Creamy Broccoli Soup {Dairy- Free}
With the temps dipping back into the single digits after three days of snow, a soft sumptuous soup like creamy broccoli soup is just what I need. There’s something uniquely wonderful about a soup that’s creamy, hearty and totally good for you. I can indulge and still keep my new year’s healthy eating resolutions. There’s so much great nutrition starting in the base of this soup thanks to the traditional mirepoix trifecta of celery, carrot, and onion plus a little garlic for good measure. This vegetable base creates a subtle variety of flavors without being heavy.
This creamy soup isn’t cream based or made with any dairy, however. Instead, I’ve added potatoes and then pureed the soup base so it gets a smooth creamy texture. You can also substitute white beans in place of the potatoes (pictured below). Using vegetable broth as the liquid makes it suitable for vegans as well. Another thing that I love about this dairy-free creamy broccoli soup is that it also uses the stem of the broccoli for a no-waste, budget friendly meal. The stems also add a more complex well-rounded wonderful flavor that even had my five-year old asking for seconds. If you do enjoy a bit of dairy, this soup is lovely topped with a bit of shredded cheddar too!
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 2-3 celery stalks, diced
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 potatoes, peeled and diced (or use 2 cans of white beans)
- 2 small heads of broccoli, stems finely diced, florets roughly chopped and set aside
- 4 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon marjoram
- ½ teaspoon pink himalayan salt or to taste (this will depend on how salty your broth it and your taste preference)
- In a large stockpot, sauté the onion, carrot, celery, broccoli stems and garlic in the olive oil until the onion begins to become translucent. About 10 minutes.
- Add potatoes, broth, water and spices to the pot and boil until broccoli stems are tender. About 20-30 minutes. Note: if using beans instead of potatoes, do not add them yet.
- Puree the soup base with an immersion blender or pour into a blender (carefully) to puree and then transfer back to the stockpot. Note: if using beans, puree 1 can of the beans and then add the other can whole.
- Add broccoli florets and simmer with the lid on (this gets thick and bubbly) for about 8-10 minutes until florets are tender.
- Serve hot, with cheese if desired.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2017
This looks yummy – excited to try the next time I’m making soup I have a simple clean eating cream of broccoli soup recipe (without cream of course!) that I like to make, but this one is different, with a lot more spice and seasoning, so looking forward to trying for variety. The idea of white beans in place of the potato is interesting too – will have to give that a try!
Thanks ~ I hope you enjoy!
Will come back and let you know how it turned out after I’ve given it a try 🙂
Hi Again Kari, had some time to give this a try last night and thought it was lovely. The texture and consistency, especially, was fantastic. Deviated a little and used one can of white beans and one potato (as I was concerned that the beans might otherwise end up overwhelming) and was really happy with the result. Next time I will try it with 2 cans of beans. It passed the husband test, so its a keeper 🙂
Hi!! Thanks for the report! Glad you liked it 🙂 I like it both ways.. never tried it half beans and half potato like that so now I just might have to!
Is the sodium content in your recipes listed in grams not mg correct
Hi Susan! The sodium content is in mg listed after the word Sodium so it’s 461mg per serving as the recipe is written. You can reduce that by omitting the extra salt to be about 270mg per each serving based on 4 servings.