Dead of winter calls for a big ole bowl of piping hot soup, am I right? I love soup and tend to eat a lot more of it in the winter months than say in the sweltering heat of a Texas summer. I try to make a big pot every weekend to enjoy over the course of the following week. Soup makes an easy peasy quick lunch or dinner and because it’s portable, you can take it on the go or share it with friends.
In my book, to be called a decent cook you must know how to make at least one delicious soup. In fact, one of the best cooking tips I ever received is to have about five recipes in your repertoire you can make with no recipe (you’re welcome). Soup should definitely be one of them. What I love about soup is how forgiving it can be. You might think following a recipe is ideal, but it’s very doable to throw together a delicious soup with items you have on hand and no recipe.
Starting with a base of mirapoux (onions, carrots, and celery) – let the soup gods speak to you and create your own spin. In fact, following this rule I may have never made the same soup twice.
Soup can also be as light or as heavy as you wish. Toss in some grains or potatoes for a heartier version. Keep it broth based or add some creaminess (try cashew cream) to richen it up. A veggie soup is my quick go-to but you can turn a veggie soup into a balanced meal by adding beans or another plant-based protein like tofu.
To sum it up, the soup world is your oyster and you need to get busy finding your pearl.
There’s a restaurant I grew up eating at called Dixie House (RIP Dixie). By far they served the best Broccoli Cheese Soup that’s ever crossed these lips. They also had amazing veggies (squash casserole anyone???) and dinner rolls that were worth running the extra mile for. Though far from vegan, and I wasn’t at the time, the Dixie House was the next best thing to mommas cooking.
With Dixie House long gone along with mommas cooking, I knew I had to make a vegan version of their spectacular Broccoli Cheese Soup. And I did.
Make double cause your gonna wanna keep a stash in the freezer. I’m also going to share in a following post how you can use this same soup recipe and turn into another delicious Dixie House Favorite. Any guesses???
Seriously give this a try, you won’t be disappointed. Slurp!
Have the best vegan day ever.
Kat
- 2 vegan margarine
- 3 cups broccoli, chopped
- 1/3 cup carrots, chopped
- 1/3 cup celery, chopped
- 1/3 cup onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1 1/2 cups no-salt vegetable broth
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2/3 cup broccoli florets
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- optional vegan cheddar shreds
- In a dutch oven, heat the butter till melted. Add the carrots, celery, onion and and saute' until the onions are tender. Add the broccoli and garlic and 1/2 tsp of salt and saute' for another 2-3 minutes.
- Sprinkle the vegetable mixture with the flour. Sitr and cook for at least I minute. Wisk in the vegetable broth. The soup will thicken as you stir. Wisk in the almond milk, the coconut milk, and the nutritional yeast. Simmer over medium to low heat for at least 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Puree the soup with either an immersion blender or in batches in a blender, blend to your liking.
- For the spicy broccoli toppers, in a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the broccoli florets and sprinkle with salt and red pepper flakes. Saute' until just slightly tender. Turn up the heat to high and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the broccoli has seared on at least one side.
- Ladle the soup hot into individual bowls, top with cheddar shreds (if using), and a few pieces of the broccoli florets. Delicious!