Dairy Free Potato Soup with Broccoli & “Cheese”
This Dairy Free Potato Soup with Broccoli & “Cheese” is a lightened up version of two soups you grew up loving! It has all of the flavors of Broccoli Cheese Soup + Loaded Baked Potato Soup without any dairy or gluten.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
What Makes This Recipe Great
This Dairy Free Potato Soup with Broccoli and “Cheese” tastes like your favorite cheesy potato soup you loved growing up, except without the dairy and gluten! It’s a combination of broccoli cheese soup and creamy potato soup topped with bacon and green onions. Basically the stuff dreams are made of and one of my favorite comfort foods! Nothing better than a warm bowl of soup on a cold day. Hearty soups like this are also a great complete meal on their own served with some crusty bread – gluten free of course. This soup comes together in just 30 minutes and makes amazing leftovers, as well. It is also Whole30 friendly and packed with nutrient-dense, good-for-you ingredients.
Recipe Highlights
- Gluten free & dairy free
- Easy soup recipe
- Made with simple ingredients
- Great for lactose intolerance
- No heavy cream needed
- Whole30 & Paleo friendly
- Tastes like homemade cheesy potato soup without the cheese
- Nut free option included
- Perfect weeknight meal for the whole family
Ingredient Notes
Bacon: I like to use sugar free bacon from Butcher Box.
Ghee: This is clarified butter and you can find it at your local grocery store. Use olive oil or dairy-free butter for dairy allergies.
Onion: White or yellow onion both work!
Carrots: Baby carrots or full peeled and chopped carrots will work.
Potatoes: I’ve found that russet potatoes work best for this recipe and give it a nice smoothy & creamy texture. I have not tried it with red potatoes, but yukon gold potatoes could also work.
Chicken broth: Chicken stock also works. Veggie broth can be subbed for a vegetarian version of this dairy free potato soup. My favorite brand is Kettle and Fire – they make a great Whole30 compliant chicken broth.
Broccoli florets: Pre-chopped bagged, or fresh chopped from a head of broccoli will both work.
Cashews: These make an incredible dairy free cream sauce when pureed. Make sure to use raw and unsalted. See recipe card for a nut free option.
Nutritional yeast: This is deactivated yeast, and it gives dishes a “cheesy” flavor without the dairy! It’s also loaded with vitamins.
Lemon juice: You can also sub a splash of apple cider vinegar if you do not have lemons.
How To Make This Dairy-Free Potato Soup
Step 1
Place the cashews in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them soak while you make the soup.
Step 2
Set your oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Lay the bacon pieces out flat on the baking sheet and cook until crispy, approximately 12-15 minutes. (No need to let the oven pre-heat first – just pop the pan in!) When the bacon is done, remove the pan from the oven and drain them on a paper towel-lined plate.
Step 3
While the bacon is cooking, chop your onions, carrots, and potatoes. Heat your cooking oil of choice in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add in onions, carrots, and garlic. Saute for 3-4 minutes until they begin to soften. Add in the potatoes, chicken broth, paprika, onion powder, 1 tsp of the sea salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
Step 4
Stir in the broccoli and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
Step 5
Remove 1 cup of diced potatoes from the pot using a slotted spoon and place them into a high-powdered blender. Drain the cashews and add them to the blender along with the nutritional yeast, lemon juice, remaining 1 tsp of sea salt, and water. Blend on high for 1 minute or until it becomes very thick and creamy. Pour the mixture into the soup pot and stir well until combined. Taste test and add more salt and pepper if needed. I recommend using a high-speed blender and not an immersion blender for this.
Step 6
Break the bacon into pieces. Serve the soup topped with bacon bits and chopped green onion.
Tips, Tricks & Variations
Thickness: If it’s too thick for your liking, you can add additional chicken broth at the end to thin it out.
No oven version: To avoid using the oven, you can cook the bacon pieces first directly in the stock pot while you are chopping the vegetables. Remove the bacon pieces using a slotted spoon and set them aside to drain. Use the rendered bacon fat to sauce the onions, carrots, and garlic and omit the cooking oil. This will increase prep time by 5 minutes.
Nut free: To make this nut free, you can use 1 cup full-fat coconut milk or coconut cream in place of the cashews. Reduce water to 1 cup. I personally do not think it gives this soup a strong coconut flavor. You can also use light coconut milk, if preferred.
Vegetarian: To make this into a vegan potato soup recipe, use vegetable stock instead of chicken broth and omit the bacon. You could also use vegan bacon.
Storage: Store leftover dairy free potato soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Recipe FAQ’s
Yes, you can! Simply add the dairy free potato soup to an airtight freezer container and freeze for up to 6 months.
The cashew cream in this recipe is the perfect non-dairy mixture to make creamy soup without the dairy!
More Gluten Free Soup Recipes
Instant Pot Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Gluten Free Chicken Noodle Soup with Pastina
Copycat Chick Fil A Tortilla Soup
This Dairy Free Potato Soup with Broccoli & “Cheese”
Ingredients
- 8 strips sugar free bacon, omit for vegan
- 1 tbsp ghee or olive oil
- ½ medium onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 lbs russett potatoes , (3 medium or 4 small), peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 4 cups chicken broth, + more to thin it out
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp sea salt, divided
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 cups chopped broccoli florets
- 1 cup raw, unsalted cashews*, see notes for sub!
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 ½ cups water
- 2 green onions, diced, for garnish
Instructions
- Place the cashews in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them soak while you make the soup.
