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No-Cream Cream of Broccoli Soup

Did you know that yesterday was World Vegan Day? I celebrated by eating a vegan breakfast, vegan lunch, and vegan dinner. Oh wait, I always do that! The best part of lunch was my broccoli soup:

vegan broccoli soup

No-Cream Cream of Broccoli Soup. Yes, it’s green and therefore doesn’t look so appealing. But looks can be misleading. Didn’t you ever watch Beauty and the Beast?

vegan lunch

No-Cream Cream of Broccoli Soup

(4 servings)
  • 2 packages mushrooms, such as baby bellas (8 oz packages)
  • 2 packages broccoli (500 grams raw broccoli)
  • 2 cups broth, such as Pacific mushroom broth
  • 2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 2 tsp salt, or to taste
  • Some of the broccoli soaking liquid – I use about 3/4 cup, but if you want your soup even thicker, you can add less
  • 1 cup milk of choice – for creamier soup, you can switch the amounts of broth and milk
  • Add 2 tbsp oil or buttery spread if you’re not a fan of fat-free soup
In a covered dish, microwave your broccoli, in water, for about 9 minutes. Meanwhile, put the mushrooms, garlic, broth, and salt in a pot, and cook the mushrooms over medium heat while the broccoli cooks in the microwave. Then add the broccoli to the mushrooms. Also add the desired amount of soaking liquid at this time. Stir together, then add your milk. Transfer the soup to your blender, or pulverize with a hand blender (lately that’s been my method-of-choice).  I only blend this a little bit, as I love it when it’s still a little chunky, not too smooth. Eat the creamy green goodness as you thank God (or whatever higher power you believe in– god of broccoli, perhaps?) for creating such yumminess.

vegan meal

Along with the soup, I had leftover stir-fried veggies cooked up with bbq sauce, over spinach, and a new favorite English muffin: Rudi’s spelt English muffins. These muffins have a bit of a sourdough-like flavor, but they’re soft and crumbly. I cut one in half, added vegan butter, then toasted that baby (but not enough for the muffin to lose its softness). The bread and butter of comfort.

Then I used the “Soggy Muffin” trick. This one’s a bit embarrassing, but I swear it’s delicious: Cut the muffin in 1/2 and spread on your vegan butter. Right before eating, pour a little water over the muffin (I don’t even usually bother toasting it) until it’s soggy. Then microwave for 45-ish seconds, sprinkle with a little bit of salt, and eat. The muffin will be all mushy and gooey, which is exactly how I like them!

melties

Dessert!

Published on November 2, 2010

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Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the top 25 food websites in America, and Katie has been 
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ABC's 5 O’Clock News. Her favorite food is chocolate, and she believes in eating dessert every single day.

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75 Comments

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  1. Stefanie says

    Mashed potatoes is one of my comfort foods. Add a side of peanut/almond butter and toast and I am happy. That brocolli soup looks so comforting though. 🙂

  2. Sarahishealthy says

    I know it’s not healthy, but there’s just something about pizza that screams comfort food to me! I don’t indulge often, but when I’m really in need of some comfort food, pizza gets the job done.
    But oatmeal doesn’t hurt either!

  3. abby says

    i’ve never tried those english muffins. i see them at the store all the time and wonder about them. i don’t think i’ve ever had spelt anything before, but i know you recommended it in your single-serving cupcakes, so maybe i should pick some up? and some of those muffins while i’m at it. i haven’t had an english muffin in years!
    happy vegan month, katie! 🙂

  4. Tes says

    Wow the english muffins look so yummy. I can’t wait to get some for breakfast.
    My favourite comfort food is meaty spicy soup.
    Thanks for sharing 🙂

  5. jodye @ 'scend food says

    For me, comfort food must be creamy as well, and generally sweet – I’m in love with chocolate mousse and sunflower butter whipped up with almond milk (with chocolate chips on top). Also, sweet potatoes and winter squash on the non-dessert side of things. Your stir fry looks delicious, I love the addition of purple cabbage. I’ve been adding it to my mushroom, broccoli, and cauliflower stir fries lately to liven them up a bit

    • Valerie says

      Chocolate mousse is my comfort food too! I’ll have to remember to try it with sunflower butter. We have a jar sitting in our pantry at the moment, unopened.

  6. Valerie says

    As usual, your meal looks superb! I hope my kids will make such healthy choices when they’re out on their own. And I, too, am in love with broccoli in almost any form. It’s one of my favorite veggies.
    Yes, I do call it “trees” to get the kids on board. But I don’t force it upon them, and yet they all love it too!

  7. Gloria says

    I tried to make a raw cream of broccoli soup the other day. Gross. and I LOVE raw soups. I need my broccoli cooked and buttery too! I’ll be making your version as soon as I get my hands on some shrooms.

