As I continue to heal and recover from my concussion, I am really fond of making soups. I have little to no energy to create extravagant meals and soups are the best. One of the things I miss about pre-veganism are creamy soups so I decided to take on a vegan version of one of my favorites: Broccoli Cheese. This vegan take is sure to have you convinced that this is JUST as good as the dairy version and just a tad better for your health!

Here is my adapted version of a recipe I found on my favorite Vegan blog, Oh She Glows. Check it out!

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 2 large heads of broccoli,  chopped (or 2 bags of precut broccoli from Trader Joes)
• 2 large peeled & chopped potatoes
• 2 cups vegetable broth, 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast 
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or crushed red pepper flakes)
• Vegan cheeze sauce, divided (see below for recipe)
• Kosher salt & black pepper, to taste
• Daiya cheese, to garnish
• Smoked Paprika, to garnish

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil, onion, and garlic over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Cook for about 5-6 mins.

2. Add in the celery, broccoli, and potatoes and cook for about 5 minutes. Now, add the broth, nutritional yeast, and cayenne pepper and simmer for another 15 mins or so until the potatoes are just fork tender.

3. Meanwhile, prepare your cheeze sauce (see below) while the soup simmers.

4. Carefully transfer the soup (in two batches) into a blender. Blend until almost smooth and place back into the pot. Stir in the cheeze sauce. **PLEASE BE CAREFUL AS SOUP WILL BE HOT**

5. Top the soup with Daiya cheese and serve immediately!

Cheeze Sauce (yields just about 1 2/3 cup of sauce):

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cup unsweetened, unflavoured coconut milk
• 3/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp cashew cheese (optional, not needed)
• 1/4 cup Daiya cheddar cheese
• 1 tbsp Earth Balance or other non-dairy buttery spread
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1. In a skillet or pot, melt the Earth Balance over medium heat.

2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour and 1/4 cup milk until all clumps are gone.

3. Whisk in the remaining milk (1.25 cups) as well as the milk and flour mixture into the pot. Now whisk in the nutritional yeast, cashew cheese and Daiya cheese. Reduce heat to low-medium.

4. Add garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to taste and whisk frequently over low heat until the sauce thickens up, for 3-5 minutes. Be careful not to burn it. Remove from heat once thick.

I made a few adaptations to this cheeze sauce recipe since I’m not a huge fan of mustard and I really, really love the flavor and creaminess of cashew cheese. I’m sure this will be a hit at dinner tonight!

I hope you all enjoy this fabulous and delicious recipe. I enjoyed it twice, for dinner and lunch! Yum!

Peace, love and NO BEEF!

GK