My first real job when I was 16 years old was working as a cashier at Panera Bread. Through my time working there, I certainly ate my fair share of soup, salads and sandwiches. Being a teenager with not a care in the world, I didn't give any thought to the ingredients or nutritional content of the food I ate.
Now that I am more health conscious and knowledgeable about different ingredients, I figured it was worth a try to recreate my favorite soup from my high school days working at Panera…broccoli cheese soup!
Here is my healthy, plant-based, and even more delicious broccoli cheese soup. My version gets its creaminess from pureed potato. I use baby yellow potatoes because they cook pretty fast and their color lends to the finished product looking like a cheese base soup.
Creamy, savory, comforting and nourishing, this soup is the perfect meal for a cold winter's night.
YIELDS
4 servings
PREP TIME
COOK TIME
TOTAL TIME
- 6 cups water
- 3 cups broccoli
- 2 cups baby yellow potatoes
- 1/2 small onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 1/2 vegetable bullion cubes
- 3/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
Directions
1. In a large pot, heat the coconut oil and saute the onion and garlic until fragrant.
2. Cut the potatoes into uniformly sized cubes and add into the pot with the water, bullion and potatoes. Gently boil until potatoes are fork tender.
3. Add the soup in batches to your blender and blend until smooth (note: if your blender does not have a vented lid designed for hot liquids, you will have to let it cool before blending it. If you don't then it will explode all over your kitchen!)
4. Pour back into the soup pot, whisk in the nutritional yeast and turmeric and squeeze in the lemon.
5. Add in the broccoli and simmer on low until broccoli is to your desired level of tenderness. I did about 20 min.
Also by Kathryn: Cranberry Brownies
Pesto Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Tomatoes
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Photo: Matt Ordeshook
Pesto Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Tomatoes
Get more like this--Subscribe to our daily inspirational newsletter for exclusive content!
