Squeaky Clean Cream of Broccoli Soup
This Cream of Broccoli Soup was made squeaky clean and super healthy! No cream, butter or flour added. More importantly: no flavor removed…
I love Cream of Broccoli Soup. In fact, I think it’s my favorite soup in the whole wide world.
More often than not, though, this “seemingly” healthy soup happens to be loaded with all kinds of heavy cream, butter and flour, making it a less than ideal food choice…
Why that is, though, I’ll never understand. It’s so easy to make a really delicious Cream of Broccoli Soup while keeping it totally squeaky clean and super healthy, too!
I like my Cream of Broccoli to be on the really thick side! To achieve that, I added loads of cauliflower to mine. Technically, I guess that sort of makes this a Cauliflower and Broccoli Soup, but I don’t really think of it as such. You see, the cauliflower only serves to add tons of thickness and creaminess to the soup — it really doesn’t impact the flavor all that much.
Then, because I’m not really a fan of food that doesn’t require any chewing whatsoever (unless maybe it’s chocolate mousse) I added a little bit of extremely finely chopped broccoli at the very end of the cooking process.
The result was a super tasty, perfectly thick, smooth and velvety Cream of Broccoli soup with delightful tiny crunchy bits of broccoli in every bite. Exactly the way I like it!
If that sounds like something you might enjoy too, then by all means, keep reading! I’m about to show you how it’s done!
Heat the olive oil, or other cooking fat of your choice, in a large stock pot set over medium heat.
Then, add the onion, celery, salt and pepper and cook until slightly softened and fragrant, about 3 minutes. A little bit of browning is okay, but don’t let your onions get too dark as this may affect the final color of your soup.
Once the onions and celery are nicely softened, add the garlic powder, onion powder, celery seeds, about 7 cups of the broccoli florets, all of the cauliflower florets and vegetable broth.
Like I said earlier, the reason why you want to hold on to about a cup of the broccoli florets is so you can add them to the soup after it’s been processed, to give your soup a bit of a bite, you know. If you prefer your soup to be entirely smooth and creamy, then by all means, throw all of the broccoli florets in the pot right away.
Cover that pot loosely and cook until the cauliflower and broccoli florets become fork tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Now carefully ladle about half of the soup into a High-Speed Blender. You’ll want to proceed in batches so as to not overcrowd your blender.
Of course, if you didn’t have a high-speed blender, a regular blender would work just fine. Or, you could even use a stick blender, if that was easier for you. The final product would not be AS creamy, but it would certainly be as tasty!
Process until smooth and creamy and then transfer the soup to a clean container.
Repeat as many times as necessary with the rest of the soup.
Once all the soup has been processed, return it to the stock pot.
If you decided that you wanted the little bits of crunchy broccoli in your soup, chop the remaining cup of broccoli florets really finely and then add that to the soup, along with the cup of milk. Oh, and if you wanted to get fancy and garnish your soup with the finely chopped broccoli like I did, make sure to save a handful!
Now the choice of which milk to use here is entirely up to you. I personally used whole milk, but if you don’t do dairy, or if you’re currently doing a Whole30, cashew milk or almond milk would make for great choices.
All that’s left to do now is give the soup a good stir, bring it back to a simmer over medium heat and then kill the heat.
You’re all good and ready to serve! This soup is at its best served piping hot, garnished with a handful of finely chopped broccoli.
I also recommend grinding a fair amount of black pepper over your soup… and if you’re feeling a bit indulgent, throw in a generous handful of sharp cheddar cheese on top of all that. Again, that’s if you do dairy and if you’re not currently taking the Whole30 challenge.
Oooooh… let me tell you, you’re in for a serious treat!
Cream of Broccoli Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 celery rib, chopped
- 1 tsp salt, I use Himalayan salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
- 1/8 tsp celery seeds
- 8 cups broccoli florets, divided, 700g
- 4 cups cauliflower florets, 425
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup almond milk , or other non-dairy milk of choice
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil (or other cooking fat of your choice) in a large stock pot set over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, salt and pepper and cook until slightly softened and fragrant, about 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic powder, onion powder, celery seeds, about 7 cups of the broccoli florets, all of the cauliflower florets and vegetable broth; cover loosely and cook until the cauliflower and broccoli florets are fork tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Carefully ladle about half the soup into a High-Speed Blender; process until smooth and creamy and transfer to a clean container. Repeat as many times as necessary with the rest of the soup.
- Once all the soup has been processed, return it to the stock pot; Chop the remaining cup of broccoli florets really finely and add that to the soup, along with the cup of milk. Stir, bring back to a simmer over medium heat then kill the heat and serve promptly.
Nutrition
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22 Comments on “Squeaky Clean Cream of Broccoli Soup”
cream of broccoli soup is one of my favs also, but it’s secretly so unhealthy and full of fat! I love the fact that you made this clean by adding cauliflower! This is genius 🙂
Haha, thanks Bethany! Genius AND delicious! 🙂
It’s not exactly “paleo”, but when I was a vegetarian I would make a soup similar to this and I would use a potato as a thickener. It does the trick without a lot of added butter or cream. Yummy stuff! Thanks. I’m enjoying your blog.
Thank you Maggie. Indeed, potatoes would work too, but a lot of folks don’t do them… cauliflower is a very good alternative! I personally prefer it myself. It’s much more nutritious, and gets even creamier than potatoes!
I made this yesterday and loved it. Toddler approved as well. THe white pepper makes it a bit spicy, but not overly so. Next time I”ll reduce it slightly. Super yummy soup that fits on my keto diet plan perfectly. Thank you!
Happy to hear, Dede. Thanks for sharing your impressions! 🙂
Great recipe! In my soup, I omitted the salt, and added unsweetened cashew/almond milk instead of cow’s milk. It was very tasty!!
Good to hear, Debra, and thanks a bunch for the positive feedback. I greatly appreciate it! 🙂
Sonia, does the calorie count include the milk and if so, which kind? Just finished making it and looking forward to it as my next meal!
Yes it does, and I used whole milk in my recipe. Hope the soup is to your liking!
I’m going to make this tomorrow. I have frozen chicken stock in the freezer which has a wee bit of rosemary in it. I wonder if that will change the flavor a whole lot. Thank goodness I found this healthier version. Looking forward to eating it. Does it freeze well?
It will change the flavor a bit for sure, but not in a bad way I don’t think! I’m quite fond of rosemary, and I think it’ll work really well with the soup. As for freezing well, I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure, but I really wouldn’t see why not!
Would this work in a slow cooker? would be nice to come home from the office and have this soup. Cream of broccali is also my favorite by far.
I’ve never actually tried it, so I wouldn’t be able to tell for sure. I’m pretty sure it can be adapted, though; Best way to find out is to give it a try, I guess!
Cooked it on the stove…..its great!
Happy to hear, tomilu! 🙂
I followed this recipe exactly and it was not a hit at this house.
Real sorry to hear, Amanda!
Yum. Suuuuuper easy recipe to make. I am lazy. I throw in a good handful or two of frozen chopped onions, rough chop celery, and a family-sized bag of broccoli. Maybe cauliflower if I have any sitting around. I blend the soup right i. The pot with the immersion blender. Comes out perfect every time. I can eat this cold or hot. Gets your vegs and fiber in. Kid friendly. I love that there is no potato and no heavy dairy. Try it!
Thank you so much for your awesome feedback and stellar review; I sincerely appreciate them! 🙂
I made your recipe substituting Yukon gold potatoes for the cauliflower, since my daughter is allergic to cauliflower, The result was thick, smooth, and yummy. When my daughter eats elsewhere, I’m going to try your cauliflower version.
Tasteless 😖