Broccoli "Cheese" Soup - Vegan

Oh my. It's been nearly a month since I last posted. In my defense, this past month has been SUPER crazy with so many trips and activities: a reunion, an end-of-summer family vacation, our 10-year anniversary, a weekend away (with no kids!) to celebrate our reunion, the start of school and preschool and all the other little things one must squeeze in before school starts. Needless to say, the blog wasn't a top priority.

However, I have been cooking! And, my friends, this recipe was worth waiting for because it is so good and comforting. Now it may seem strange to cook soup in the heat of the summer, but I had all these wonderful vegetables from my CSA basket that needed eating: broccoli, potatoes, onions and carrots. This soup truly shines when all the veggies are fresh from the garden or local farm!

The only "unusual" ingredient is nutritional yeast. (I use this brand and buy it from Amazon.) You can still make this soup without the nutritional yeast. It just won't be nearly as "cheesy" in flavor.

Broccoli "Cheese" Soup
Source: MSPI Mama

1 large onion, diced
2 stalks celery, minced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 medium (approx. 12 oz.) yellow potatoes, cleaned and diced
2 cups MSPI-friendly vegetable broth
2 cups plain, unsweetened rice milk
1 head broccoli, chopped into small, bite-size pieces
1 large carrot, shredded
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. mustard powder
½ tsp. onion powder
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. corn starch
½ cup rice milk
½ cup nutritional yeast
chopped fresh chives, for serving

Coat a large pot with cooking spray and place it over medium heat. Add onions, celery and garlic and saute until the veggies begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes and saute for five more minutes. (If at any time the mixture begins to stick to the bottom of the pot, you can add a splash of water to loosen things up a bit.)

Add the broth and 2 cups rice milk. Bring the mixture to a low boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. (Simmering time will depend on the size of the diced pieces of potato. Smaller dice = shorter cooking time!)

Remove half of the soup from the pot and blend in a blender or food processor until smooth. Return the mixture to the pot along with the broccoli, shredded carrot, salt, mustard powder, onion powder and pepper. Return soup to bubbling, and cook for 10 minutes, or until broccoli is tender.

Add the corn starch to a small bowl. Stir in the rice milk and mix until the corn starch is completely incorporated. Stir the mixture into the soup pot. Add the nutritional yeast to the soup. Stir the soup while the soup simmers and thickens. (If you like your soup to be thicker, repeat the corn starch/rice milk step.) Adjust seasoning to taste and serve with chives sprinkled over the tops of individual bowls.

Tip: When blending a hot mixture, make sure you remove the blender’s center plug and then cover the top of the blender with a folded towel before blending. This will allow the steam from the hot mixture to escape and keep the blender from exploding hot soup all over you!

Link Love: I'm sharing this post at Healthy Vegan Fridays.