Grocery shopping while hungry – oh boy. It seems to happen all too often, despite my best intentions. Sometimes, simply being in the proximity of tasty looking food makes me hungry. Ok, make that always. Last week, Eric and I were picking up some groceries at Whole Foods around dinnertime. Shopping at Whole Foods before dinnertime is Trouble with a capital T. I’m out of control and totally irrational. The hubby made a beeline for the pizza and I contemplated buying food from the hot and cold bar. That is, until I spotted a row of glorious, vegan, made-from-scratch soups on the very top row of the cooler section. The angels started to sing!!!
Moral of the story: ALWAYS look on the top or bottom row at Whole Foods! That’s where the hidden gems are.
I was suddenly struck by an intense craving for broccoli and “cheese” soup. Funny how that happens! The jar was thrown into my cart so fast my head almost spun.
Needless to say, I polished off the jar by lunch the next day. SO GOOD. My new obsession was either going to make me broke feeding it, or I was going to try and make something similar in my own home. I bet you can take a wild guess what I did.
That’s right. I got down and dirty in the kitchen. Recreating favourite store-bought foods is a true passion of mine. My version is a bit thicker than the original, but I’m not complaining. The original soup might be a bit stronger on the broccoli too, while mine probably has more squash and sweet potato. Either way, both are crazy good. It made a whopping 10 cups worth, which is so great for leftovers all week long!
Sure, there will be those times when I’m hangry in the grocery store and looking for something quick for dinner, but it’s good to know that I can make something similar in my own kitchen should I feel motivated to do so! Ontario friends, if you come across Sopa Organica Soup line (here is a list of locations), I strongly urge you to give this soup a try! I can’t wait to sample other kinds…
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7 Vegetable and "Cheese" Soup
Yield
10 cups (2.4 L)
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Silky smooth and bursting with 7 healthy vegetables, this soup will keep you feeling great all fall and winter long! The nutritional yeast gives this soup a "cheese-like" flavour and simple spices allow the flavours of the vegetables to shine. The beauty of making a puréed soup is that you don't have to fuss over chopping the vegetables with great precision since they’ll be blended anyways; this results in a faster prep. To give the soup some texture, try topping it with my easy Pan-Fried Garlic Croutons and toasted pepita seeds.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 to 3 cups (280 to 420 g) chopped sweet onion (from 1 large onion)
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup (115 g) chopped celery (2-3 stalks)
- 1 heaping cup (155 g) peeled and chopped carrots (2 small carrots)
- 6 cups packed (330 g) broccoli florets (1 large bunch broccoli)
- 2 cups (270 g) peeled and chopped sweet potato (from 1 small sweet potato)
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups (195 to 260 g) seeded and chopped delicata squash* (optional)
- 5 1/2 cups (1.375 L) low-sodium vegetable broth
- 3 to 5 tablespoons nutritional yeast, to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- Salt and pepper, to taste (I used about 1 teaspoon salt)
- White wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice, to taste
For Serving:
- Toasted pepita seeds
- Pan-Fried Garlic Croutons
Directions
- Grab a very large pot (about 6 1/2 quarts) with a lid and set aside.
- Add the onion and garlic with the oil into the pot and sauté over medium heat for a few minutes. Season with a couple pinches of salt and pepper.
- Add the celery, carrots, broccoli, sweet potato, and squash, one by one, as you chop them. Continue to sauté over medium heat, stirring every once and a while so it doesn't stick to the bottom.
- Cover the pot with a lid and cook the vegetables for 4 to 5 minutes, reducing heat if necessary.
- Remove lid and stir in the broth. Bring the soup to a low boil. Reduce heat to low/medium and cover with lid. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the squash and potato are fork tender.
- Turn off heat and remove lid. Allow the soup to cool slightly for 5 minutes or so. After cooling, carefully scoop the soup into a blender (you'll have to do this in a couple batches most likely) and add in the nutritional yeast and optional cayenne, if using. Carefully blend the mixture with the lid ajar (to allow heat to escape), starting at a low speed and increasing the speed until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender.