    My comfort foods are brown rice pasta w/ marinara and cashew parmesan and hemp bagels w/ tofu cream cheese. My carbs get a lot of huggin’ 🙂 I might have to add zucchini muffins topped with chocolate almond butter to the list because I’ve been having that for bfast for 3 days now and can’t get enough of it!

  8. Diana (Soap & Chocolate) says

    Oooooh, the melties sound SO good. But that goes without saying – coconut is one of my top 5 fave foods. I was also just reading your recipe for a single cupcake – amazing idea! Just this past Sunday I found myself craving cake and frosting like no other, but didn’t want to make a whole cake. I thought of halving a cupcake recipe so I’d at least make less than a full batch, but it didn’t quite occur to me to reduce the proportions down to a single serving! That’s why I have you. 🙂

  9. Frances says

    Oh, man. I had no idea it was world vegan day. I’m vegan, but I’m a pastry cook at a decidedly omnivorous restaurant, and I “celebrated” by making a spice cake…with lard. Not even vegetarian. Oops 🙁

    As for comfort foods?

    Cafe au lait with soymilk. So good.

  10. Leslie says

    Oh man, now I have a hankering for an English Muffin. Toasted, naturally :). You can come cook for me anytime, girl! 🙂

  11. Caitlin says

    Katie, I just have to tell you that your photos are lookin stellar, missy! Better than stellar, in fact: Super stellar :). But maybe that’s just cuz it’s broccoli and yummy vegan food you’re photo-ing? 😉 Can’t make vegan food look ugly! Well, I guess yeah you can, but you know what I mean! 🙂

  12. Namaste Gurl says

    I have a similar soup that I make, called Mushroom- Thai soup. It’s oh- so- yummy, but the looks aren’t the prettiest. Let’s just say it’s brown, but really, really yummy and easy. That’s what I’m all for: yum, healthy and easy 🙂

    By the way, you totally inspired me yesterday with your coconut melties. However, I didn’t have any molds, so I made them into balls– coconut, PB, chocolate, for that matter. My balls I made were a bit generous on the size. And let’s just say I ate them ALL 🙂

  13. Sarah says

    That soup looks so good on this chilly day! Have you ever tried the Ezekiel english muffins? They are my favorite hands down!

  14. Rachel (tea and chocolate) says

    Aw, I wish I had known about World Vegan Day! At least my lunch was vegan yesterday.

    I’ll eat broccoli any way but raw too. That soup sounds delicious! Comfort food…let’s see, banana oatmeal, peanut butter, lattes and my mom’s mexican beans and rice for sure.

  15. Alyson says

    Katie, I love you! And I was aware of World Vegan Day yesterday and also celebrated by eating a completely vegan breakfast lunch and dinner as well as sharing my dinner and some delicious banana walnut and carob chip cookies with my boyfriend and floor. 🙂 I felt like I accomplished the celebrating part of World Vegan Day. 🙂 I’m excited that such holidays exist. Did you also know that National Chocolate Day was… *looks at her calendar for the most highlighted and exclamation-pointed day in her planner last week*… the 28th of October?!?!?! Such a wonderful holiday, I must say!
    Keep up the vegan-y goodness! That soup and meal looks delicious!!!!! 😀
    Aly

    • Valerie says

      World Chocolate Day? There’s a World Chocolate Day? Woah, I wish I’d have known. Oh well, I’ll just have to celebrate extra hard next year ;).

      • Aly says

        Yuppp. Extra hard sounds like a good way to do it!! 🙂 I’m planning on going all out for National Chocolate Day!! 🙂 It’s the most wonderful time of the year, ya know? ;D

  16. spoonfulofsugarfree says

    I hate raw broccoli, too! Cooked broccoli, on the other hand, is a fav of mine! When my sister was 6 she even said broccoli was her favorite food!

    My favorite comfort food is peanut butter ontop of a 100% dark chocolate bar 🙂

  17. Little Bookworm says

    That soup looks delicious – never had broccoli soup. Favourite comfort foods – Banana Brulee Porridge, Bean Casserole and dumplings. 🙂

  18. Kiersten says

    I love broccoli any way, even raw. My favorite way to eat though is roasted. Some of my comfort foods are oatmeal, peanut butter, and pasta.

    I didn’t do anything interesting in honor of World Vegan Day, unless you count writing a 10+ page lab report interesting.

  19. Kate says

    Yum, I could just swim in your lunch.
    *Katie backs away from Kate*
    Sorry, I know that makes me sound like the creepiest girl ever! 😉

  20. kathleen says

    i wouldn’t say i have a comfort food, per se, basically it’s comforting if i can eat it out of a bowl with a spoon. put whatever it is in a bowl and i’m good to go!

