This cumin scented broccoli soup is packed with greens, plus white beans for a creamy texture and added protein.

A white bowl of bright green broccoli soup, sitting on a brown plate with a slice of bread beside it. In the background is a board with half a lemon, a dish of salt and chilli flakes, and a pepper shaker.

Sometimes we all need a boost, right? Whenever I'm feeling like my diet has been a bit out of balance I turn to soup as one of the easiest ways to pack a bunch of nutrition into one nourishing meal.

And top of the list is this broccoli soup, or 'green soup', as my kids like to call it. Green soup started life as a way to use up veges that may have been a bit past it, and with a few tweaks along the way it's become one of our firm family favourites. We eat this broccoli soup at least once a week over the winter months!

Packed full of greens

I'll start by saying this is a very flexible recipe. There are base ingredients I always add, but there's plenty of scope to play around based on what's in your fridge or garden.

I always use:

garlic, onion and celery as the base
broccoli and broccoli stalks
canned white beans for protein
potato for added creaminess
vegetable stock.

I sometimes add:

leek
zucchini
leafy greens like spinach or kale
parsley.

It's amazing how many serves of veges you can eat in soup format! I'd guess this recipe must pack a good 3-4 serves of veges per bowl as well as plenty of fibre.

I can never go past an opportunity to add protein, so I always add a can of white beans (either cannellini or butter beans). Once blended, the beans also give a creamy texture, and make the broccoli soup more filling.

A bowl of green broccoli soup, sitting on a small plate with a slice of bread. Also pictured: salt, pepper, chilli flakes and a lemon for squeezing.

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Green soup

This cumin scented broccoli soup is packed with greens, plus white beans for a creamy texture and added protein.

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Prep time: 10

Cook time: 35

Total time: 45

Course: Soups and stews

Cuisine: Vegan

Servings:

Calories: 242kcal

Author: Quite Good Food

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion chopped
4 sticks of celery chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
2 tablespoon cumin seeds
¼ teaspoon chilli flakes
1 litre vegetable stock
1 can cannellini beans (or butter beans) drained and well rinsed
1 medium potato chopped (floury is best, I used Agria)
1 broccoli florets and stalk, chopped
8 large spinach leaves chopped (approx. 3 cups)
Zest and juice of 1 lemon

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat olive oil in a deep saucepan or stock pot. Add onion, celery, garlic, cumin seeds and chilli flakes, then cook over a low to medium heat until everything is really soft and fragrant.
Next add your vegetable stock, white beans and potato. Bring to a simmer and leave to cook for about 20 minutes, or until the potato is soft.
Add the broccoli stalks and cook for a few minutes before adding the broccoli florets and spinach, then cook for another five minutes, topping up with a little extra boiling water if needed. Watch the cooking time - you want your broccoli to be soft enough to blend, but don't overdo it otherwise it'll start to smell sulphurous which is not what you want at all.
Blend until smooth, then add the zest and juice of a lemon, and salt and pepper to taste.
Serve sprinkled with extra chilli flakes, if you like.

RECIPE NOTES

First published 6 June 2015, updated 2 May 2021.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

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Comments

4.38 from 8 votes (7 ratings without comment)

Broccoli soup

Packed full of greens

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