Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup

This plant-based broccoli cheddar soup is kicking off a little bit of routine back in our lives. This creamy and flavorful recipe is just what you need to get back into the swing of weeknight dinners after a crazy summer!

This time of year I always find myself gliding back into somewhat of a normal routine. This usually means more dinners at home, normal work hours and general daily consistency. I’m not going to lie… it feels pretty nice. I always jam pack summer with as much as I possibly can so I am looking forward to slowing down for a bit.

Between vacations and out of state photo shoots, this month has been go go go! I am looking forward to cooking dinner at home (usually Mon-Thurs, if I’m good!). The problem is, Jared and I love to eat out!

We both work from home for most of the day so it’s nice to get out for a little and usually by the end of the day I have already been cooking for 8 hours so it’s nice to have a break. I do however; feel like my body is catching up with me. I’m ready to find some normalcy and start getting back on the healthy train.

This month also happens to be the start of football season, which means I’ve got to get around Jared’s cravings of wings and pizza. That man would eat pizza and wings every single night if I let him.  I’ve always been so inspired by Serena’s Dude Diet Book. I have even tossed around the idea of putting up a ‘boyfriend friendly’ recipe section on the blog because it seems like such a hot topic!

I love taking one of Jared’s standard favorites and putting a healthy spin on it. BUT, I love it even more when he doesn’t even realize it lolz. Whenever we have soup Jared’s go to is rich and creamy broccoli cheddar soup. We had it last week and I yet again tried to tell him it was filled with cream and cheese when he said ‘it’s called BROCOLLI cheddar, it’s healthy!’. One-day lolz, one day!

Sooo I gave broccoli cheddar soup a plant-based makeover. I teamed up with my pals at Alpha Foods to pair their delicious and cozy handheld chick’n veggie pot pies with a plant based broccoli cheddar soup. The actual soup is so creamy and flavorful you wouldn’t even be able to tell there isn’t cheddar in the recipe! This is a two-step recipe that involves one blended batch for the ‘cheddar’ and one for the ‘broccoli’ part of the soup.

This plant-based broccoli cheddar soup is not intimidating at all! If you have a blender and a large pot you will be golden! To make this a complete and protein packed dinner, be sure to pick up some of my fav Alpha Foods plant-based chick’n veggie handheld pot pies. The coziness of the pot pie goes so perfectly with the creamy broccoli cheddar soup! This is the perfect cozy weeknight combo for the start of fall. Also, boyfriend approved 😉

Plant-Based Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Cheese base
1 ½ Cups of diced golden Yukon potatoes
½ Cup of carrots, diced and peeled
3 Garlic cloves, minced
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
½ Teaspoon of white wine vinegar
1 Teaspoon of kosher salt
¼ Teaspoon of freshly black pepper

Broccoli base
1-2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 Yellow onion, diced
2 Celery stalks, diced
2 Cloves of garlic, minced
1 Teaspoon of fresh thyme sprigs
1 ½ Cups of diced golden Yukon potatoes
5 Cups of chopped broccoli heads, plus more for garnish
2 1/2 Tablespoons of nutritional yeast
1-2 Tablespoon of miso paste
Pinch or two of cayenne pepper
¼ Teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1 Teaspoon of kosher salt
3 Cups of vegetable broth
½ Cup of chopped green onions

In a large saucepan add golden Yukon potatoes and carrots. Fill pot with water until vegetables are just covered. Bring to a boil and cook for 10-12 minutes. Drain carrots and potatoes and add to a blender or Vitamix. Add in garlic cloves, olive oil, white wine vinegar, kosher salt, and black pepper. Blend cheese base mixture for 30-60 seconds or until smooth and creamy. Reserve ½-1/2 cup for soup garnish and set aside the rest.

In a large dutch oven heat olive oil one medium heat for 30 seconds. Add in diced onion, celery stalks, garlic and thyme sprigs. Sauté mixture for a few minutes or until the onions are translucent. To the same pot add the remaining potatoes, broccoli heads and sauté for 5 minutes. Add in nutritional yeast, miso paste, cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt and stir together. Add vegetable broth and cover pot for 15 minutes.

Add in cheese sauce and stir. Transfer the entire mixture with a ladle into large blender or Vitamix. Blend soup for 30-60 seconds or until smoothness level is achieved (I like it a little chunky but mostly smooth). Transfer soup back to Dutch oven and heat on low or serve right away. Top soup bowls with a few tablespoons of remaining cheese sauce, green onions and fresh broccoli.