Healthy Broccoli Cheddar Soup (No Butter, No Cream, Gluten-Free)

bowl of sweet potato and broccoli soup with spoon and grated cheese on top, shown from above.

Healthy Broccoli Cheddar Soup (No Butter, No Cream, Gluten-Free)

There's comfort in eating the iconic broccoli and cheddar soup, much like eating good 'ol mac and cheese. Some of that comfort comes from an expected, mild flavor. This soup builds on that iconic flavor by using one sweet and one white potato instead of cream and butter and stirring in much less cheese at the end. The addition of garam masala gives this soup a warm and cozy flavor, not quite as simple as the recipe from which it was inspired.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Keyword: broccoli sweet potato soup, purple sweet potato soup

Servings:

Calories: 307kcal

Author: Kathy Marshall

Equipment

1 3 qt soup pot
1 blender

Ingredients

2 olive oil
1/2 large onion chopped (I used the food processor)
1 large garlic clove roughly chopped
1 tsp garam masala contains: cumin, coriander,cardamom, black pepper, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg + saffron.
1 medium-large orange sweet potato chopped
1 medium potato chopped russet or any type
1 quart vegetable broth I use low sodium
1 crown broccoli about 2 cups chopped smallish
4 oz cheddar cheese, grated, see notes Sub Gruyere- an aged swiss melting cheese- could sub fontina or gouda for similar flavor.
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Chop 1 crown broccoli into small pieces as shown in photo. We don't want large chunks. Steam/boil in about 1 cup of water a few minutes, until tender (leftover water can be used to thin soup later). Set aside to add to soup after it is pureed. See note.
Heat 2 olive oil in pot, add 1/2 large onion chopped and 1 large garlic clove roughly chopped and saute 5 minutes until soft. Add 1 tsp garam masala and saute briefly, then add 1 medium-large orange sweet potato chopped, 1 medium potato chopped, and 1 quart vegetable broth and cook about 10 minutes until potatoes are tender.
Puree soup in blender, food processor or with immersion blender until smooth.
Return pureed soup to pot on med-low heat. Stir in broccoli and 4 oz cheddar cheese, grated, see notes (reserve some broccoli and cheese for garnish if you like).
Once cheese is incorporated, then taste and add salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

Soup Note: I intentionally keep the broccoli aside from the rest of the soup until after it is pureed, to keep the hue of the soup orange/gold. There is no reason you cannot include it and puree it with the potatoes if you prefer.

Cheese: This broccoli cheddar soup can be made with any hard cheese you prefer. As noted in the post, I like to use gruyere more so than cheddar, as it has a more complex flavor and less greasy mouthfeel, but since there is onlly 4oz in the entire soup, cheddar would also be great without tasting too rich.

Nutrition