Dairy Free Broccoli, Cheese, & Potato Soup

This is my healthy, copycat version of Panera’s Broccoli Cheddar Soup, done paleo & Whole30 style with no dairy or gluten – just real food, and real easy ingredients.

If a loaded baked potato and that broccoli cheese soup had a baby… these would be it! It’s rich & creamy and the perfect cozy bite when the weather is cool or you’re ready for some comfort food.

We top ours with crispy bacon (ButcherBox is our fav for a clean, sugar free bacon – TJ’s makes a good one too!) and some sliced green onions. If you do dairy – add a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese on top. You won’t even need it mixed in… this soup has got all of the flavor you’ll need!

Meals like this are perfect for the season we’re in over here: pantry ingredients (potatoes, broth, boxed milk, seasonings) and broccoli – which you can throw in fresh OR frozen. I used frozen in the batch pictured, and it didn’t change the texture or flavor one bit!

I hope you love this hearty soup as much as we do! Serve it as a side with your favorite protein, or do a big bowl for the main dish! Would love to hear how it goes – tag me on Instagram @justjessieb and leave a comment & review below if you love it!

PS: Don’t forget to cook your bacon “Foolproof Oven Style”! Linking my easy method HERE

Print Recipe

5 from 10 votes

Dairy Free Broccoli, Cheese, & Potato Soup

A rich & creamy "cheesy" potato soup loaded with broccoli, bacon, and green onion. Whole30 compliant and paleo friendly!

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time35 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: broccoli cheese soup, potato soup

Servings: 6 2-cup bowls

Calories: 316kcal

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp ghee or avocado oil
• 1/2 medium onion diced
• 2 large carrots diced
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 4 small russet potatoes cubed
• 4 cups chopped broccoli
• 32 oz chicken broth
• 2 cups milk see notes
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt plus more to taste
• 1/2 tsp black pepper plus more to taste
• 6 to 8 slices fully cooked & crumbled bacon
• sliced green onion for garnish

Instructions

• Heat the ghee (or avocado oil for dairy free) in a large pot over medium to medium high heat until warm. Add the onion, carrots, garlic, and potatoes and sauté until the onions are just translucent (about 5 minutes). Stir in the broccoli, and pour in the chicken broth. Bring to a low boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and continue to cook until the potatoes are tender (about 15 to 20 minutes).
• While the soup cooks, add the milk, cashews, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to a blender. When the potatoes are tender, scoop about two cups of the potato/broccoli mixture into the blender as well. Blend the mixture until creamy & smooth – about 30 seconds to one minute.
• Stir the creamy blended mixture into the soup until well incorporated. Give it a taste, and season with additional salt & pepper if needed (and a touch more garlic & onion if you like!) Load up with crumbled bacon and sliced green onions, and serve hot! Store leftovers in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Notes

• Fresh and frozen broccoli work equally well in this recipe – you can’t go wrong with either one!  I used frozen for the batch pictured and it worked beautifully.
• I like the texture that russet potatoes give to the soup, but you can substitute another potato if needed – gold potatoes would work well!
• For the milk, use whatever milk you like and tolerate well.  We used a boxed coconut milk that’s very mild/light in flavor.  You could use almond milk, cashew milk, dairy milk, etc.  Just make sure it’s unsweetened.  You won’t taste much of it at all with all of the other flavors happening in this recipe!
• You can omit nutritional yeast if needed.  The soup just won’t have as much of the “cheesy” flavor – but it will still be creamy & delicious either way!
• If you can’t do cashews, you can omit those as well.  Just blend more of the cooked potato mixture in step 2 to help keep it thick (more like 3 cups would work well!)  Also aim for a thick & creamy milk to use – I like full fat coconut milk or cashew milk.
• *Nutrition facts calculated without bacon, for a large 2 cup serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 316kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 17g | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 6g