Ready within 1 hour, this hearty broccoli dill pickle soup is the perfect cold weather cozy dinnerโjust add some crusty bread for dipping. This vegan soup is made with simple ingredients like onions, carrots, potatoes, canned white beans, dill pickles, garlic, and vegetable stock, and happens entirely on the stove top in 1 pot. Filled with creamy and tangy flavors, plenty of vegetables, white beans, and a finishing kiss of dill pickle brine to lift everything up, this easy and creamy vegan broccoli soup is perfect for dinner on a cold night. Definitely not your typical vegan broccoli soup!
I have had versions of vegan dill pickle potato soup before and absolutely loved it. Iโm a fan of anything dill pickle-flavored so the creamy and slightly chunky soup is such a slam dunk. It has a strong satiation factor that is so crucial in the winter months.
The inspiration for this vegan broccoli dill pickle soup:
- The traditional Polish recipe ogรณrkowa zupa is a big reference point here. This soup usually contains potatoes, root vegetables, onions, chopped/grated dill pickles, sometimes meat, sometimes sour cream, and also dill pickle brine. The pickles are sometimes cooked in fat with stock in a separate pot (before being poured into the final soup).
- My recipe here is not traditional or meant to be a recreation of creamy dill pickle soup as discussed above. The flavor combination of dill pickles with an aromatic potato base is inspired by it though!
I often find myself making soups as a strategy to use up whatโs in my fridge. Thatโs where this recipeโs journey began. I wanted a broccoli and potato soup with a bit of a different flavor profile. Some added satiation from beans to make it more filling was another goal. The broccoli truly sparkles in this flavor combo with dill pickles, miso and a few other odd balls ;)
My favorite thing about this soup is that it really does eat like a complete meal. We will always take a little bit of extra comfort with our vegetables this time of year, and this soup fits the bill. I hope that you love it!
More dill pickle goodness! Vegan Dill Pickle Dip, Chopped Dill Pickle Salad, Pickle Panzanella Salad, Dill Pickle Broccoli Slaw, and Vegan Potato Salad with Dill Pickle Dressing.
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Broccoli Dill Pickle Soup with White Beans & Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, small dice
- 2 sticks celery, small dice
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- pinch chili flakes, optional
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, chopped (480 grams/3 cups chopped potatoes)
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 1 bunch broccoli, stems and florets chopped (about 375 grams)
- 1 ยฝ cups cooked white beans (from a 15 oz can)
- ยฝ cup chopped dill pickles
- 1-2 cups baby spinach, optional
- ยฝ cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours and drained
- 1 tablespoon light miso
- pickle juice/brine, to taste (see note)
- โ cup chopped fresh dill
Equipment
Notes
- I use 2 tablespoons of pickle brine and find that to be perfectly tangy for my tastesโI say this as someone who really loves pickles and acidic food in general.
- Soaked sunflower seeds or macadamia nuts stand in nicely for the cashews. Soak macadamias for a full 8 hours though.
- I add the baby spinach to the blended portion of the soup because I love the pretty green colour and extra veggie boost. Of course you can leave it out and the soup will still be great!
Instructions
- Heat a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Pour in the olive oil and swirl it around.
- Add the onion and celery to the pot and stir. Sautรฉ until celery is bright green and onions are translucent and soft, about 6-7 minutes.
- To the pot, add the garlic, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, chili flakes (if using), and bay leaves. Stir and sautรฉ until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the chopped potatoes and Dijon mustard. Season liberally with salt and pepper and stir. Pour in the vegetable stock and stir once more. Place a lid on top of the pot and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, move the lid slightly so that some steam can escape. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
- Once potatoes are tender, add chopped broccoli, white beans, and chopped dill pickles. Stir and bring up to a simmer again. Partially cover with a lid and cook until broccoli is tender, about 8 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and discard them.
- If using, add the baby spinach to an upright blender pitcher. Carefully ladle half of the hot soup into the blender pitcher as well. Add the drained cashews and miso. Blend this mixture on high until completely smooth and bright green, about 1 full minute.
