Simple Vegan Broccoli Soup with White Beans

Try this vegan broccoli soup recipe with a secret ingredient - white beans! Ready in only 30 minutes and made from healthy ingredients, this vegan broccoli soup is great for a cold autumn or winter day. The white beans are a great source of plant-based protein (you can't taste them, promise!) and make this soup not only more filling, but also more creamy.

Can you eat the broccoli stems?

Yes, you totally can! For so long, I used to throw the broccoli stems away and only eat the broccoli florets. Not only does this create unnecessary food waste, you are also missing out on lots of healthy and important nutrients!

Broccoli stems tend to take longer to cook than the florets. So if you cook them for a long time, you can leave on the peel. However, if you only cook them for a short amount of time, you should remove the peel (as it is quite tough) and cut smaller pieces.

How to cook broccoli for broccoli soup

Broccoli is a great source of nutrients such as vitamin C, iron, zinc and potassium. Minerals like iron, zinc and potassium are water-soluble. This means that if we put them in water (like we do when cooking) the minerals are washed out into the water. Then, we usually throw the cooking water away and with that, all of the important minerals.

The great thing with this soup is that after cooking, we blend everything together (the broccoli and the cooking water) to make the soup. This way, the minerals don't get lost.

How to make a soup more filling

While soups can be served as a light appetizer, they are also great as a meal for lunch or dinner - especially during cold autumn or winter days. Of course, you can always serve soup with whole grain bread to make it more filling. Here are a few other ideas how to make a soup more filling:

• Add potatoes or sweet potatoes to the soup. You can either add them as cooked cubes, or blend them together with the remaining ingredients. This also makes the soup thicker and more creamy.
• Add lentils or beans. For this recipe, I used white beans because they don't change the color of the soup (only make it a little lighter) and you can barely taste them. Red lentils are also great to add to tomato soups.
• Add coconut milk. This also makes the soup very creamy. However, coconut milk is very high in fat so it should be consumed in moderation.

What do you need to make vegan broccoli soup?

To make this delicious and creamy vegan broccoli soup, you will need:

• onion and garlic: these add flavor to the soup
• broccoli: you can use the florets as well as the broccoli stems - this reduces food waste and also, you get more essential nutrients
• vegetable broth
• rosemary: we add fresh, chopped rosemary and cook it with the onion and garlic so the flavors develop really nicely
• celery stalks: this recipe is great to use up any left over green veggies you have in your fridge, like celery stalks; if you don't like celery, you can omit this ingredients; if you like, use other green(ish) veggies like zucchini or fennel instead
• cooked white beans: these make the soup a lot more filling because it adds some plant-based protein to the soup
• plant milk: to serve and make the soup more creamy

How to make vegan broccoli soup

Step 1

First, roughly chop the onion, garlic and rosemary. We will blend the soup in the end so no need for any fine chopping. Add to a large saucepan on medium-high heat and cook for a couple of minutes (with a splash of water to prevent burning).

Step 2

In the meantime, wash the celery stalks and cut into small pieces. Also, wash the broccoli and cut off the florets. Finely chop the broccoli stem.

Add the celery and broccoli to the saucepan and let cook for another 2-3 minutes. Then, add 3-4 cups of vegetable broth (so the veggies are roughly covered with liquid) and bring to a simmer.

Step 3

Let the veggies simmer for 15-20 minutes. Towards the end, add the white beans so they can heat up as well.

Step 4

Remove from the heat and blend it with a hand mixer. Alternatively, you can let it cool down and add it to a blender to blend.

Blend until smooth, adding ¼ - ½ cup of plant milk while you blend (depending on how runny/thick you want the soup to be).

Step 5

Season with salt and pepper and serve hot. Drizzle over some more plant milk for garnish and decorate with fresh herbs (like basil or parsley) or chili flakes.

How to store vegan broccoli soup

This vegan broccoli soup is best stored in the fridge in an airtight container. It lasts in the fridge for roughly 3 days and the flavors will develop stronger over time. Reheat it in the microwave or in a pot (easier if you are reheating several servings).

What goes well with vegan broccoli soup?

Here are a few ideas what you can serve with this broccoli soup:

• toasted whole grain bread
• tempeh or tofu crumble: Cut tempeh or tofu in small dices and marinate in a mixture of soy sauce, smoked paprika and maple syrup (preferably overnight). Fry in a pan or bake in the oven until crispy.
• crispy oven-baked chickpeas
• fresh parsley and chili flaks
• a veggie-packed side salad with a tahini lemon dressing
• add some cooked potato cubes to the soup if you want it to be more filling

Looking for more cozy recipes?

• Pumpkin Apple Soup (vegan & oil-free)
• Pumpkin Coconut Curry (vegan, oil-free)
• The Best Vegan Mac And Cheese (oil-free)
• Warming Chickpea Bowl (oil-free)

Did you make this vegan broccoli soup?

Please leave a comment below, share or rate this recipe. You can also tag me on instagram – I would love to see your creations!