You can serve it as a quick lunch or a healthy dinner. We blend in white beans to make it creamy, fulfilling, and protein-rich. Uh, and you can easily upgrade it to a complete meal by serving it with milky burrata, homemade chili oil, and a slice of crusty bread. The eternal question, however, is how to add protein to veggie-packed meals while reducing meat consumption. In this broccoli soup, we add white beans. When blended, the white beans add a respectable amount of wholesome plant protein. Also, their neutral flavor softens that of the broccoli, and their tender texture makes the soup ultra-creamy – based on our tests, they are more effective than heavy cream and butter. However, for those of you that need more substance and oomph (like me, Nico, after a long play date with Kiki the cat), we recommend adding a third of a burrata per portion and drizzle with our 5-minute flavored oil with garlic and chili. Honestly, we’ve never had such a delicious, creamy, and, most importantly, fulfilling broccoli soup. For our vegan readers, fear not! The base recipe for broccoli soup is vegan, and you can easily keep it so by topping it with non-dairy burrata or non-dairy feta or by omitting the cheese all at once.
Broccoli
We recommend using fresh broccoli. You can use the whole head, including the broccoli florets, broccoli stems, and leaves. Frozen broccoli works, too; however, in our tests, the soup turned out a little more watery with frozen broccoli.
Leek
Leek and broccoli are great together. You can substitute onions or shallots for leek.
Garlic
Fresh garlic is best.
Olive oil
We cook the leek in extra virgin olive oil. Substitute butter, non-dairy butter, or another vegetable oil for olive oil.
White beans
White beans are excellent for creaminess, texture, nutrition, and protein. They also soften the flavor of the broccoli, which is nice. You can use any canned white beans, such as lima or butter beans, cannellini beans, and great northern beans. Here, we used lima beans. You can substitute 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped, or 3/4 cup of heavy cream for the white beans.
Thyme
You can use fresh or dried thyme. Substitute fresh or dried oregano or an Italian herb mix for thyme.
Vegetable broth
Cook the vegetables in vegetable broth. You can choose a reduced-sodium or regular broth, but in this case, add less salt to the soup.
Salt and pepper
Season with sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Toppings (optional)
We like to top this broccoli soup with burrata and a flavored oil you can make in 5 minutes with olive oil, garlic, chilies, and bay leaves. Burrata is a southern-Italian cheese which is basically the fusion of mozzarella and cream. Substitute Greek yogurt, grated cheese like cheddar or parmesan, or non-dairy cheese for burrata. Cut the leek in half lengthwise, rinse the layers under tap water to remove dirt, and chop it. Add it to a Dutch oven with the olive oil. Sauté on medium heat for 5 minutes until the leek is shiny and tender. Stir occasionally. Add pressed garlic and sauté one more minute. In the meantime, rinse and chop the broccoli into pieces, including the stem and leaves. Add chopped broccoli, white beans, thyme, salt, and black pepper to the pot. Cook the veggies on medium heat for two minutes. Stir often. Add the vegetable broth and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the broccoli is fork tender. Stir occasionally. Tip: To speed up cooking, cover the pot with a lid; however, remember to stir occasionally. Blend the veggies until you reach your desired texture and consistency. You can use an immersion blender or a regular blender. If you like your soup thinner, add more vegetable broth. Taste and adjust for salt before serving. Tip: We recommend an immersion blender with a metal head since the soup is hot.
Serving suggestions
Upgrade this creamy broccoli soup to a main course by serving it with 1/3 to 1/2 burrata per portion, drizzled with chili oil or flavored oil (tadka), and a side of crusty bread. It’s also delicious with homemade croutons or air-fried croutons, roasted chickpeas, crostini, bruschetta, and no-knead focaccia. Freezer: You can freeze broccoli soup for up to 3 months. Let it cool completely, then transfer it to a freezer-friendly container and freeze it. Thaw: Defrost in the refrigerator over a few hours or in the microwave.
Similar recipes
SOUPS: Some of our readers’ favorite soups are cauliflower soup, potato leek soup, lentil soup, lentil vegetable soup, Turkish lentil soup, Moroccan lentil soup, and chickpea soup. For more delicious soup ideas, check out our compilation of 20+ vegetarian soup recipes. BROCCOLI: Here are some of our easy broccoli recipes with big flavors. Try our creamy broccoli salad, broccoli pasta, roasted broccoli and carrots, and broccoli cauliflower salad.
45 Easy Vegetarian Dinner Recipes
Healthy Soup Recipes
45 Easy Pasta Recipes
35 Plant-based Recipes
