Sunday Set Ups: Paleo Creamy Broccoli Soup
Surprise! This creamy broccoli soup contains no cream or coconut milk whatsoever. Tossing in one potato or a parsnip to your puree brings the layer of creaminess to this vegetable-packed soup. Include this warming dish alongside any lunch or dinner throughout the week!
You know those recipes that are SO simple to make but taste really wonderful and are so pleasing to whoever you serve it to? It’s almost embarrassing, when they compliment the dish, you go, “oh, no, really I did nothing, emphasize on the nothing”. I bet the person who discovered the PB&J, throughout his/her life, felt awkward about their claim to fame. But they shouldn’t. Because it’s GENIUS. That’s how I feel about this (Paleo) Creamy Broccoli Soup.
It’s also one of my favorite things to make in bulk on Sunday evening and have throughout the week. I’ve often packed my own lunches and brought them to work, and then am completely unimpressed with what I made and then resort to running out and buying food. However, that never happens with soup! It’s wonderful to look forward do something WARM at my desk for lunch after zapping it in the microwave. It’s a great addition to a salad or sandwich. It pairs well with pretty much all dinner cuisines as well, whether you whip up some quesadillas or pasta or roast a chicken. It’s nice to have something that you can reheat on your stove while you pop in the shower after your evening workout. My mom and I ate this twice last weekend, and then when I left to travel for the work that week she had it every night with her dinner. Boom.
I’ve made broccoli soup a couple of times and pretty much just pureed broccoli in stock. This time I decided to add a potato (or in my case, a leftover parsnip) cut the broccoli flavor and texture just a bit and add an additional layer of creaminess to the soup. I love that this is one creamy pureed soup that isn’t made fully with a starch OR dairy – there are so many of those out there already. Broth-based soups are a great way to fill yourself up and add volume to your meal without overdoing it. Although I certainly recommend having this soup with some protein or grains for a balanced meal!
On a different note, this was the second time I introduced my mother to the immersion blender. There are a few things that I’ve turned my mother onto recently that I feel particularly accomplished about – gel nails, for one. No one realizes how much an immersion blender is going to change their life until they get one. It reduces the hassle of making purees, soups, sauces, etc, by an incredible amount! It’s so easy to clean (unlike a blender) and you don’t have to transfer the recipe into a blender – you just stick that immersion blender right in your pot. And they go for about $10 on amazon. I know people who make smoothies in a large mason jar using an immersion blender. Almost as genius as the PB&J, no?
This recipe takes only a couple of ingredients, and you will have delicious soup all week. Sweat out your onions and garlic slowly in a little butter or olive oil (important step before ANY pureed soup. Gives it complex flavor so no need to any cream). Then add the chopped broccoli, potato/parsnip, stock, water, and bring to a boil. Let simmer until the veggies fall apart at the poke of fork. Take off the heat, puree, and add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to allow to thicken for a bit, and then serve! You can store in your fridge for up to a week and reheat on the stove or in the microwave as needed.
I highly recommend serving Turkish-style (meaning with a squeeze of lemon) and Dani California Cooks style (with lots of hot sauce).
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Sunday Set Ups: Paleo Creamy Broccoli Soup
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
Description
Go back to the basics with this pureed broccoli soup. Adding a little potato or parsnip brings the perfect amount of thickness and creaminess to the soup to balance out the broccoli!
Ingredients
- 6 cups broccoli, roughly chopped (about three medium heads)
- 2 cups peeled white potato or parsnip, roughly chopped
- ½ onion, diced
- 1 glove garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp butter
- 48oz vegetable stock
- 4 cups water
- Salt and pepper
- Hot sauce (optional)
- Lemon (optional)
Instructions
- In a large soup pot on low to medium heat, sweat out your garlic and onion in the butter with some salt and pepper
- Once the onions are translucent (about 5-7 minutes), add in the broccoli, parsnip/potato, water, and stock
- Bring to a boil
- Turn down to low heat and let simmer for a minimum of thirty minutes
- Once vegetables fall apart at the touch of a fork, turn off the heat
- Use an immersion blender to blend your soup to the consistency of choice OR pour into a regular blender to puree
- After this, Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking
- Let sit for 10 minutes before serving to thicken up
- Garnish with more salt and pepper, hot sauce, and a squeeze of lemon
- Enjoy!
Notes
This soup will last all week in your fridge! And like any soup/curry/stew – it just gets better with a little age.
