Creamy Broccoli No Cheddar Soup
A lightened, dairy-free and veggie-packed version of your favorite childhood soup. What could be better on a chilly winter day?
Ingredients
- 8 rounded cups broccoli florets cut in 2 inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 sweet white onion sliced into 1/4 inch half-moons
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup spelt flour sub whole wheat or brown rice
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon low-sodium Tamari sub soy sauce
- 32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups full fat coconut milk canned
- 2 cups water
- 16 ounces baby spinach
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add half of your broccoli florets to the baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss to coat. Bake for 20 minutes or until tops are browned. Remove and set aside.
- In a large soup or stock pot, heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to medium high heat. When oil is slightly shimmering, add sliced onions. Allow to cool without stirring until the onions burn a bit around the edges. Then stir and continue to cool until they are completely softened and golden brown, approximately 15 minutes.
- To the onions, add butter, flour, sea salt, black pepper and nutmeg. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add tamari, chicken broth, coconut milk, water and remaining 4 cups broccoli florets. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 20 minutes or until broccoli has softened. Add roasted broccoli and spinach and turn off heat. Allow spinach to soften for a 1-2 minutes. Using an immersion blender, puree soup. You can also pour it into a blender in batches. If so, add soup back to pot and heat again to simmer.
- Cook soup another 10 minutes, tasting for salt and pepper. Enjoy with garnishes of choice. Some ideas are: sunflower seeds, extra coconut milk, grated cheese, fresh herbs, chopped bacon.
