Besides being incredibly delicious, potatoes are actually good for you – it’s often the toppings that add unnecessary sodium and saturated fat to your meal.
Potatoes contain fiber, potassium, iron, and calcium, plus vitamins C and B6. You can easily make adjustments for baked potato toppings to help boost the health value by switching sour cream for Greek yogurt and adding a few more veggies instead of piling on the cheese.
Vegan Cheesy Broccoli Soup Recipe
5
servings30
minutes20
minutesIngredients
- For the creamy vegan cheese sauce:
- 1 cup
russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- ¼ cup
carrots, diced
Water to cover veggies
- ½ cup
raw cashews, unsoaked (or ½ cup white beans, cooked)
- 4 Tbsp.
nutritional yeast
- 1 Tbsp.
lemon juice
- 1 tsp.
salt
- ½ tsp.
garlic powder
- 1 pinch
paprika
- 1 pinch
cayenne (optional)
- For the soup:
- ¾ cup
onions, sliced
- 2 cloves
garlic, diced
- 3 cups
water, divided
- 4 cups
broccoli florets, fresh or frozen
- ½ cup
carrots, diced
- ½ cup
broth, reserved from cheese sauce
- 1 tsp.
Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp.
chili powder
- ½ tsp.
salt
- ½ tsp.
pepper
Directions
- For the creamy vegan cheese sauce:
In a medium pot, boil potatoes, carrots, and onions in a pot with enough water to cover well and allow to cook until veggies are tender, approximately 15 minutes (cooking time varies based on how small the veggies are diced).
When veggies are tender, drain and reserve the broth.
Place veggies in a blender along with 1 cup of reserved broth.
Add all the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth, leaving the sauce in the blender.
Reserve remaining broth for soup.
- For the soup:
In a large stockpot, sauté onions and garlic in about 3 Tbsp. water until slightly browned.
Add 2½ cups water, broccoli florets, and carrots. Cover and cook on medium heat until slightly tender, but still bright green.
Remove from heat and add half of the veggies to the blender with the cheese sauce and an additional ½ cup of broth. Blend for one minute or less.
Pour blender mixture into the pot with the other half of the cooked veggies.
Add almond milk, remaining water, Dijon mustard, chili powder, salt, and pepper.
Place back on low heat and cook approximately 10 minutes.
Remove and serve in a bowl or hollowed out crusty bread.
“I think potatoes get a bad rap! One medium potato is only around 150 calories, high in fiber, full of vitamins and minerals, and contains more than enough protein. I like to make ‘cheesy’ sauce with my russet potatoes and then use that sauce to make a creamy, delicious, (and shall I dare say ‘healthy’) broccoli soup! That same ‘cheesy’ sauce can also be used on nachos and pizza, as well as in a variety of casseroles.”