- Pour all of the puréed soup back into the original pot. Now, stir in the vinegar or lemon juice, to taste, about 1 teaspoon at a time. I usually add between 1 to 2 teaspoons of white wine vinegar. This helps give the soup flavours some brightness.
- Ladle into bowls. Garnish with toasted pepita seeds and croutons.
- Transfer leftovers into jars and allow to cool before securing the lid and placing in the fridge. The soup should stay fresh for a week in the fridge. To freeze, add cooled soup into a container or glass jar, leaving 1 inch at the top for expansion. Secure lid and freeze for up to 1 to 2 months.
Tip:
- * The delicata squash in this soup is totally optional. It still turns out lovely without it. Or you can also try swapping the delicata squash for peeled and chopped butternut squash.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
By the way, a huge thank you to everyone who made a donation to TEAM MOO in Farm Sanctuary’s What Did U Do? campaign! We’ve raised over $1000 (and a total of $3341 on our team!) and I can’t thank you enough for your generosity. This is going to help so many animals get the care they need. The campaign runs until October 2nd so you can donate at any time. To find out more, see yesterday’s post.
xo
I’ve already made and frozen 3 batches of soup this September, and this is going to be my 4th! It looks delicious :)
YUM!! This soup is amazing! I tried it last night for the first time and it is now in my recipe box! I will be making a full batch next time so I can freeze it! Thanks!
“Last week, Eric and I were picking up some groceries at Whole Foods around dinnertime. Shopping at Whole Foods before dinnertime is Trouble with a capital T.”
Exactly! Though, I cannot control myself in Whole Foods either which way, hungry or not, so this is why I’m so glad our Whole Foods is about a 30 minute drive from where I live. I don’t make it there very often, & my husband is happy about that :).
I have a question about the soup–do you taste the cinnamon at all? I threw some cinnamon into a pumpkin dish the other day (that was savory, not sweet) & was thrown off a little. I realized I don’t really like if I can taste cinnamon in a savory dish.
I too love recreating less expensive versions of my faves (mostly restaurant food for my husband, since we’re on a tight budget). It’s always fun when you’re version tastes better than the store-bought/restaurant!
Yes you can taste the cinnamon for sure – if you aren’t a fan you can leave it out or swap it for another spice. Hope this helps!
Beautiful pictures!
I was wondering if there was any way cut out some of the cooking time on the stove and use the wonderful Vitamix to heat up and cook some of this soup. Maybe if you don’t mind pulverized raw vegetables?? I don’t know.
Either way it looks yummy!
Hmm…I’m not sure! I haven’t made a soup in the Vitamix before. Maybe someone else can offer some input. :)
I just took a soup class from a restaurant owner/chef. He made his soups just like you did by cooking them first. Only he didn’t crack the lid on his Vitamix, he strained after blending and added a bit of heavy cream once it was back in the pot. I don’t think it’d come out very good by using raw veggies. And the Vitamix is only a blender and doesn’t “heat up and cook”. Can’t wait to try your recipe!
Actually, the Vitamix does heat up. I have hot soup within 5-6 minutes with mine..
I’m planning to make it in my pressure cooker. If time is your concern, you may want to look into one.
I make butternut squash soup in my vitamix ALL THE TIME :) So wonderful! It actually does heat up the soup. I cook all the ingredients down first on the stove (onions, squash, etc), then add to my vitamix with some broth, put the lid on & take the center part of the lid out & put a kitchen towel over that.
It’s such a wonderful invention, that Vitamix of mine!
Actually, Vitamix has a number of soup recipes that you can make by just throwing all the ingredients in and blending. It does heat up if you let it run for a few minutes which is how you can make things like scrambled eggs right in the blender (I don’t know why you would, but it’s possible).