- Set your oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Lay the bacon pieces out flat on the baking sheet and cook until crispy, approximately 12-15 minutes. (No need to let the oven pre-heat first – just pop the pan in!) When the bacon is done, remove the pan from the oven and drain them on a paper towel-lined plate.
- While the bacon is cooking, chop your onions, carrots, and potatoes. Heat your cooking oil of choice in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add in onions, carrots, and garlic. Saute for 3-4 minutes until they begin to soften. Add in the potatoes, chicken broth, paprika, onion powder, 1 tsp of the sea salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the broccoli and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
- Remove 1 cup of diced potatoes from the pot using a slotted spoon and place them into a high-powdered blender. Drain the cashews and add them to the blender along with the nutritional yeast, lemon juice, remaining 1 tsp of sea salt, and water. Blend on high for 1 minute or until it becomes very thick and creamy. Pour the mixture into the soup pot and stir well until combined. Taste test and add more salt and pepper if needed.
- Break the bacon into pieces. Serve the soup topped with bacon bits and chopped green onion.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on November 24, 2019 and updated with new content on January 18, 2024.
138 Comments on “Dairy Free Potato Soup with Broccoli & “Cheese””
Best cream of broccoli soup I’ve ever made! Can’t believe it’s dairy free. The flavor and the texture are just perfect!
My first rating was an error, this recipe gets 5 stars for sure!
This soup is absolutely amazing and delicious. This is in our regular rotation now. It doesn’t taste dairy free at all. Rich and creamy, thanks to the cashews. I try lots of recipes, and my family is usually mixed on them (try getting four children to like the same food, and hubs has to be dairy free), but this was unanimously approved! Thank you!
Wonderful! Delicious! My husband is a chef and we own a catering company. I am in charge of baking, GF foods and most “special diet” menu items. We work 7 days a week for about 7 months out of the year. I only note this so you can understand just how much we cook, which is a lot! That being said, this is one of the best special diet soups I’ve made, and THE BEST broccoli soup that I have made, by far. Creating soups/dishes like this takes a lot of time and testing, both of which I am grateful for you doing and sharing. Thank you!
Wow! I Never leave reviews, mainly because I don’t like it when people leave a “review” that really isn’t a review…when they comment, “Looks amazing, I look forward to trying it.” So here is my review after actually making the recipe.
It is AWESOME. This will be my go to broccoli cheese potato soup recipe from here on out. The flavor is divine. I can’t believe it’s paleo and whole 30.
Good work!!! Thank you for posting. Everyone Loved it.
Delicious… I do not miss the dairy at all. I will be making again!
Very good, you are very creative!! I pulsed all of it. Loved eating in smaller bites
Thanks Connie!
Made this for dinner, didn’t use cashews substituted the coconut milk instead. It wasn’t as thick as I would’ve liked, it was more like a soupey consistency than a thick creamy soup. Also wasn’t very cheesey. I’ll have to tweak the recipe next time and add DF cheddar cheese and possibly flour to the mixture to thicken it up a bit. But overall not a bad base recipe.
The cashews definitely help to thicken it up! Adding more potatoes to the blender with the coconut milk should work to thicken it next time. You could also add some arrowroot mixed with water!
I am on a low FODMAP diet and can’t have cashews. What are the cashews used for in this recipe? I’m trying to think of an alternative besides full fat coconut milk since I don’t regularly buy that.
This was delicious! My husband couldn’t believe it was dairy free. A winner for sure.
Made this one from your cookbook tonight since I’m a little under the weather and it is soooooo good! So cheesy and creamy, can’t believe it has no cheese in it! It was also super easy and quick to make!
It’s finally cold enough in Texas for some soup and this has been on my list to make for a while. So much flavor and creaminess, you would never know there isn’t any dairy in this. I did cook my bacon in the pot and sautéed veggies in the bacon fat, vs baking my bacon. So delicious and filling, it really hit the spot today!
This is absolutely delicious! I had tried numerous recipes 2-3 years ago but then had given up trying to find a GF/DF broccoli cheese potato soup. So glad I tried this recipe last night – it is so good! This is definitely being added to my regular meal rotation.
Also, love the tip on using coconut milk instead of cashews (which I can’t eat right now). I am going to go back and dig up some of my other favorite recipes with cashews and try subbing coconut milk.
Absolutely delicious! I think this is my new favorite soup! Even my husband & son loved it even though they aren’t big soup fans like I am. Thank you for the recipe.
Adding this soup to my weekly rotation! I left out the potatoes and added shredded chicken for a lower carb/higher protein option and it turned out great!
I don’t normally comment, but this soup is too good not to. Seriously. Make this soup. It feels like it has cream and cheese in it. I think I enjoyed it more than actual cheese and cream. Wow. So good.
Easy and delicious! Especially on a cold day.
I saw you post about this on IG today, and I rushed out to buy the ingredients. It was AMAZING! Easy, nutritious, and my whole family devoured it and asked for seconds. Another home run. Thanks, Mary!
This is legit the best soup I’ve had. I was hesitant at first because of the cashew concoction but it’s seriously perfect and one I make when I have people over or are craving soup which is often!
SOOO delicious!! Every recipe from Mary amazing! This tastes just like broccoli cheddar soup.
Quick question – how long does this last in the fridge? Lots of recipes use raw cashews, don’t know how long they last?
Tasted wonderful