Creamy Vegan Broccoli Chowder with Garlic Croutons

Broccoli’s fresh, earthy notes are especially tasty in rich, creamy dishes like this comforting vegan soup with a blended broccoli, potato, and white bean base plus tender broccoli florets for a chowder effect. Crisp, flavorful croutons are the perfect topper. If you don’t have an immersion blender, blend the soup in batches in a regular blender until smooth.

By Nancy Macklin, RDN,

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon tahini
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 slices whole wheat bread
  • 1 onion, chopped (1 cup)
  • ½ cup chopped celery
  • 4 cups unsweetened, unflavored plant-based milk, plus more for drizzling
  • 4 cups chopped fresh broccoli
  • 3 cups coarsely chopped peeled potatoes
  • 1 15-oz. can no-salt-added cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
  • ½ teaspoon dried dill weed, crushed
  • ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

  • Make Garlic Croutons: Preheat oven to 375°F. In a medium bowl combine 1 Tbsp. tahini and 1 clove of the minced garlic. Cut bread into ½-inch cubes. Add to tahini mixture; toss to coat. Place on a baking sheet. Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until crisp and lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
  • In a large pot cook onion, celery, and the remaining garlic over medium 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding water, 1 to 2 Tbsp. at a time, as needed to prevent sticking. Add milk, 2 cups of the broccoli, the potatoes, beans, dill, and paprika. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes are very tender.
  • Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until it is mostly smooth. Add remaining broccoli and cook 4 to 5 minutes or until broccoli is tender. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle each serving with additional milk, if desired, and top with Garlic Croutons.

Comments (56)

(5 from 30 votes)

Recipe Rating

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Amy DeNoble

Delicious and satisfying! I used two cans of coconut milk, 1 cup of veggie broth to thin it a little, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, 3 tbsp. nutritional yeast, russet potatoes and organic broccoli. I also doubled the spice amount.

Liz Goodgold

I loved my version! I skipped the potatoes and used the white beans plus added fresh tarragon and nutritional yeast. My hubby and I were ready to eat it right out of the Vitamix it was that good.

Meredith

Quite tasty! Used 1 large sweet potato instead of white potatoes, doubled size of the batch (2lb Costco bag of fresh broccoli), and used extra spices (approx 2tsp smoked paprika and 1.5 tsp dill, 1.5 TBSP salt) as recommended in other comments. Cooked all ingredients except plant milk in my 8 qt Instant Pot for 8 minutes with quick release (note: I believe a healthy doubling as I did would be too much for a 6 qt IP). Used 3 cups water for pressure cooking and added 4 cups of plant milk after, consistency of soup was perfect and flavor was excellent. Using immersion blender to puree took soup to another level. Don't be afraid to give this a try!

Amanda Dry

We love this recipe because it gets my family to eat Broccoli. To everyone complaining about flavor what makes it for me is a healthy helping of vegan cheese on top. I agree also with adding lots of the spices and if you can use fresh rather than dried dill. Nutritional yeast and Mustard are also great additions per other comments. But seriously just add your favorite vegan Cheddar or Parmesan.

Kel Virgilio

This is delicious! Absolutely love!

Alicia Brown

We did not like this recipe very much at all. I followed it exactly. I can usually add salt or something to make it so that we like it but I could not do that to this recipe.

Jessie Sue

This recipe was fantastic. I don't have an immersion blender and used an electric mixer. I like chunks so I made sure to leave some in. I read the comments afterwards and I find it interesting that people follow recipes religiously. They are just a guide. If you like more garlic, add more. I also used kosher salt and we didn't buy celery and substituted for fennel. It turned out so well that even my 3 year old enjoyed it. I find that most recipes in general are light on the seasonings. Part of being PBWF is also understanding that your expectations should change with the taste. It's not going to be like food with meat and dairy. Definitely would like to try a vegan cheese or nutritional yeast next time.

Lana Jones

I like a lot of FOK recipes, but not this one. It is really bland. I read the reviews and doubled the seasonings, added mustard and even added quite a bit of hot sauce and harissa seasoning at the end to try to save it. We ate it, and might use leftovers as a topping for a baked potato with a lot of other toppings, but I won't make this one again.

Laurie

Made last night for supper. It came together pretty easily. Made per recipe, except opted for a chunkier soup and did not blend at all. Will try several of suggestions for more flavor and veggie broth to thin slightly. Overall good soup, just need to adjust seasonings for household tastes. :)

Lynn

This is soooo gooood! It will be on my menu pretty regularly.

Carolyn Bair

Love this one! Healthy comfort food.

Debra

This recipe looks great! But any ideas for something other than dill? I don't like dill ...at ALL! Thanks for any suggestions :)

Pennie

Love this soup! Have made it several times and is a favorite. Great taste. I feel good eating this soup knowing it is heart healthy! Thanks FOK for sharing this recipe.

