Low Sodium Vegan Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Total time55 min

Prep time15 min

Cook time30 min

This creamy, plant-based soup builds its depth the slow way — a soft base of onion, carrot, and garlic bloomed with smoked paprika and dry mustard, then thickened with a light roux and simmered in vegetable broth and full-fat coconut milk until velvety. Broccoli florets cook right in that broth until fork-tender, and a partial blend keeps some texture while turning the rest silky smooth. A cashew cream, whipped from soaked cashews, adds richness, while nutritional yeast and a bright hit of lemon juice bring that unmistakable cheesy, tangy edge without any actual cheese involved. Finished with a shower of fresh chives or parsley, it's cozy, warming, and full of savory flavor built from real vegetables and seasonings rather than a heavy hand with the shaker. That makes it a genuinely solid choice if you're keeping an eye on sodium, since the flavor here comes from aromatics, smoked paprika, and that cashew-nutritional-yeast combo doing the heavy lifting. It's the kind of bowl you'll want on repeat all season long.

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Ingredients

4 servings

For the cashew cream

½ cup raw cashews
Freshness Guaranteed Whole Cashews Unsalted SOUTHERN GROVE Deluxe Whole CASHEWS Unsalted Alesto Selection Cashews President's Choice Unsalted Dry-Roasted Cashews Planters Unsalted Cashews
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1 cup boiling water

For the soup

2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp dry mustard
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
3 cups vegetable broth
1 can (13.5 oz) full-fat coconut milk
4 cups broccoli florets, cut into small pieces (about 1 large head)
⅓ cup nutritional yeast
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
Chef's tip
Season to taste - salt substitutes can taste bitter in larger amounts, so start with less.
½ tsp black pepper

For serving

vegan cheese, shredded, for serving (optional)
Omit this
This ingredient likely doesn’t work for the diet.
fresh chives or parsley, chopped, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1
Place the cashews in a heatproof bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Let soak for 10 minutes, then drain and rinse.
2
Transfer the soaked cashews to a blender with 3/4 cup fresh water and blend on high until completely smooth, about 1 minute. Set aside.

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