- Pour the blended portion of soup back into the pot and stir. Give the soup a taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. From here, add pickle brine to taste and the chopped fresh dill. Stir once more, bring it back up to a boil, and then serve the soup hot.
Are the cashews essential? Or could I omit completely? Thanks
They give the finished soup a creamy texture. If youโd prefer something a bit more brothy, you can omit them!
-L
This was an INCREDIBLE recipe! I added the spinach for that beautiful green color and added an extra head of broccoli. Adding this to my regular rotation!
I love all of your recipes that I have tried, but your soups really stand out to me. This one is another hit, I subbed vegan sour cream for the cashews because I didnโt soak them before and it went really well with it. Hearty, creamy, tangy โ this will be another staple for me, thanks for another great recipe!
Love that you used vegan sour cream instead! Such a smart substitute and I bet the flavor worked nicely with the pickle vibes. Thanks for leaving this kind review, Janina!
-L
Love this recipe, thank you so much for bringing it into my world! I just made it for the second time but instead of spinach I substituted for kale and it worked out great!
So glad that you enjoyed it Sacha! And great to hear that kale worked in this recipe :)
-L
Great flavors and color! Followed recipe except omitted nutritional yeast. I included 2 C baby spinach. I saved the drained water from the cashews and added to thin soup to consistency I wanted. Instead of only blending half of the soup, I mistakenly blended the entire pot. So the texture/chunk of broccoli, beans and potatoes was missing, but the flavor was still spot on. Next time I will make sure to only blend half the pot of soup. This is definitely a keeper.
This is the 2nd soup recipe Iโve tried and both have blown me away โ wonderful recipes.
Why has no one mentioned how incredibly cheesy this tastes?! Vegans rule. This is more delicious than any broccoli cheddar soup and far more nutritious. First recipe from your website, fan for life!
So glad that you enjoyed it, Violet! Thanks for this comment and review :)
-L
Such an interesting combination of flavors. I love the beautiful color and how flavorful the ingredients sound. I donโt use white beans often and this sounds like a great way to use them.
Not sure why Iโm the lone man here but this soup turned tragically more terrible with each step. Particularly, blending as instructed gave me a gritty and ill-coloured puree that just was not at all appealing. Flavour was decent enough but we could still only do a few bites. Havenโt had a fail like this in a while! I wanted to love it!
ALL MY FAVORITE THINGS IN ONE
Wow. It is so good. The mustard takes it up a notch with the pickle and its perfect for us veg heads. I didnโt even need bread (although yes next time i will have a crusty loaf) thank you for sharing
I used โgiardineraโ rather than pickles because itโs what I had. And cranberry beans rather than white, for the same reason. This was AMAZING. Excited to explore more recipes on this site!
I am not sure what the nutritional yeast does in soups, I have never seen it in soup recipes prior to The First Mess but I have the sense/guess that it adds depth and umami. Really yummy.
Thanks for sharing your experience with a few modifications, Lisa! Nutritional yeast just deepens the savoury flavour here :)
-L
I was completely intrigued by this recipe! SOOOO GOOD!!! I brought some to work for my co-workers and everyone loved it and asked for the recipe! This is quickly becoming one of my favorite sites. Thank you! :)
This was very good! And even the leftovers were very good
Another delicious soup recipe, Laura! Loved all the flavors and textures. I will be making this often! This is my go-to site for healthy vegan recipes.
This was FANTASTIC! All of my favorite things in one potโฆ as a runner my friends and I are addicted to both pickles and potatoes, so to have them in a soup in a cold snap is just awesome! I blended a little too much of mine but good to know for next time. And surprisingly this was less โpicklyโ than I thought it would be! Like more cowbell, I could do more pickle next time. Thank you!! (and if you havenโt tried them, the dill pickle dip and the chopped salad are also both winners!)
