Soup that tastes like broccoli cheddar but is actually healthy? and done in 30 minutes? AND is perfect for meatless Monday?! You've come to the right recipe. Healthy Broccoli Cauliflower Cheese Soup is a delicious soup that will warm you right up!
It's the winter months...in Kansas...we needed a healthy go-to soup and this was it! I'm also happy to report my vegetarian friends can enjoy this as well. I'll also give you some tips on making it VEGAN!
Is Broccoli Cheese Soup Healthy?
Well normally it Broccoli cheese soup is loaded with cream and cheese (which admitially are delicious) but not healthy.
I've healthified this recipe by using little trick....
The back story is I had some leftover cauliflower alfredo sauce from my Cauliflower Alfredo Chicken recipe, and I needed to use it up. So that's the base of this soup instead of using heavy cream. A delicious and healthy alternative!
Sneaking Veggies Into Soup...
Along with the Alfredo Sauce, I had TONS of other vegetables like sweet potatoes, onion, mushrooms, and broccoli that were all about to go bad.
I mixed them with this cauliflower alfredo sauce, chicken broth, and a small amount of parmesan cheese.
WOW! My whole family was impressed with the results. My two year old literally said it was "licious" aka delicious. What 2 year old says that about broccoli! cauliflower soup!?
Before stirring in the broccoli we blend the soup completely, so no one would even know they were having tons of veggies.
Meatless Monday Soup
We love this option when we are looking for something hearty but want to be conscious of our meat intake (just me, not Ryan, ha!) And a few of you had asked for more meatless options.
I have a passion for creating unique and delicious vegan recipes even though I'm not vegan? It's odd but I love it! It's great to sneak in some plant powered meals throughout the week!
I love soups, including this Broccoli Cauliflower Soup, for filling options on days you want to go plant based! Soups like my Loaded Veggie Soup, Caprese Tomato Soup, or Vegan Corn Chowder.
How To Make Broccoli Cheese Soup Vegan
So for the creamy part of this soup, I mentioned my Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce, which does contain parmesan cheese.
Simply swap in nutritional yeast and cashews for the parmesan cheese to create a vegan Alfredo Sauce and then later on in the recipe it calls for more parmesan, simply swap for nutritional yeast.
Nutritional yeast is readily available in grocery stores like Trader Joes, Kroger, and Sprouts. It's a great way to give that cheese flavor to our Broccoli Cauliflower Soup.
Broccoli Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
Cauliflower Mixture
- 1 10 oz Bag of steamable cauliflower
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese or 1/4 cup cashews + 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1.5 cups milk sub in almond milk or cashew milk for vegan
The Soup
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms
- 1 diced sweet potato
- 4 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 2 cups broccoli florets
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan or nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp ground mustard
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Instructions
Make The Cauliflower Mixture
- Steam the cauliflower in the bag and blend with parmesan (or vegan substitute), garlic, salt, pepper, milk to make the base of the soup.
Make The Soup
- In a large soup pot, add the olive oil and onion, sauce for 3-5 minutes.
- Once they become translucent, add the mushrooms, sweet potato, broth, salt, pepper, ground mustard, and cauliflower mixture.
- Bring to a boil and cook until the sweet potato becomes tender, about 10 minutes.
- Using an immersion blender or carefully using a high speed blender, blend the mixture until smooth.
- Stir in the chopped broccoli and parmesan and cook until broccoli is tender. About 5 more minutes.
- Serve!