Swapping Cream for Dairy-Free Milk

• Plain, unsweetened soymilk has a thick, creamy consistency that works well, while full-fat coconut milk is a creamy enough to be used in place of heavy cream, although it adds a hint of coconut flavor to the soup. Other lighter options include rice milk, oat milk and almond milk. If you want to make it even more indulgent, adding dairy-free margarine or cooking oil to the milk makes it richer. For example, adding one part margarine or oil to three parts of milk makes a light cream replacement. Adding one part of margarine or oil to two parts of milk makes a heavy cream replacement.

Substituting Dairy for Cashew Cream

• The humble cashew nut needs just a little preparation before being transformed into a deliciously creamy dairy substitute. Soak raw cashews in water for about one hour before rinsing and draining them. Then blend the nuts with 1 cup of water until the mixture is smooth. Stir your cashew cream into your soup before serving it.

Using a Potato to Add Creaminess

• It's almost magical how you can achieve a creamy feel and texture without a hint of any kind of dairy or non-dairy milk. To use a potato in place of the dairy called for in your recipe, simmer peeled and chopped potato in vegetable stock until the potato is nearly tender. Then stir chopped broccoli florets into the mixture and simmer it for another 10 minutes, or until the broccoli and potato pieces are very tender. Puree the soup until it's smooth and creamy before seasoning it to taste with salt and pepper.

Adding Creamy Cauliflower

• Use cauliflower to help you achieve that thick, creamy consistency that makes cream of broccoli soup so delicious. One of the easiest ways is to simmer cauliflower florets in vegetable broth until they are tender. Then add most of the broccoli florets that your soup recipe calls for and let it simmer until the broccoli is tender. Puree the mixture with an immersion blender, food processor or high-speed blender until it’s smooth. Return the mixture, if necessary, to your soup pot and add some dairy-free milk and the rest of your broccoli florets to the pot. Allow it to simmer until the broccoli is tender and the soup is thickened. The cauliflower adds body to the soup while complementing the flavor of the broccoli.

Replacing Cream With Pureed Tofu

• Replace the heavy cream or light cream in the recipe with the same measure of silken tofu, which adds creaminess while thickening the soup. Place tofu in a blender and blend it until it's smooth. Another way to use tofu is to dice it and place it in your soup pot with vegetable stock, broccoli and any other seasonings that you are using. Bring the mixture to a boil, simmer it until the broccoli is tender and then use an immersion blender to transform it into a creamy soup.