Just a few simple ingredients make up this deliciously creamy broccoli soup.
Steps
1
Preparing Your Mise en Place
Ingredients
3/4 cup onions
2 cloves garlic
4 cups broccoli
4 tbsp butter*
4 tbsp all-purpose flour
4 cups liquid"
To prepare your mise en place, finely dice the onions and emince the garlic. Peel the broccoli stems (if there are any) and cut them into small, even pieces. Set aside. Chop the florets into small, even pieces and place into a separate bowl.
Measure out the butter, flour and liquid. Set aside.
*Note: The fat can be either oil or non-dairy butter.
**Note: The liquid can be any kind of clear stock, milk or even non-dairy milk.
2
Making & Serving the Soup
Ingredients
sea salt (to taste)
freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
1/2 cup Cashew Cream
To make the soup, melt the butter in a medium-sized pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and garlic along with a pinch of salt. Gently sweat until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.
Add the broccoli stems (if there are any) and stir to coat with the fat. Continue to sweat for a few minutes until somewhat softened.
Next, sprinkle in the flour and stir to combine. Temper in the liquid, a bit at a time. Turn the heat up to medium and bring the soup to a simmer. Stir often to make sure the bottom does not scorch.
Once the stems are nearly tender, add the florets along with a good pinch of salt. Let the soup gently simmer until the florets are tender and cooked all the way through. Once the florets are tender, add salt and pepper to taste.
At this point, the soup can be served as is in warmed bowls.
Alternatively, if you choose to blend the soup, transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. You may need to do this in batches. Return the blended soup to a clean pot and bring just to a simmer. Next, add the Cashew Cream and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Serve in warmed bowls.
21 Comments
Melissa K•
Just made this soup and it is fabulous! Wondering if it freezes well? If so, what is the process? I'm guessing I would make it up to the point just before adding the cream, then freeze. Any thoughts?
You could freeze this soup but we do not necessarily recommend it due to the milk in the recipe. Soups containing dairy can split after being frozen. Also, green soups will generally not look as nice once they have been frozen, thawed and reheated again. Hope this helps. Cheers!
I made the Cream of Broccoli soup today, and the result was awesome. I chose to puree it all, and present it in low wide bowls, with a few deep fried onions sprinkled on top for garnish. which made a beautiful presentation. It was spectacular.
Realize, that I am a guy who has prided himself on how broccoli free my body is! Broccoli is not my favorite vegetable, but these cream soups are wonderful ways of getting all the nutrition of these otherwise bland vegetables in a very pleasant way!
I was going to try to make broccoli & cheese soup, but at the last minute decided that the addition of the cheese would alter the flavour, colour and texture too much. Can you give some recommendations for what cheeses would go well with this recipe, and when the cheese should be added in order to make broccoli & cheese!
Great that you are practicing!
Consider cheese to be an ingredient that will enrich the soup; therefore, it should be slowly added at the end. If you refer back to the pre-requisite lesson on Bechamel, you'll understand that when cheese is added to this particular sauce, you create a variation called "Mornay". It all ties together. Use a good melting cheese (not low fat). Cheddar or Swiss or a combination of the two would go well. Cheers!
I made a double batch of this soup using part homemade light chicken stock and 1/2 milk. I really liked the body of this soup. It is a bit thicker in consistency than the cream of broccoli recipe that I routinely use.
I did have a problem with a slight grainy texture. Otherwise, the soup was wonderful. I was wondering if I might have undercooked the roux mixture before incorporating it into the soup?
I made this soup with milk and with chicken stock. I like onions, but forgot to buy them so I replaced carrots. They both turned out great. One thing I learned is it saves a lot of time when I blanched the broccoli stems. Thanks Rouxbe, because of your classes I have learned to use what I have in my kitchen, between stir frying and soup making nothing gets wasted.
I accidentally added twice as much butter as needed. When the soup was done, it was not the taste and consistency I wanted. How can I make this soup unique? It tastes bland to me. I added salt and pepper but I think it needs more. Also, my soup ended up a bit too heavy. I like it lighter without that pronounced cream flavor. Can I thin it out with water, substitute maybe with cornstarch for less of something else? Thanks for any input.
