Broccoli Cheese Soup (Paleo, AIP, Whole30, Vegan Option)
This broccoli cheese soup tastes like the real thing without the cheese! It’s paleo, AIP, dairy-free, whole30, and can be made vegan as well.
What is Broccoli Cheese Soup?
Broccoli cheese soups is a creamy soup made with a thick broth thickened with flour, lots of broccoli, carrots, heavy cream, and cheese. It’s creamy, delicious, and perfect cool weather comfort food! Since the cheese is a pretty central component to broccoli cheese soup, it seems like one of those recipes that you’d never be able to adapt to make dairy-free.. think again!
This broccoli cheese soup is made without any dairy, but still tastes just as cheesy and creamy! It’s paleo, whole30, AIP, and can even be made vegan.
The Ingredients for Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Broth & coconut cream. Coconut cream makes this soup creamy!
- Arrowroot starch. This is a thickener for the broth. You can also try to use tapioca.
- Butternut squash. This isn’t a traditional ingredient for this soup, but it gives this soup the cheesy color, and a velvety broth base.
- Onions, garlic, shredded carrots, and broccoli.
- Nutritional yeast. This is the cheese flavor for the soup.
- Bacon. This is optional, but it really ties it all together.
How to make Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Cook the soup base: Using a medium pot or dutch oven, heat the avocado oil over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add the butternut squash and saute for 3-4 minutes to lightly soften. Pour in the broth and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce to a medium-low simmer. Simmer for 12-15 minutes or until the butternut squash is soft. Allow to cool slightly before blending with an immersion blender until smooth (alternatively, you can blend in a blender and return to the pot).
- Add the broccoli: After the soup base is blended, add the broccoli, carrot, salt, and pepper. Stir well to combine and return to a medium simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the broccoli is soft.
- Make it creamy & serve: Stir in the coconut cream, nutritional yeast, and turmeric. Stir to combine and allow to cook on low for another minute. Season further to taste. Serve in bowls topped with bacon if desired.
Can you make this soup without the nutritional yeast?
The nutritional yeast is what gives the soup it’s cheesy flavor. So, you can technically leave it out, but it won’t really taste cheesy without it.
Can you make this soup without the coconut cream?
It won’t be as creamy without it, but you can try to leave it out if you don’t tolerate it.
How do you make this soup vegan?
This soup is pretty much already vegan, so you’d only need to do the following…
- Skip the bacon. It’s really just an optional garnish.
- Use veggie broth instead of chicken broth
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Broccoli Cheese Soup (Paleo, AIP, Whole30, Vegan Option)
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This broccoli cheese soup tastes like the real thing without the cheese! It’s paleo, AIP, dairy-free, whole30, and can be made vegan as well.
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups chicken broth (sub vegetable broth)
- 2 tbsp arrowroot starch
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cup butternut squash, cubed
- 4 cups broccoli florets
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 3/4 – 1 tsp salt (season to taste)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper (omit for AIP)
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 3–4 tbsp nutritional yeast (season to taste)
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 3 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Whisk the broth and arrowroot starch together in a bowl and set aside.
- Using a medium pot or dutch oven, heat the avocado oil over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the butternut squash and saute for 3-4 minutes to lightly soften.
- Pour in the broth and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce to a medium-low simmer. Simmer for 12-15 minutes or until the butternut squash is soft. Allow to cool slightly before blending with an immersion blender until smooth (alternatively, you can blend in a blender and return to the pot).
- After the soup base is blended, add the broccoli, carrot, salt, and pepper. Stir well to combine and return to a medium simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the broccoli is soft.
- Stir in the coconut cream, nutritional yeast, and turmeric. Stir to combine and allow to cook on low for another minute. Season further to taste.
- Serve in bowls topped with bacon if desired.
Notes
All nutritional information are estimations and will vary. Estimations do not include optional ingredients.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 35
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 303
- Fat: 8.1g
- Carbohydrates: 23.1g
- Fiber: 5.3g
- Protein: 7.8g
AIP
Low Carb
Paleo
Whole30
Can you clarify exactly what coconut cream is… is it the thick part from a can of coconut milk, or an entirely different product?
Coconut cream can be bought canned or you can also use the fluffy, airy, cream that rests above the coconut milk that is canned. Personally, I refrigerate the coconut milk can then put on the counter top 10 mins before use so it has a few minutes to “defrost” for a more mousse like texture. When ready to use, I scoop the vibrant white cream from the top of the coconut milk and use that in place of outright buying coconut cream.
Coconut cream is the thick part on top of the coconut milk in a can, but you may be able to find it sold in cans of just the cream. I know my local grocer supposedly sells the Thai Kitchen coconut cream cans, but they never have it in stock. Thankfully, Sprouts never fails me, and I can always find their store brand of coconut milk and coconut cream whenever I need it.
★★★★★
This was delicious!!! I used regular coconut milk and instead of nutritional yeast I used a large spoon of organic Saur kraut to bring the tanginess of cheese without cheese 🙂 and sprinkled pumpkin seeds on top. Thank you for a great recipe.
★★★★★
Yum!! I love that idea!! Thank you for sharing!
Broccoli cheese soup is my favorite meal! Is this more like Panera or Jason’s Deli? In the past, I’ve used Califia Almond Creamer and it worked out pretty well. I am looking forward to trying this.
