Cheesy Vegan Broccoli Soup with Poblano
Savory, creamy, fresh, and green it’s vegan broccoli soup with a twist- poblano and thyme style! This flavorful soup will knock the socks off any broccoli cheddar you’ve had in the past, and it’s really not hard to make! Just a little prep, some time in a pot, and switch it over to a blender. In under 30 minutes, soup is served!
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Like Vegan Broccoli Cheddar, with a Twist
Back in my vegetarian days, I used to sometimes really enjoy getting the broccoli cheddar soup from Panera, in a bread bowl, of course. This was before the days of actually labeling things correctly though, because for those of you who are not aware, their broccoli cheddar soup isn’t vegetarian. Their soup contains a chicken stock. Chicken stock is hiding in all sorts of seemingly innocent soups. It kills me. I’ve even seen dishes on a menu marked as “vegetarian soup”, and when I asked been told that it has a chicken base. But I digress- even if Panera didn’t use a chicken stock, their broccoli cheddar soup wouldn’t be vegan, because cheddar. It’s in the name. But when has that stopped vegans before? I decided to make a broccoli cheddar soup vegan, and better than regular old broccoli cheddar. Because this soup has the added flavor elements of roasted poblanos and fresh thyme. I mean, yeah, broccoli’s great, but add to it the smoky, subtle spice of a poblano, and the fresh, bright flavor of fresh thyme, and you’ve got a much more elevated soup bubbling away. For our creamy and cheesy elements, we grabbed a few different tricks vegans have been using for years. Nutritional yeast, miso paste, and apple cider vinegar to add a little cheesy flavor, and some cashews to give a creamier texture. That being said, this is a broccoli-first soup, with the cheese elements acting as a supporting player.
Looking for Creamy, Smooth Soups? Try one of these!
- Fresh Tomato Soup with Crispy Garlic Toasts
- Creamy Roasted Romaine Soup (Vegan)
- Kabocha Squash Soup with Sunflower Seed Cream
- Roasted Carrot, Garlic and Rosemary Soup
- Tomato Rhubarb Soup- Savory Vegan Rhubarb Recipe
- Watercress Chestnut Soup
How to Make Creamy Vegan Broccoli Soup
Soup is one of the easiest things to make, which is why I always find it baffling when restaurants get theirs frozen. The basic formula is throw a bunch of stuff in a pot, blend or don’t blend, and it’s dinner time. Okay, it’s not quite that simple, but it’s not very complicated either. Start by boiling some cashews, to soften them. A little hack- sometimes I soften my cashews ahead of time, by boiling them and then transferring them to the freezer so they’re on hand when needed. You also want to pre-cook your poblano a little. Use the broiler of your oven to get a really good char on the skin, turning them a quarter turn until all sides are lightly blackened. You can also do this directly on a gas stove top, if you’re fancier than me and have one. Once the skins are charred, wrap them in a clean dish cloth for a few minutes to sweat the peppers. From there, it should be easy to remove the thin, blackened skins from the pepper. Chop your peppers, onions, garlic, and broccoli, and most of the work is done. You’re going to need to cook the vegetables in the broth (it doesn’t take long at all), and then stick it all in a blender and blend. If you have a smaller blender, make sure to blend in batches. And defiantly make sure to cover well. You don’t want this hot soup spraying out and burning you.
Cheesy Vegan Broccoli Soup with Poblano
Ingredients
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 1 poblano pepper
- 1 small onion
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- ¾ lb. broccoli
- ¼ tsp. chili powder
- ¼ tsp. nutmeg
- Oil, for cooking
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 4 tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp. miso paste
- 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp. fresh thyme (or ½ tsp. dried), plus more to garnish
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place the cashews in a small saucepan, and fill with water. Boil the cashews for at least 10 minutes, before removing them from the stove and draining the water. Set aside.
- Cook your poblano pepper by turning your broiler on high, and placing the pepper directly on the rack. When you start to smell a little charring, turn your pepper a quarter turn. Repeat, until all four sides have charred. Take from the oven and place in a clean dishcloth, covering it and allowing it to steam for about 5 minutes or longer. Peel off the charred skin, remove the stem and seeds, roughly chop, and set aside.
- Diced your onion, roughly mince your garlic, and chop the broccoli (stems and all) into small pieces. Heat some oil in a pot, and add the garlic and onions on medium heat, sautéing until the onions soften a little. Add the chili powder, and nutmeg, stir, and add the broccoli and poblano peppers. Stir to coat the broccoli in the oil and spices, and add the vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until the broccoli is easily pierced with a fork.
- Transfer the soup to a blender, along with the softened cashews, nutritional yeast, miso, apple cider vinegar, and thyme. Blend until smooth, using caution as the liquid is very hot. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.
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