Is there any way to make it smoother? I blended the soup using the blend function on a blender. Is there a way to make it really smooth. I can still taste some texture.
Darrell, this soup recipe is all about learning the technique behind it. Now that you know how to make it, by all means start to work with other flavours — salt and pepper will only take you so far.
For example, try adding some caraway seeds when you sweat your ingredients or add tarragon leaves towards the end of it. You can also stir in a spoon of your favourite curry paste when you sweat the veg to give it a totally different profile. Or how about stirring in some blue cheese at the end?
If the soup is too thick, adding a stock would be my first choice, then milk and water really if you have nothing else — adding cream will likely make it too rich.
If your soup is not smooth, either the broccoli was not soft enough (most likely mistake I encounter with the students) it could also be that you didn't leave it in the blender long enough, hope it helps.
Now one of my favourites. I subbed oil for butter, cornflower for wheat flour and coconut cream for cashew cream. I have food sensitivities. Still delicious and served it with toasted cornbread. I don't like really thick soup so added more stock (rouxbe recipe), blended and added a tsp of portabello powder. Delicious.
Made this soup with butter, veggie stock and cashew cream. Also chose to puree the soup in the Vitamix for a completely smooth texture. I found the consistency a bit too thick so will increase the veggie stock to 6 cups or so next time. I would normally discard the stems of the broccoli, but it makes total sense to put them in the soup for added flavor! Looking forward to the lessons on making your own stock (in the pro cook course) as my store bought veggie stock is quite brown in color (it has delicious flavor). Because of its dark color, my pureed soup took on some of that color (and became a greenish/brown) color. It didn't look very appetizing (even though it had great flavor).
Was wondering if the soup is supposed to have a strong 'sweet' taste? I looked up substitutes for Cashew Cream and it led me to Coconut Cream. I wondering if the brand of Coconut Cream that I added (Goya) was a bit too rich for the soup and overpowered it? Or is this the correct flavor palette? Also, whats a brand that makes Cashew Cream, so will order online for next time. Thanks
Hi Claudia. Goya coconut cream is made with sugar. That is an easy mistake to make but it makes a huge difference. I am glad that you asked. You can get unsweetened coconut milk in most grocery stores. If you want to use cashew milk, I recommend making your own. It is quite easy if you have a blender. Just blend cashews with about equal parts water until creamy. Make sure you blend long enough that there is not a gritty mouthfeel from the unblended cashews. Here is a link to our recipe. You can thin it out with a bit of extra water if it is too thick of a consistency for your soup. Good luck! Lauren
https://rouxbe.com/recipes/5764-simple-cashew-cream
can i make this without the roux into a basic broccoli soup.if so how much can i reduce the butter content if not making a roux and if so how much butter.thank you.x
You can reduce the butter to zero. You can use olive oil, or dry saute (no fat) the onions and broccoli. I would then recommend blending the soup. Just as the recipe states, "After simmering transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. You may need to do this in batches. Return the blended soup to a clean pot and bring just to a simmer. Next, add the Cashew Cream (optional) and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Serve in warmed bowls." Note: if you like an even thicker pureed soup, you can add cornstarch or arrowroot starch slurry while soup is simmering.
In my household, we employ the fundamental structure of this recipe as a foundation for crafting a wide array of creamed vegetable soups, each yielding excellent outcomes. However, there's one exception – fennel. When it comes to fennel cream soup, the combination somehow doesn't quite align well and ends up with an unusual flavor profile lol.
Dawn T •You could freeze this soup but we do not necessarily recommend it due to the milk in the recipe. Soups containing dairy can split after being frozen. Also, green soups will generally not look as nice once they have been frozen, thawed and reheated again. Hope this helps. Cheers!