Very good! What would roasting the butternut squash and then pureeing do to the flavor?
★★★★
This recipe is delicious! I made things even easier on myself in order to save time and used frozen organic butternut squash and broccoli, and appreciated the results. Thank you for creating such a simple, tasty and user friendly recipe. As a nurse with a full schedule trying to make the move to AIP resources such as yours are greatly appreciated.
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Stefanie!!
Michelle, This is delicious. Thanks for your yummy recipes!
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Mary Beth!!
This was so tasty, i ate it for breakfast the next day too 🙂
★★★★★
Thank you, Kath!!
We loved this recipe. Delicious! Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
This. Is. Amazing. Really, seriously, amazing.
As a cheese addict who’s allergic to dairy, I’ve always walked into “cheesy” recipes knowing there’s no way to evoke that “real cheese” taste in my brain. This recipe totally proved me wrong, and sets the bar pretty darn high for anything else I try in the future! We ate this with bacon ranch poppers (made with turkey). It’s also absolutely delicious over a baked potato, so we’re considering finishing it off next time with baked potato cubes and calling it a loaded baked potato soup.
Honestly, it’s really delicious. In fact, I just ate a bowl for breakfast today, too. My dairy-loving best friend really enjoyed it too, and couldn’t believe there’s no dairy in it. Best of all, the coconut flavor hides well in this, so several members of my household who aren’t fans of that flavor couldn’t even tell it was there.
With that said, I did alter mine a little bit. First, I doubled the recipe, and then other changes were done on the fly just because they made sense or I was in a “why not?” kind of mood, haha. So for a doubled batch, my changes were:
8 cups broth (not 9), because I had coconut milk, not cream
6 Tbsp arrowroot, because 4 didn’t have it thick enough
olive oil (instead of avocado)
5 cups cubed butternut (not 3), just to use my whole squash
1 tsp salt, as we tend to prefer a little less overall
full-fat coconut milk (not cream), since it’s what I had on hand
6 Tbsp nutritional yeast (based on 3-4 for 1x recipe)
★★★★★
Fabulous recipe! I followed the directions as listed and it did not disappoint. This will go into my regular fall soup rotation for sure!
★★★★★
Loved it! Question about the nutritional yeast. Is it ok to consume this soup if you are having gut bacteria issues?
★★★★★
Thank you!! I would talk to your doctor to ask their opinion for your own personal use 🙂
This was really thin even with doubling the arrowroot starch. The flavor was great but next time I make it I’m going to put in a whole cubed butternut squash.
★★★★
Sooooo good! And so satisfying! The bacon is a must add!
★★★★★
Honestly this was one of the first AIP recipes I made and was a bit hesitant. However, this was one of the best soups I have ever had! I was blown away how good it was!! Thank you!
★★★★★
Is bacon EVER “optional”???
Hi, Michelle! Can I used roasted butternut squash for this?
You can try!
Yum Yum Yum! Delicious soup. I added some shredded chicken for extra protein.
Sounds delicious!!
I was thinking of adding Chicken for Protein as well…good to know it has been tested AND Approved!! Thanks
I really like this soup. The brewers yeast and coconut cream make it especially tasty. I only wish you would call it what it is, broccoli squash soup.
★★★★★
I just made this on a rainy October day, and it’s fantastic! The only change(s) I made were to use the whole Vidalia onion, which I sautéed in 2 tbsp of uncured bacon grease instead of avocado oil. Love it! Thank you!
★★★★★
This soup is so perfect on a rainy day!! So glad you enjoyed!
How well would this hold up pored into a crockpot after cooking it to keep it warm for a potluck?
Haven’t tried that but let me know if you do!
Could I leave out the carrots in this recipe? My husband is allergic
I haven’t tried it, but you can try to leave out carrots and add more broccoli instead.
Just made this tonight for dinner. LOVED it. My husband is obsessed with it even after finding out it has nooch in it instead of cheese!
★★★★★
Excellent! I skipped the arrowroot and added over 2 cups of butternut squash, and it all worked out wonderfully. The whole family really enjoyed it, thank you for the delicious recipe! I plan to make it again 🙂
★★★★★
Thank you!! So glad you all enjoyed!
10000000/10 THE best soup I’ve made so far on my AIP journey. Literally perfection.
★★★★★
Thank you so much!!
I want to make this soup, but I really want to make it in my instant pot. Could you adjust it for that purpose. Please?
I haven’t tried, but it may work! Let me know if you try!
When do you add the arrowroot starch? I keep re-reading the recipe but can’t find it. Maybe it’s just my eyes!
★★★★★
The arrowroot starch is used in the first step to whisk the broth and arrowroot starch together in a bowl and set aside.
This is pretty good! I didn’t have coconut cream, so I added full fat coconut milk. I wish I hadn’t. The base tasted great to me before I added it (I used homemade chicken bone broth). I’m sensitive to the flavor of coconut and it comes through a little too much for me with the addition. Just a heads up if anyone else is similar. Maybe try it before the coconut to see if you like it as is. Love the use of butternut and the bacon!
★★★★
I was hopeful based on all the reviews but still slightly skeptical…. But man oh man was I wrong this soup was delicious!! It taste just like broccoli CHEDDAR soup! Thank you for such an awesome recipe!
★★★★★
This is my very favorite AIP recipe! Thank you so much!
★★★★★
Thank you!!