Creamy Vegan Broccoli and Quinoa Soup

Confession: I never had soup until I was 20 years old. Yes, you read that right, and I know what you’re thinking. “That’s impossible! What child never had any kind of soup?” Well, it’s true, and for no good reason really. My parents just never really cooked soup at home, and as I got into my teenage years, it became one of those “things” that I thought was kind of cool. I feel like every teenager has some weird thing that they like to brag about that isn’t really brag-worthy at all. Well, not eating soup was MY thing.

(Confession within a confession: during my AOL instant messenger years, my screenname was “embraceyersoup.” Boy, did I think I was so ironic and cool.)

Cut to 20 years of age, when I had the classic case of wanting to re-invent myself and had my first-ever soup. From that moment on, I was hooked. Now my mission in life is to make up for lost time and eat as much soup as humanly possible.

Since it’s officially soup season and officially broccoli season, I decided to share my favorite broccoli soup recipe with you guys. This soup is thick, creamy, and so delicious. It’s also super easy; don’t be discouraged by having to transfer it to a blender if you don’t have an immersion blender. It’s easier than it sounds!

You guys know how much I love all of New Barn’s products, so I used their Organic Unsweetened Almondmilk in this recipe. It’s the closest thing to homemade almondmilk, adding the perfect creamy texture, without all of the sugars and artificial flavors in other almondmilks.

In an ideal world I would make my own almondmilk, but a) almonds are expensive! and b) with the quantity of almondmilk that I use, I’d have to spend a LOT of hours making milk.  I love this Unsweetened version for my smoothies and lattes,  and I use it in any soup that needs a little creaminess. It’s perfect in corn chowders, lentil soup, squash soup, and any kind of curry soup, but especially delicious in this Broccoli and Quinoa soup. Enjoy!

Let me know if you try this recipe by taking a pic and tagging me on IG (@hashtagvegan). I can’t wait to see your creations!

For the animals,

Creamy Vegan Broccoli and Quinoa Soup

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Course: Main Dish

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time40 mins

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 C un-cooked quinoa, rinsed
• 2 medium gold potatoes, cubed
• 4 C vegetable stock or water
• 2 heads broccoli, chopped (about 5-6 cups, florets and stems too!)
• 2 medium gold potatoes, cubed
• 2-3 C New Barn Organic Unsweetened Almondmilk
• salt + pepper to taste
• optional, chili flakes, nutritional yeast, sweet potato chips to garnish

Instructions

• Warm up your largest pot over medium heat.
• Add onion and saute for about 3 minutes.
• Add garlic and continue sauteing for another 3 minutes.
• Add quinoa and potatoes; stir well and saute for 1 minute.
• Add vegetable stock or water and stir well.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat slightly and cover pot. Cook for about 5 minutes.
• Add broccoli, stir, and cook covered for another 10 minutes.
• Keep a close eye on the pot and take off the heat once all of the water is evaporated. At this point, it won't really look like soup at all since there won't be much liquid left. Don't worry!
• Let cool for a few minutes.
• If you are using an immersion blender, add 2-3 C of New Barn Almondmilk to the pot and blend. (2 C will give you a super thick, creamy soup! If you prefer a thinner soup, add up to 3 C. I suggest starting with 2 C and gradually adding more until you reach your desired consistency.)
• If you don't have an immersion blender (like me!), transfer half of the mixture to a regular blender and add 1or 1 1/2 C of Almondmilk. (1 C for a super thick soup or 1 1/2 C for a thinner soup.) Then transfer that to a new pot and blend the second half of the mixture with another 1 or 1 1/2 C of Almondmilk.
• Blend to your preference here! I like mine with a well-pureed base but some chunks too, so I usually blend the first half until pureed, and then blend the second half for a quick 10 seconds or so and leave it chunky. That way I get a creamy base but some chunks of broccoli and potato too. A win-win!
• Add everything back to the pot and season with salt and pepper. I added 1 teaspoon of salt and three or four grinds of black pepper, but let your taste buds guide you.
• Serve immediately or if you plan on serving it later, just a heads up, it will thicken! You may want to add more almondmilk and start thinner since it will thicken significantly as it sits.
• Garnish with nutritional yeast for that cheese flavor, chili flakes for a little spice, or sweet potato chips for a little sweetness!