This 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.

Course Appetizer, Soups/Stews

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings people

Calories 643kcal

Author Mary Smith

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

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 in place of the cashews. Reduce water to 1 cup.

Vegetarian: To make this vegan and vegetarian, use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and omit the bacon.

Storage: Store leftover dairy free potato soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Nutrition