says
Yum! Connie, this looks soooo delicious and your photos are beautiful!! I love broccoli soup and.its SO great to find one that has no "cheese"! I mean dont, get me wrong I love a good vegan " "cheese" but where theres broccoli theres always "cheese"!! So its refreshing to find one that is creamy, chunky and cheezeless! And not to mention low cal!!
its a win win recipe! I can't wait to try it. I do have a question though. Could I do this in the slowcooker? or pressure cooker? Thanks so much!!
Connie Edwards McGaughy says
Hi Alison! Oh I'm so glad you find this recipe to be appealing! One of the things I love so much about it is the ingredients don't compete with each other in flavor. All of the veggies & herbs shine through quite harmoniously. I know what you mean about broccoli & cheese. I'll admit, I do enjoy a nice rich cheddary cheese sauce with broccoli, but not in this soup. It's perfectly wonderful just as it is. I have not attempted to make it in either a slow cooker or pressure cooker, but I can imagine it would be doable. I cook the veggies in four separate batches, since I like to add diced celery, carrots, broccoli & diced potato to the creamed soup. It adds great texture, color and flavor from the individual veggies. You might need to prepare those separately from the slow-cooked or pressure-cooked ingredients, or perhaps, if you want an entirely creamed soup, you could cook and puree everything together. Love to hear if you give it a go. Thanks a bunch & happy cooking!🥕