  21. Fi says

    I love my toast the same way, not completly toasted, still a bit of doughy taste to it 🙂
    Toast and butter is one of my fave comfort foods, oatmeal with milk and honey too, actually, anything warm that involves milk, honey, butter and oats is a ok with me ! 🙂

  22. Verity Kae says

    I had broccoli soup today too! I made mine with silken tofu, soy milk, carrots, and veg broth with spices and whatnot.

    Anyways, my favourite comfort food? Oatmeal hands down. =]

  23. Kiki says

    Darn it, I didn’t know that yesterday was world vegan day! Luckily I ate vegan anyway 😀

    That soup looks delish; I love anything broccoli too! My favorite comfort food = oatmeal. Hehe.

  24. Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga) says

    “Ooh except raw; I like my broccoli cooked so that it’s buttery and so soft it falls apart.”–

    Oh we’re not friends anymore. KIDDING 🙂

    I actually love my brock raw and have 3.5 yr old Skylar eating raw brock. Most of the veggies I eat are raw, actuall most of what I eat is raw.

    I do like cooked brock, but like barely. As in steamed for 60 secs. Just to soften it but not mush it. I HATE mushy veggies! If they fall apart, I just can’t eat them. I am a texture girl.

    The chocolate. Your recipe is pretty similar to my raw vegan coconut oil chocolate and I dont own chocolate molds but all I do is take a shallow dish, like a saucer, or tiny little el cheapie dish, and line it with saran wrap, and place the chocolate in that. That’s my “mold”. Hopefully that will work for others too!

  25. Mandiee says

    Broccoli is up there with my favorite foods. And I have to agree with you: it is MUCH better steamed, especially when it gets all mushy and soft. Yum! I can’t wait to try your recipe :).

    Have a lovely day!
    xox

  26. Pure2Raw Twins says

    Comfort food is the socca that I make all the time 😉 Or something with chocolate, or even better chocolate and mint! Or something with avocado, ok I know I am weird. HAHA ~ Lori

  27. Mary @ Bites and Bliss says

    That broc soup reminds me of a soup my mom and I made for Thanksgiving last year. Bascially the exact same thing but made with roasted cauliflower. It wasn’t our absolute favorite but I’m sure that’s cause cauliflower’s pretty tasteless..no doubt broc would be abetter choice!

    A comfort food for me is waffles and peanut butter. The peanut butter gets all melty and pooled onto the waffle. Ohhh yeah

  28. squigglefloey says

    Hi girlie, what’s SBL? I’m such a noob with some blog acronyms!
    Anywho, my comfort food is probably anything that my mom makes. Haha…reminds me of my childhood, and it’s usually warm and comforting anyhow. I’m so used to eating quick un-heated to-go things while I’m at my apartment in college 😛

  29. eatmovelove says

    I love raw broccoli! And cooked of course with spaghetti sauce and cheese and coconut butter ;).

    English muffins are the best. I love veggies too – do you find any “fibrous” issues from this?…sometimes I’ve been wondering if a lot of my digestive “woes” could have to do with overload…?!…course could be all the fats too 😉

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      LOL yeah I have to watch and make sure I don’t eat too many bulky foods at once! Veggie chili, butternut fries, AND savory oatmeal do not make a good meal. Sadly I know this from experience :-?. As you get used to eating more fiber, your tummy gets better at dealing with it, but lol there’s probably never going to be a tummy in the world that could deal with such a meal as the one I described without feeling full. It’s just too much bulk and not enough place to put it. (So maybe it’s not just the fiber, but the volume of food. That’s why I like calorie-dense foods in my diet too. Raw desserts especially! They give you a lot of nutrition without filling you too much… so you can still have room for your yummy veggies 🙂 :).)

  30. Hayley says

    Loved this recipe! Added some onion salt, red pepper flakes, basil, and parsley. Gave it a little kick! Thanks so much for posting all your yummy recipes to share with everyone!

  31. Ciera says

    I just had a bowl of broccoli soup… delicious! My first recipe that I tried here! I found that adding 2oz of avocado added to the creaminess and texture. Great with chocolate almond milk… had to incorporate the chocolate 🙂

  32. David says

    I love cream of broccoli soup. I’m also a big mushroom fan. I’ve never thought of making cream of broccoli with mushrooms before though. (I normally thicken with mashed potatoes).
    Thank you.

  33. Sally says

    I’m sorry Katie but but in your heading it states healthy?
    Yet you are microwaving food?
    That is one of the most unhealthy practices you can do!!! It destroys the nutrients in your food which is what you need in order for you to get & stay healthy!
    If you are going to profess to teach ‘healthy’ cooking & food, please also include the way you cook the food into those healthy practices.

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