I didn’t think it would actually cook the vegetables, but I don’t really have a problem eating raw veggies or ones pulverized in the Vitamix. Maybe I will have to give it a try and find out :)
Actually, the Vitamix is definitely not “only a blender”. I usually make and heat my soups all in the Vitamix. No need to cook the veggies first unless you want to. They will be pulverized and all that wonderful nutrition hiding in the plant cells bursts forth with all the natural flavor intact. You don’t destroy the plant enzymes by cooking the veggies. Just let the Vitamix run for 4-5 minutes and it will be piping hot (steam actually comes out of the container when you remove the lid). Every last bit of nutrition remains in the soup.
The chef you took the soup class from could use a brush-up on the marvelous uses of the Vitamix! Now you know more than he does! Maybe you should give the next class! If you have a Vitamix, you should give this a try. But please, don’t ever call it “only a blender”.
I have made this soup a few times with the delacata squash. I have a butternut that I just chopped up to use this time. Do I need to cook the squash before putting in the blender? I recently received a Blendtec. I prefer raw. So, I’d rather put it all in the blender and not have to.
I have not yet tried my Vitamix to make soup, but it definitely fully cooks and makes hot soup (and then you can also do ice cream-or a non-dairy frozen treat- in it, how crazy is that??) I got mine from QVC and they demo hot soups all the time. It’s the high speed and length of time that creates steaming hot soups. They demo a cream of broccoli in like 5 to 8 minutes. Unreal!!
this looks so rich and it offers alot of applications in my imagination… sauce for enchiladas? sauce for lasagna maybe? havent tried it yet but think i will have to!! meow : )
Yum! I know what I’m making as soon as I get a new thing of nooch!
Also, that little cut-work saucer is simply stunning, where is it from?
Thanks Robin! I think it’s from Pier 1.
Yummy – already planned parsnip and ‘cheese’ soup for dinner tonight. And hoping I can find one of those squashes at the Farmer’s market this week!
I love soups packed with veggies, especially since I’ve been lacking in the veggie department lately. I bet the nooch adds the perfect cheesiness to this yummy fall soup. Thanks for sharing!
Squash soup is always a fall favorite but I’ve never incorporated the celery and broccoli before! More green vegetables is always a win.
And storing the vibrant yellow soup in the mason jars is so pretty!
I adore soups like this! I doesn’t feel vegetable-y but is so so good!
I can’t see your pictures lately? :( Is it just me? I can see them on other blogs…
Really? That’s strange! I haven’t heard of this issue before. What web browser are you using?
Oh boy! I had the same issues at whole foods the other day, I think I am going to pack snacks before I go to the grocery store. I love the color and how there are leftovers for those days you just don’t want to cook.
I LOVE making soup. I especially love making soup that goes into a blender (I use an immersion blender instead of having to transfer it). This soup is definitely going on to my list of recipes to try. I even have nutritional yeast and have been looking for good ways to use it. I am newish to the plant-based lifestyle and love finding recipes like this. Thanks!
Whole Foods is dangerous for me no matter when I ate last. Everything always looks amazing! I’ll have to remember your tip to look on the top or bottom row.
This soup looks unbelievable! I am so glad you decided to recreate it because I’m not sure they sell that brand at my local WF store. I can’t wait to try it!
Do you have a nutrional breakdown for the soup i.e. Calories, protein, carbs etc.
No I’m sorry I don’t! calorie Count is a free site that I’ve used in the past for blog recipes and it works quite well.
I’m so happy it’s finally soup weather around here! This is definitely happening in my kitchen tonight!
What is nutritional yeast? Do I need it in the recipe, and if so, what does it do? Thanks!!
I’m wondering the same thing and where do I find it in the store?
It is a powder… Organic section, probably with the flours and such. It is a yellow color. It gives it the ‘cheesy’ taste without the dairy.
What is delicata squash? And can you substitute a different squash. I don’t think I’ve seen that at my local stores.
A soup puree is my all time favorite. What a great recipe to start the fall season! I haven’t tried nutritional yeast, but it is definitely on my list!
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I heart this soup even though I haven’t tried it yet… the color itself is a wonder!
Oh yum! I love soup so much, it’s a very comforting meal. My husband, on the other hand, is not a fan so I rarely make it at home :( But I definitely want to try this!