This Cream of Broccoli Soup with Roasted Broccoli Croutons is a delicious healthier spin on the classic cream of broccoli soup. It's creamy, full of vegetables, and topped with the best crunchy cheesy broccoli croutons. 2 head of broccoli and under an hour to make. This soup can easily be made vegan too!
The story behind this Cream of Broccoli Soup:
I don't know if you've ever made croutons out of vegetables but this is pretty life-changing for me! Okay, that's a bit dramatic but I'm really excited. The idea came to me while I was developing this broccoli soup a few weeks ago. I bought way more broccoli than I needed for the soup and didn't know what to do with it. I also had leftover Pecorino Romano cheese in the fridge from making my Butternut Squash Penne. Then it hit me, roast the broccoli with the cheese and top the soup with it! To my surprise, the broccoli turned out even better than I expected! It wasn't soft, or soggy, it was crispy, crunchy, and so cheesy. I was so happy with the results and knew it was a winner.
If you don't each cheese and want to make this a Vegan Cream of Broccoli soup, no problem! There is no dairy in the actual soup, so to make it 100% vegan, just swap the Pecorino for about two tablespoons of nutritional yeast. It's just as delicious and completely vegan!
I've said in the past that soups aren't really my thing because I never know what to put in them but they're starting to really grow on me this year. This is my third recipe this fall and I might have one more coming! Soups are great because you basically just throw everything into a big pot and let it cook and that's it. Sometimes you blend it all together sometimes you don't have to but it's super easy either way. And the best part? Tons of leftovers! There's nothing better than coming home from work late in the evening and finding delicious leftovers in the fridge that take a few minutes to reheat. Even if you work from your living room. Nothing beats leftovers.
Check out my other soup recipes:
Potato Leek and Lentil Soup with Caraway Seeds
Butternut Squash Curry Soup with Red Lentils
Vegan Creamy Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
📖 Recipe
Cream of Broccoli Soup with Roasted Broccoli Croutons
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 2-4 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Cooking + Roasting
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Delicious creamy broccoli soup with crispy cheesy broccoli croutons.
Ingredients
Broccoli Soup:
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 leek, chopped
- 1 small carrot, chopped
- 2 stalks of celery, chopped
- 2 potatoes, diced
- 1 big head of broccoli, cut into small florets
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 clove of garlic, chopped
- approx. 1L boiling water
- ¼ -½ cup almond milk (optional, add more or less based on how thick you want the soup to be)
Broccoli Croutons:
- 1 head of broccoli, cut into small florets
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- Sea salt and pepper
- 1 tsp Garlic powder
- ⅓ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese*
Instructions
Soup:
- Into a big pot over high heat add the avocado oil, onion, and leek, and cook on medium-high stirring often for 5-7 minutes.
- Add the carrot and celery and cook for 2-3 more minutes, add the potatoes, the broccoli, garlic, bay leaves, and the boiling water until it’s just covered (use a kettle to boil it or just add cold water and bring it to a boil). If there’s broccoli sticking out of the water that’s okay. Just add it on top to steam it, it’s going to break down and it’ll fit in the pot when the rest that's submerged cooks.
- Lower the heat to low-medium and cook covered for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Using a handheld blender, blend the soup until smooth or ladle it into a blender and blend on high (be very careful not to overfill it as it’s very hot and the steam could lift up the lid and explode)
- Stir in the almond milk - start with ¼ cup and add more until you reach your desired consistency. Set aside until ready to serve.
Broccoli Croutons:
- Preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C).
- Spread the broccoli florets on a baking sheet, drizzle with the avocado oil, season with sea salt and pepper, and sprinkle with garlic powder. Toss to coat.
- Roast for 10 minutes until slightly golden, toss, sprinkle with the pecorino cheese, and roast for about 5 more minutes until the cheese melts and the broccoli crisps up.
- Best enjoyed immediately. Serve on the cream of broccoli soup.
Notes
*If you’re grating the pecorino at home using a Microplane add double the amount. If you want to avoid cheese, sprinkle the broccoli with 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast after you take it out of the oven.
The broccoli is best enjoyed immediately as it loses some of its crispiness if it sits out for a longer period of time.
Keywords: broccoli, soup, pecorino, gluten-free
Sharon
This soup is so good and the perfect comfort food for the colder weather. The broccoli croutons are a great topping too.
kylee
Those croutons are AMAZING!! We loved this up so much, thanks for sharing!
Loreto and Nicoletta Nardelli
mmmm....love the idea of roasted broccoli croutons on top of this soup! I can just imagine the Pecorino adding that salty deliciousness. The cream of broccoli soup sounds and looks fantastic, too! What a great combo!
Paula Montenegro
You got me at broccoli croutons! How genius to add that as a topping! I have a feeling this soup will become a favorite at our house. Thanks for sharing.
Jenny
Very comforting soup. Delicate flavors and the broccoli croutons hit it out of the park. The whole family enjoyed your soup, they licked their bowls, a rare accomplishment in our house and the little ones requested to make it again. That is real love! Thanks so much Veronika
Chef Dennis
your soup recipe looks delicious. Add in those roasted broccoli croutons and you just pushed the flavor profile over the top!
Jessica Knott
Oh yeah, this is comfy season soup. I bet it smells and tastes just as delicious as it looks! Now, I nice crusty loaf of bread for dipping and I'm all set for the evening.
Moop Brown
This soup looks great! The broccoli croutons seem super unique and add a nice touch as well!
Heidy
This Cream of Broccoli Soup with Roasted Broccoli Croutons was off the chain good. I wondered how the Roasted Broccoli Croutons would come out, but they were an outstanding addition to this soup.