Creamy Dairy-Free Broccoli Squash Soup

Broccoli cheddar soup is ubiquitous in café menus, but it’s usually heavy on dairy and low on vegetables. We set out to craft a soup that’s as nourishing for your body as it is for your senses (as well as allergy-friendly!). 

When starting a recipe, our first impulse is to reach for beautiful, in-season produce as foundational ingredients. This easy blended soup is full of roasted broccoli and butternut squash, seasoned with nutmeg, thyme, shallots, and garlic. Enjoy it from a thermos with seeded crackers as an on-the-go lunch, or serve with a toasted sandwich at home to create your own cafe atmosphere anytime. It’s an excellent healthy broccoli soup recipe for weight loss as well, especially if you reduce the olive oil slightly. 

How to Make Dairy-Free Creamy Soups

A creamy dairy-free soup sounds like a contradiction, but it’s possible - and simpler than you might think! Just because you follow a dairy-free diet doesn’t mean you need to miss out on seasonal favorites like creamy soup, rich porridge, and savory sautes. 

Use this fool-proof formula with a variety of ingredients to invent your own soothing and sippable winter soups.  

Start with a starchy vegetable.

The secret to creating a creamy texture is to start with a starchy vegetable. Cooked until tender, these veggies will blend into a smooth, filling soup. Here are few ideas to get you started:

• Sweet potatoes (regular or Japanese)

• Butternut or acorn squash

• Carrots

• Parsnips

• Chickpeas 

• Beets

• Pumpkin 

You’ll need a pound of peeled, chopped starchy vegetables to make soup for four. 

Add a second vegetable for flavor and nutrition.

This is where you can pull in cruciferous vegetables, leafy greens, and other veggies with strong flavors. They’ll lend color, interest, and micronutrients. Here’s a few of our favorites:

• Kale

• Brussels sprouts

• Spinach

• Broccoli and cauliflower

• Asparagus

You’ll need ½-1 pound of peeled, chopped cruciferous vegetables. 

Choose your liquid, seasonings, and fat(s). 

Get creative with broth, seasonings, and fats (the latter will add an extra dose of creaminess) to suit different moods. 

Bone broth, nut milks, homemade stocks, and coconut products are all great choices for liquids. 

Experiment with curry powder, lemongrass, chile peppers, basil, onions, ginger, and garlic to deepen the flavor profile of your soup, and cook these ingredients in olive oil, coconut oil, or ghee (if your body tolerates it). Just follow the steps of our recipe below and taste as you go. 

Keep in mind too that roasting vegetables (as we do in our recipe) is an excellent way to enrich flavors.

Blend, blend, blend! 

Once all of your ingredients are cooked until tender, use an emulsion blender or stand blender (pulse with the lid vented to avoid a soup explosion) to blend up a creamy texture. 

These soups can replace your usual salads as a warm and nutrient-dense winter alternative. Much like green smoothies, they also make it easy to ingest (and digest!) generous servings of vegetables.  

Plant Fiber: Good for Your Gut, Good for Your Brain

Vegetables are amongst the best sources of dietary fiber. We all know that fiber is important for digestion and gut health, but it plays a key role in supporting brain health as well. 

Butyrate, a short chain fatty acid produced by fiber in the colon, shows promising capacity to delay brain aging and reduce inflammation (1). The exciting field of research at the intersection of gastroenterology and neuroscience continues to yield increasing evidence that fiber consumption can ward off brain disorders and imbalances (2). 

A common impediment to getting enough fiber is that eating high-fiber foods is time-consuming! Blended vegetable soups offer a drinkable, portable way to fit more fiber into your diet and schedule. 

Creamy Dairy-Free Broccoli Squash Soup

Serves 4 generously (Click here to print!)

1 lb. butternut squash, peeled and chopped into ½” cubes (can use frozen)

1 lb. broccoli, destemmed and roughly chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil (get my favorite quality brand here)

1 shallot, peeled and diced

2 garlic cloves, peeled and diced

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon dried thyme 

Fresh ground salt and pepper, to taste

2-4 cups organic vegetable broth 

¼ cup full-fat BPA-free canned coconut milk

Step 1: 

Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a large bowl, toss together broccoli, squash, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Spread in a thin layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and roast until vegetables are tender and browned (approximately 20 minutes). 

Step 2: 

In a large saucepan, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and saute until tender, about five minutes. Stir in the nutmeg, thyme, roasted vegetables, coconut milk, and just enough broth to cover. Heat through.

Step 3: 

Use an immersion blender or a regular blender (working in batches and venting to avoid steam build-up with the latter) to emulsify soup until thick and creamy. Add more vegetable broth if needed, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with additional roasted broccoli if desired. 

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Bridgit Danner, LAc, FDNP, is trained in functional health coaching and has worked with thousands of women over her career since 2004. She is the founder of Women’s Wellness Collaborative llc and HormoneDetoxShop.com.

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