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Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheez Soup

Author Tiffani

Ingredients

  • 1/2 yellow onion diced small
  • 2 stalks celery peeled and diced small
  • 3 small heads broccoli
  • 1 cup raw cashews soaked overnight or at least 4 hours
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 tsp black pepper or to taste
  • 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt or salt of choice, or to taste
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 cup non-dairy cheddar style cheese shreds optional, plus more for serving (for soy or grain-free be sure to check ingredients.)

Instructions

  • Add the onion and celery to the bottom of your slow cooker pot.
  • Take 1 head of broccoli, remove florets, cut into small, bite-sized florets*. Add to pot.
  • Take the florets from the other 2 heads of broccoli, plus 1 broccoli stalk, and chop small, either by hand or in your food processor. Add to pot.
  • In a high speed blender** add your cashews and your water. Blend on high until completely smooth, pour in pot over the broccoli.
  • Add garlic, pepper, salt, basil, nutritional yeast, and finally the vegetable broth. Place lid on slow cooker. Set to high for 4 hours or low for 8. (6 hours on high for an Instant Pot on slow cook method)
  • When the slow cooker has 30 minutes of cooking time left, remove lid and scoop out the broccoli florets which had been left whole. Place florets in a bowl and set aside. Purée the rest of the soup by either using an immersion blender, or by carefully pouring the soup into the pitcher of a regular blender. Blend on high until smooth. If removed, place soup back in slow cooker pot.
  • Return broccoli florets to pot. If you're not using the cheddar style shreds, taste soup, add more salt and pepper if desired. Serve if florets are fully cooked, if not, place lid back on slow cooker and continue to cook until broccoli is soft. If using cheddar style shreds, add those now. Stir soup, place lid on pot and continue to cook for the remaining time.
  • Taste soup, add more salt and pepper if desired. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle with a bit more cheddar style shreds.

Notes

Makes roughly 8 cups. 
*If you want your soup completely puréed, chop florets small like the rest of the broccoli. 
**If you don't have a high speed blender, use a regular blender instead, but make sure to soak cashews for a full 8 hours.