This easy vegan broccoli cauliflower soup with coconut milk is a tasty lunch recipe or light dinner for soup season! With lots of vegetables, but no cheese or cream, it's a vegan, gluten-free (without croutons) and low histamine soup that's so easy to make on the stovetop.
Have a peek at my broccoli zucchini soup and broccoli asparagus soup recipes for more green soup ideas!
Come the colder weather, soup always seems like a good idea and can be made with so many different flavors and ingredients. My turmeric chicken soup feels so cozy and my butternut squash and apple soup is such a reader favourite. Love cauliflower in your soup? Then you may also like to see my cauliflower leek potato soup and my parsnip and cauliflower soup which are perfect for the winter months.
I often think of this vegan broccoli cauliflower soup as a pick-me-up for when a lot of greens and veggies seem to be a good idea. All the green goodness but so tasty at the same time is always a winner!
If you love this combination of vegetables, do have a peek at my broccoli and cauliflower in an air fryer recipe too!
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⭐ Why this recipe is so good
All the veggies! With the cruciferous veggies of broccoli, cauliflower as well as leek or onion, this soup is full of flavor.
Perfect for meal prep. You can easily make this vegan broccoli cauliflower soup in larger batches and freeze portions for a busy day. Same for my cauliflower fennel soup if you're looking for more ideas!
Dairy-free soup. We don't use cheese or cream, and get a creamy soup using coconut milk instead.
🥦 Ingredients
All the ingredients are set out in the recipe card below, but some notes on a few of them:
- Leeks (or white onion) - if using leeks, give them a good wash as dirt can easily get between the leaves.
- Broccoli and cauliflower - the main vegetables for the soup - you will get your quota of cruciferous veggies with this recipe! Choose fresh produce where the broccoli is a good shade of green (not yellowing) and the cauliflower doesn't have any significant brown spots.
- Vegetable broth - I suggest using homemade stock if you find it difficult to tolerate store-bought.
- Coconut milk - I suggest to use full-fat coconut milk for its creamy taste and texture and the type that comes in a can.
- Thyme and bay leaves - both add a lovely flavor to this cozy soup.
- Macadamia nuts - these give the soup a little more substance, and perhaps it is just me, but I feel they add a slight cheesy flavour too.
Make sure to check out the recipe card below for the full ingredients and instructions!
🔪 Step by step instructions
This vegan broccoli cauliflower soup with coconut milk has just a few steps and is very easy to make:
- In a jar that can be sealed, add the macadamia nuts and cover with fresh water. Set aside for 30 minutes, then rinse with fresh water.
- Pour the olive oil into a large soup pot, and add the leeks (or white onion), garlic, thyme and bay leaves. Sauté on a low heat for 3-4 minutes. Watch for any signs the garlic is burning!
- Add the broccoli and cauliflower, and cook, stirring often. Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat, pour in the coconut milk and macadamia nuts and cook on a very light simmer. Season with salt and black pepper, if using.
- If you are including the croutons, then make these in a pan with suitable bread for you.
- Remove the bay leaves and blend the soup so it is creamy and delicious!
💭 Recipe tips and notes
- Be sure to rinse the soaked macadamia nuts before adding to the soup.
- Don't forget to remove the bay leaf before blending!
- If the soup is thicker than you like, simply add a little more vegetable broth to the pot.
📋 Frequently asked questions
Yes, we don't use any dairy in this soup and make it creamy with coconut milk instead.
I suggest to use full-fat coconut milk for its creamy texture, and the type that comes in a can rather than coconut milk alternative that usually comes in a carton to use with tea and coffee.
Using an immersion blender is quick and easy, or you can transfer batches to a food processor and blend that way.
🥣 More tasty soup recipes
Choose from so many cozy soup recipes here including my popular vegetarian gnocchi soup, turmeric cauliflower soup, quinoa vegetable soup, wild rice vegetable soup, celery zucchini soup, vegan corn chowder and these recent recipes:
I’m always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes! And please do leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐ if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Broccoli Cauliflower Soup (with Coconut Milk)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup macadamia nuts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil + more for the croutons
- 1 cup leeks or ½ white onion diced
- 1 garlic clove finely chopped
- 4 cups broccoli roughly diced
- 2 cups cauliflower roughly diced
- 2.5 cups vegetable broth
- ½ can coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon thyme + more for the croutons
- 2 bay leaves
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper optional
For the garnish
- ½ slice bread sliced into cubes
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds optional
Instructions
- In a jar that can be sealed, add the macadamia nuts and cover with fresh water. Set aside for 30 minutes, then rinse with fresh water.
- Pour the olive oil into a large soup pot, and add the leeks (or white onion), garlic, thyme and bay leaves. Saute on a low heat for 3-4 minutes. Watch for any signs the garlic is burning!
- Add the broccoli and cauliflower, and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat, pour in the coconut milk and macadamia nuts and cook on a very light simmer for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, if using.
- Make the croutons by adding a touch of oil to a pan, and sprinkling the bread with some more thyme. Cook for 3-4 minutes until crispy.
- Remove the bay leaves from the pot. Either use an immersion blender or transfer the soup mixture to a blender. Blend until smooth. If it is thicker than your preference, add some more vegetable broth.
- Transfer to your bowls and top with the croutons and sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Notes
- Be sure to rinse the macadamia nuts after the soaking time.
- You can omit the macadamia nuts, but it will give a slightly thinner soup.
- Be sure to remove the bay leaves before blending!
- If the soup looks too thick then add a touch more vegetable broth.
- Please note that nutritional information is offered as a courtesy. It is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- garlic and sesame seeds, which score 1. Note that sesame is a top ten allergen, so only use if you know you tolerate well.
- leek, which scores 1 and has a ? as a liberator. You can swap for white onion if you prefer.
- vegetable broth will have variable scores depending upon ingredients used.
- black pepper which scores 2.
Christy says
Can you make this in the Vitamix and use their ‘soup’ function to cook it?
Claire says
I haven't ever used a Vitamix to try it, but if the steps I use leading to using it are the same as for other soups then I don't see why not!
FP says
This recipe looks delicious and healthy. However, could use sunflower seeds instead of macadamia nuts?
Claire says
Hi there, I haven't tried the recipe with sunflower seeds, but I think it should work well!
Daphne says
YUM! I still miss my cheddar broccoli soup but this was perfect on a cold rainy day and the croutons on top were delish!
Claire says
Soup is the best comfort food during fall and winter isn't it!