Leigh S •I made the Cream of Broccoli soup today, and the result was awesome. I chose to puree it all, and present it in low wide bowls, with a few deep fried onions sprinkled on top for garnish. which made a beautiful presentation. It was spectacular. Realize, that I am a guy who has prided himself on how broccoli free my body is! Broccoli is not my favorite vegetable, but these cream soups are wonderful ways of getting all the nutrition of these otherwise bland vegetables in a very pleasant way! I was going to try to make broccoli & cheese soup, but at the last minute decided that the addition of the cheese would alter the flavour, colour and texture too much. Can you give some recommendations for what cheeses would go well with this recipe, and when the cheese should be added in order to make broccoli & cheese!
Kimberley S • Rouxbe Staff •Great that you are practicing! Consider cheese to be an ingredient that will enrich the soup; therefore, it should be slowly added at the end. If you refer back to the pre-requisite lesson on Bechamel, you'll understand that when cheese is added to this particular sauce, you create a variation called "Mornay". It all ties together. Use a good melting cheese (not low fat). Cheddar or Swiss or a combination of the two would go well. Cheers!
Rebecca B •I made a double batch of this soup using part homemade light chicken stock and 1/2 milk. I really liked the body of this soup. It is a bit thicker in consistency than the cream of broccoli recipe that I routinely use. I did have a problem with a slight grainy texture. Otherwise, the soup was wonderful. I was wondering if I might have undercooked the roux mixture before incorporating it into the soup?
Darrell W •I accidentally added twice as much butter as needed. When the soup was done, it was not the taste and consistency I wanted. How can I make this soup unique? It tastes bland to me. I added salt and pepper but I think it needs more. Also, my soup ended up a bit too heavy. I like it lighter without that pronounced cream flavor. Can I thin it out with water, substitute maybe with cornstarch for less of something else? Thanks for any input.
Christophe K • Rouxbe Staff •Darrell, this soup recipe is all about learning the technique behind it. Now that you know how to make it, by all means start to work with other flavours — salt and pepper will only take you so far. For example, try adding some caraway seeds when you sweat your ingredients or add tarragon leaves towards the end of it. You can also stir in a spoon of your favourite curry paste when you sweat the veg to give it a totally different profile. Or how about stirring in some blue cheese at the end? If the soup is too thick, adding a stock would be my first choice, then milk and water really if you have nothing else — adding cream will likely make it too rich. If your soup is not smooth, either the broccoli was not soft enough (most likely mistake I encounter with the students) it could also be that you didn't leave it in the blender long enough, hope it helps.
Jane C •Now one of my favourites. I subbed oil for butter, cornflower for wheat flour and coconut cream for cashew cream. I have food sensitivities. Still delicious and served it with toasted cornbread. I don't like really thick soup so added more stock (rouxbe recipe), blended and added a tsp of portabello powder. Delicious.
Sunnie S •Made this soup with butter, veggie stock and cashew cream. Also chose to puree the soup in the Vitamix for a completely smooth texture. I found the consistency a bit too thick so will increase the veggie stock to 6 cups or so next time. I would normally discard the stems of the broccoli, but it makes total sense to put them in the soup for added flavor! Looking forward to the lessons on making your own stock (in the pro cook course) as my store bought veggie stock is quite brown in color (it has delicious flavor). Because of its dark color, my pureed soup took on some of that color (and became a greenish/brown) color. It didn't look very appetizing (even though it had great flavor).
Demetra S • Rouxbe Staff •You can reduce the butter to zero. You can use olive oil, or dry saute (no fat) the onions and broccoli. I would then recommend blending the soup. Just as the recipe states, "After simmering transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. You may need to do this in batches. Return the blended soup to a clean pot and bring just to a simmer. Next, add the Cashew Cream (optional) and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Serve in warmed bowls." Note: if you like an even thicker pureed soup, you can add cornstarch or arrowroot starch slurry while soup is simmering.
Steven S •In my household, we employ the fundamental structure of this recipe as a foundation for crafting a wide array of creamed vegetable soups, each yielding excellent outcomes. However, there's one exception – fennel. When it comes to fennel cream soup, the combination somehow doesn't quite align well and ends up with an unusual flavor profile lol.