Hi Laura, Can you recommend a substitute for the mustard (Iโm allergic to mustard)? This soup looks amazing and I look forward to making it. Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes!
In case Laura doesnโt get back to you, Iโm sure you could just leave it out. Thereโs not much in the recipe โ and make sure you buy pickles that donโt have mustard seeds!
Yes, you can definitely leave the Dijon out! Thereโs lots of flavour going on without it :)
-L
Would the same be true for the miso?
No, the same is not true for this miso in my opinion. Miso adds a lot of umami and depth to the finished soup. A splash of soy sauce/Tamari is a decent substitute if you donโt have miso on hand.
-L
Donโt hesitate, just make this soup!! The flavors blend so nicely together for a salty/tangy/creamy and totally savory bowl of soup that Iโll be eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
Best soup Iโve ever made. The flavors work so well together โ love the additional pickle brine at the end. I would definitely recommend the spinach option- it added so much flavor and the color was beautiful! So delicious and so healthy. This one will definitely be in my regular rotation.
Wow!! I think this is one of my favourite soups ever โ the flavours all together are amazing. It was also my first time trying butter beans (love them). I measured the chili flakes, spinach, and pickles with my heart. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I will be making it again.
Can this be made in an instant pot?
Do you think I could replace the potatoes with sweet potatoes and chickpeas instead of white beans??
I think the chickpea swap would be fine, but the sweet potato flavour may not go great with everything else. If you donโt want to use potatoes, Iโd recommend celery root, turnip, cauliflower or zucchini instead (or even a combination).
-L
First mess never misses! :)
Delicious โ great flavor profile, easy and makes a big batch.
This soup is so delicious. I added a leek and a zucchini and used frozen, thawed broccoli and spinach and holy cannoli, it was beautiful. Iโm not much of an internet commenter but this was that good. Thanks!
Just made this- delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
This recipe is fantastic! For personal taste, I omitted the beans and doubled the chilli flakes. Used 4 teaspoons of dried dill weed since I didnโt have fresh. Will definitely make again.
This soup was really delicious! Adding the spinach makes this soup the most beautiful green color. I highly recommend adding all the options, since it gives the soup a more complex flavor. I have never used pickles in a soup before, so it was fun trying something new. Thanks for such a great recipe!
If you are not Vegan can you use cream instead of the soaked cashews.
Yes you can!
-L
Iโve never reviewed a recipe but I never would have thought to put pickles in soup (even though I love pickles). I was so very pleasantly surprised by how this came together.
Made this tonight and it is a delicious and gorgeous looking soup! Will definitely be added to my favourite soups list.
Broccoli, Beans, & PicklesโI HAD TO TRY IT! My husband & I tag-teamed in the kitchen, sharing the chopping & preps. This was a HUGE WINNER!. I used all the options: the pickles, the brine, 2 cups of spinach, dill, Dijon,etc. IโLL definitely make it again! Itโs a mega-nutritious delight. Thanks for your creativity!
This recipe is exact and although the ingredients seem unusual it turns out delicious. Thank you for this creation.
Ann-Marie
WOW!! This soup is transcendent. Itโs all bright and sparkly, and the flavors are deep and layered with richness and complexity. It tastes like the best parts of a baked potato but healthy and infused with the truly brilliant undertones of the much loved pickle. Nothing short of a dream here, folks!
Canโt wait to try! What kind of white beans are you using here? I may have missed it, but didnโt see it in the recipe or notes. Thanks!
Hi Katie!
I used butter beans in these photos. Navy or cannellini beans are also great in this soup recipe.
-L
I would love to try this recipe, but just wondering if you used salt-brined or vinegar-brined pickles?
Hi Lisa!
Excellent question. Iโve tried both in tests! The vinegar ones (and brine/juice) are definitely more intense and sour. Honestly I liked both. If youโre using salt brined pickles, you may want a bit more brine added at the end.
-L
OMG, I canโt wait to try this tonight! Looks absolutely heavenly! Thanks so much for sharing!
Hope that you love it, Ron!
-L