There was a cafe near campus where I went to college that had the most amazing broccoli cheddar soup served in a crusty sourdough bread bowl. Now that it’s getting cold, all I want is warm comfort food. After my craziness at work ended this week, I went home early last night, and decided to try my hand at my own broccoli “cheddar” soup in a bread bowl. After searching far and wide for a round sourdough loaf that I could make into a bowl, I gave up. And instead just went with slices of bread that I then soaked into the soup. Either way, this ended up being exactly what I was craving. I was especially impressed with the cheesy flavor of the soup and went back for multiple servings.  Add a nice glass of red wine and you’ve got comfort all the way.

What you’ll need: 

• 2 heads of broccoli
• 2 small red potatoes
• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 small onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 TBS earth balance vegan margarine
• 3/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 3/4 cup Daiya vegan shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup unsweetened, unflavored almond milk
• 1/2 TBS apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 TBS white miso paste
• pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of cayanne
• fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Add Earth Balance, onion and garlic to a sauce pan over medium heat and cook until onions are translucent. (if you have a larger soup pot, use it. I don’t have one, and made due with a small sauce pan). While you’re cooking the onions, go ahead and chop the potatoes.

Add the potatoes to the pot and while they’re cooking, chop the broccoli and then add that to the pot. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Once the pot begins to boil, reduce the heat and cover – you want to make sure the potatoes are nice and cooked before moving to the next step. Add the cayenne and pepper and stir well.

Working in batches, place the broccoli and potato soup mixture into a food processor or kitchen ninja. Or if you’re lucky to have an immersion blender, you can do it right in the pot! I like my creamy soups pretty well-blended, so I made sure there were no lumps anywhere.

Add all the remaining ingredients together in the pot, using a whisk to get the Daiya to melt and blend in. Then add the broccoli back to the pot and stir everything together. At first the soup seemed a little thin, but as it sat and waited for R to get home from work, it thickened up and was perfect. Just before we ate (and halfway through the photos) I added a little extra Daiya to the top for garnish. Serve with fresh bakery sourdough and you’ll be in fall heaven. (and if you’re gluten free, just omit the sourdough. The soup itself is safe).