Francine

Great soup and easy to make!

badewitt

We love this! It's on our rotation of fav recipes. We thin it out when having as leftovers and my spouse adds more smoked paprika.

Donna

Excellent! Made this in my IP - delicious! Used the suggestion to add cashew cream and nutritional yeast. My husband cannot tolerate hot things so I added hot sauce to my bowl. O.M.G. Will definitely make it again! Thanks for the recipe!

Sandy

Donna, I’m getting used to trying to convert recipes to the IP, how did you convert this one. Thanks!

Erin Contour

Definitely read the comments and adjust the soup... the recipe is fairly bland and the extra spices help. I accidentally used 4 cloves in making the croutons and that bite that resulted I found pleasant but I love garlic. I did find I needed to water down the tahini-garlic blend to get it to coat the bread evenly. I used a bit of vegetable broth. I also topped the soup with a swirl of cashew sour cream, cracked pepper with the croutons. Definitely want the soup chunkier, so doing as others recommend and holding back more chunks (including potato) is a great idea.

Joy

What type of milk is best to use…almond, coconut, oat??

Maria

I find for cooking soy is the best, failing that I use oat milk.

Erin Contour

I find soy flavors dishes more than I like so I go to something even more neutral. It's fine in a lot of things and particularly good with baked goods. This is absolutely personal preference because the consistency of soy is perfect with soup. I'd go to a nut milk (TJs has a mixed nut milk that is quite good for things like this) or oat (TJs is way too watery, find another brand) which is closest to dairy milk in espresso drinks and such. Coconut is like soy, there is a touch of flavor there that you have to decide whether or not it works with the dish. Rice milk is very watery often... I haven't found a good use for that one yet or perhaps a good brand. I always have another type of non-dairy milk that I preferred. Side note - It is SUPER easy to make your own cashew milk and that is quite nice in a lot of things. It's the one nut milk you really don't have to strain. The nuts blend up very creamy and you just adjust the water for desired consistency. The flavor of homemade non-dairy milks makes them worthwhile, but some take a bit more effort.

Margaret

Comforting and satisfying. Clever, nutritious and tasty. The right consistency. Everything you want in a soup. Didn’t change a thing. It’s so easy to be healthy and eat less/no animal products with smart recipes like this one.

Sara Rasiwala

Looking forward to make this soup . It sounds delicious.

Carolina

Loved the soup. Added nutricional yeast and some vegetable broth to thin it out a bit ( I added to many potatoes) Also added a dash of powdered mustard. Got to the end and realized I had no beans! Turned out great anyway. Also made the forks over knives cornbread as a side dish. Would repeat.

Karma Howell

Just finished making this. I took some of the advice of other reviewers by doubling on the spices and also by removing some of the cooked broccoli, potatoes and beans before blending with immersion blender and then added them back so that there were some chunks of those floating in the soup. Turned out delicious!!!

Jody K.

Very yummy soup!! I had extra creamy oak milk on hand and followed the recipe except for adding 1/4 cup nutritional yeast for a touch of cheesy-chowder feel. I think more could be added next time. I Will make it again - thank you for sharing! ;)

Laura

Ugh. This sounded so promising. I love broccoli so figured this would be really good. But... --As with most FOK recipes, this involves several knives, cutting boards, utensils, colander... . And also as is most true for most of these recipes, until I jazzed it up, it tasted pretty much like broccoli-flavored milk. SO...I recommend quadrupling the seasonings and NOT pureeing it all. It would be much better with some chunks of potatoes and whole beans left in the soup. Also, if you don't have an immersion blender, and use your blender-blender instead, be very careful so that it doesn't shoot out the top all over your kitchen. Wouldn't a broiled chicken breast and some steamed broccoli be just as good for me?

Ann W.

Dear Laura. I don't know what kind of food would be just as 'good for you' but I'm sorry you didn't enjoy this recipe nor do you know how to adapt it to your preferences. I appreciate FOK doing its best to share plant-based recipes for us to review and select from. I really enjoyed this recipe, as I love plant-based chowders. I wish you better luck in selecting recipes that suit your palette in the future. Take care. Sincerely, a FOK Fan

Jeff

Chicken breast is one of the least healthy animal products. It sure has been pounded into us that it is healthy, but lead was once considered an essential trace mineral. 9 out of 10 doctors smoke Camels. Etc. Industries have a bottom line to take care of first. Sorry the recipe wasn't doing it for ya! Good ideas to make it more successful! https://nutritionfacts.org/?s=poultry

Elizabeth A. Stauber

Looks terrific!

