This creamy broccoli and pea soup is easy to make, full of flavor, and will taste amazing whether you use fresh or frozen vegetables. Best of all, it's vegan, takes less than 45 minutes, and is a great way to eat more vegetables.
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Why We Love This Recipe
- Fresh, bright flavor: With lemon juice, lemon zest, and fresh parsley, this soup has a lovely herbaceous flavor that's balanced out with a zing of acid.
- Easy preparation (one pot potential): All of the cooking can take place in one pot if you use an immersion blender. Even if you don't have one, this soup comes together easily with a regular blender.
- Vegan: If you use vegan butter and olive oil, this recipe is totally vegan.
- Great base for customization: This soup is a great starting point, and you can easily tweak it to your liking by adding your favorite vegetables or spices.
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this broccoli and pea soup:
Ingredient Notes
- Broccoli and peas: You can use frozen or fresh peas and broccoli in this recipe. You can follow the recipe exactly as stated with fresh or frozen. No need to thaw the frozen broccoli before cooking it, as it often leads to a soggy and mushy texture.
- Spinach: This can also be frozen or fresh, but you'll get the brightest green color by using fresh.
- Olive oil: You can also use butter (vegan or regular) or another oil of choice.
- Lemon zest and juice: We know, zesting lemons can be a bit of a pain, but we think that the zest adds a ton of brightness that helps to balance out the earthiness of all the vegetables.
- Lemon pepper seasoning: Optional – it adds a nice kick of flavor, but if you don't have any, just use regular black pepper.
Step-by-step Instructions
(1) Add oil to a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and the garlic and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often.
(2) Add in broccoli, peas, celery, spinach, dried oregano, salt, pepper and lemon pepper seasoning (if using) and continue cooking for 5 minutes, until the vegetables start to soften.
(3) Pour in broth, lemon juice, and lemon zest and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are completely tender.
(4) Carefully transfer the soup to a heat safe blender and and blend until smooth and creamy. You can also use an immersion blender.
(5) Return soup to the pot and stir in the chopped parsley. Cook for 5 more minutes, then serve hot.
How to Make Your Soup Perfect
- Make it thicker: Add 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour to the sautéed vegetables before adding in the broth. Stir well so you don't get any clumps. As the soup cooks, it will thicken.
- Add more vegetables: You can try adding more green veggies of your choosing, like green peppers, kale, or bok choi. You can also add some potato to the vegetables to make this soup extra creamy.
- Garnishes and toppings: Try topping with pumpkin seeds, a swirl of yogurt, some micro greens, a dash of cracked black pepper, or even some feta.
- Top it with bacon: Our crispy mushroom "bacon" is our go-to, but of course regular works for non vegans!
Expert Tips and FAQs
- Use a heat safe blender and take care while blending. The steam hot soup releases, paired with the blender's airtight lid, can yield explosive results. We'd recommend taking the plug out of the pour hole in your blender's lid and holding a kitchen towel lightly over the hole when you blend. To avoid this, you can also use an immersion blender, which makes life a lot easier.
- Use the stems and florets of the broccoli: Don't be afraid to use the stems and florets of the broccoli. Not only does this reduce waste, but the stems also taste great and have a texture that will help to make your soup creamier when you blend it.
- Use frozen veggies: You can use frozen broccoli, frozen peas, and frozen spinach without altering this recipe.
- Swap broccoli with cauliflower, or use half broccoli, half cauliflower for a different take on this soup.
- Defrosting: Move this soup to the fridge to thaw overnight, then reheat on your stove over medium-low heat. You might need to add some more vegetable broth, as soup tends to thicken up after being frozen due to moisture loss.
This soup will last up to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Yes. Let the soup cool completely before storing in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 6 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator.
Make a batch of our vegan garlic bread, or serve with a pasta salad, a chickpea "tuna" sandwich, or a grilled protein of choice.
More Vegetable Soup Recipes You'll Love
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📖 Recipe
Broccoli and Pea Soup
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This broccoli and pea soup is easy to make, full of flavor, and will taste amazing whether you use fresh or frozen vegetables. Best of all, it's vegan, takes less than 45 minutes, and is a great way to eat more vegetables.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced (~1 ½ cups)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (2-3 cloves)
- 3 cups fresh or frozen chopped broccoli florets
- 1 ½ cups fresh or frozen peas
- 1 ½ cups diced celery
- 1 ½ cups spinach
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Optional: ¾ teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon zest
- ⅓ cup finely chopped parsley
Instructions
- Add oil to a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and the garlic and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add in broccoli, peas, celery, spinach, dried oregano, salt, pepper and lemon pepper seasoning (if using) and continue cooking for 5 minutes, until the vegetables start to soften.
- Pour in broth, lemon juice, and lemon zest and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are completely tender.
- Carefully transfer the soup to a heat safe blender and and blend until smooth and creamy. You can also use an immersion blender.
- Return soup to the pot and stir in the chopped parsley. Cook for 5 more minutes, then serve hot.
Notes
Make it thicker: Add 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour to the sautéed vegetables before adding in the broth. Stir well so you don't get any clumps.
Use frozen veggies: You can use frozen broccoli, frozen peas, and frozen spinach without altering this recipe.
Storage: This soup stores well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or up to 6 months in the freezer. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Use a heat safe blender and take care while blending. The steam hot soup releases, paired with the blender's airtight lid, can yield explosive results. We'd recommend taking the plug out of the pour hole in your blender's lid and holding a kitchen towel lightly over the hole when you blend. To avoid this, you can also use an immersion blender, which makes life a lot easier.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Soups
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 167
- Sugar: 6.2 g
- Sodium: 758.7 mg
- Fat: 9.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 18.1 g
- Fiber: 4.6 g
- Protein: 4.3 g
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