Jeff

Going to share an anti-cancer tidbit to enhance this wonderful recipe! To activate the cancer-fighting sulforaphane lost in broccoli cooking, you can do two things: -- Chop up the broccoli ahead of time and let it sit for at least 45mins. or -- Add a dash of mustard powder at the end. Since mustard seed is in the cruciferous family with broccoli, it'll have some of the same catalyzing goodness in it. Cruciferous veggies for the win!

Jane

Wow that’s a great tip. Thanks

Bobbi

❤ Dr. Gregor!

Linda Hobkirk

This soup was absolute delicious! I made a single batch to try it out. My husband and I loved it….will be making another (double) batch tomorrow!

Kim

I’m trying to keep it low carb. Do you think I can sub out the potatoes for cauliflower or would it change the texture too much since I know potatoes tend to thicken soups. Also can all the vegetables be frozen? Thanks!

Jeff

Sub purple potatoes! Same starch but rich source of antioxidants to buffer the oxidative stress you'd otherwise get from a white flesh potato; plus the fiber from the beans will act to buffer the glycemic load you'd get from the carbs.

elaine

will frozen broccoli flowerettes be ok in this recipe?

Lynn

I think that it would be fine. I’ll reduce potato. Soup and add cauliflower.

Kama Yantha

The texture is beautiful. I added white kidney beans. However, it was incredibly bland. Needs lots of salt and pepper. Perhaps I will research what herbs and spices can be added to improve the flavour. It is a keeper recipe!

Shannon Emond

Try a little crushed red pepper!

Jeff

Nutritional yeast has a wonderful salty cheesiness and a heavy dash of dulse would add saltiness and a good source of iodine without the oxidative stress of salt.

Rachel Beauregard

Glad you said it. I hardly ever use salt in any recipes and I think I added a tablespoon to this and a lot of pepper, plus fresh dill. I also added some vegetable broth because it was thick as oatmeal. Once it was doctored up I liked it! I air fried some tofu instead of using croutons for extra protein!

Colleen

Soups like this are awesome. I love making soups. Especially now with the cooler weather. This one is my absolute favorite.

Minette Dilworth

I have your book and frequently make these healthy recipes. In fact I have had this book for many years and still love the recipes,

olivia

love this recipe. Am making it with cauliflower instead of broccolli tonight and adding in curry powder.

Michele

I absolutely LOVE this soup! I took some of the above suggestions and added extra dill, sea salt, and pepper. I also added a dash of dry mustard, some celery seed, 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, and a dash of cardamom. I held out some cooked broccoli and chopped it in instead of pureeing all of it. Soooo good! Also, I made mine in the instant pot. I put all of the ingredients except the milk into the pot with one cup water, cooked on high pressure for 8 minutes with a quick release, added the almond milk last and then blended with an immersion blender. Perfection! And couldn’t be easier!

Sarah

I made this soup a couple times recently after getting 5 wisdom teeth extracted. It is delicious and fulfilling. Super flavorful and quite a thick soup. This stuff was a life saver while I was healing and it was really good so I’m adding to my regular rotation now.

Tris Savoy

This is honestly one of the best vegan broccoli soups I’ve had. It satisfies my cravings and the croutons add the finishing touches. It should be noted that I am not super picky with food, but I do like flavored food. I always add extra black pepper and extra garlic. Sometimes I add some corriandor seasoning. Every now and the a few pinches of salt depending on my mood and that of my fiancé. My fiancé admits to being disappointed due to the lack of flavoring but it is because he is expecting a broccoli cheddar soup (which of course you will not find). Best advice is not to expect that, otherwise you’ll be disappointed. I present this as a potato soup with broccoli instead of broccoli soup to help others who eat it keep an okay pen mind. Salt shaker on the table for those that would prefer to add. I personally enjoy this soup. :D

Paula Burden

Excellent

Jonah

First time making chowder, absolutely delicious ! Family loved it! Great for a cool day.

Anna King

I’ve just made this - and it is delicious! I thought I had cannellini beans but I didn’t: black-eyed beans it is.

Gicela

This soup looks so yummy and I can't wait to try it! Does this soup freeze well?

Noemi

This is delicious! Make extra croutons.

Gloria mackenzie

Delicious, also topped a baked potato with it. Yummy.

Alison

Love this soup! Can it be frozen?

Olivia

Delicious! It's now a family fav!

About the Author

Headshot of Nancy Macklin

About the Author

Nancy Macklin, RDN

Nancy Macklin has a bachelor of science in dietetics from Iowa State University and a Master of Science in health services administration from the University of Saint Francis. Macklin worked as a hospital-based clinical dietitian, providing counseling for diabetes, heart disease, and weight loss and as a food service director in health care dining sites. She now serves as a test kitchen dietitian, developing 500+ recipes per year. She is a member of the Academy for Nutrition and Dietetics and International Association of Culinary Professionals. Find her on LinkedIn.
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