This quick, easy and healthy Instant Pot broccoli soup is served with an aromatic and zesty gremolata made of parsley and lemon zest on top. It’s a vegan, gluten-free and Whole30 friendly recipe.
This tasty pressure cooker broccoli soup is great for a little plant-based nutrient boost. Rich in Vitamin C, potassium and antioxidants, it’s a great meal for cooler weather and to boost your immune system.
We love serving this soup with the gremolata – a condiment of chopped parsley, lemon zest and garlic– which freshens up the soup and gives it an added Mediterranean twist. The Italian gremolata recipe often contains chopped anchovies as well, which you are welcome to use if you eat fish.
This is a low-calorie soup that is vegan, gluten-free and Whole30 friendly. You can serve it as a light meal as is or add some grated cheese if you tolerate dairy (or a vegan alternative). You can always add extra protein in the form of chickpeas or chicken and serve with a slice of bread for extra calories.
Instant Pot Broccoli Soup Ingredients
This is a healthy broccoli soup made with all-natural ingredients and the addition of cream is optional (you can use some dairy-free alternatives like coconut milk). Besides broccoli, we're using onions, garlic, celery and white potatoes, which add a lot of starch and creaminess to this soup.
TIP: Make sure to cut the potatoes into small cubes and slice the larger florets of the broccoli into halves, so they all cook evenly together (e.g. your potato cubes are too large, they will need longer cooking time than broccoli).
If using vegetable stock, make sure to use less salt than stated in the recipe below as sodium is usually added to the stock already. You can always add more salt once the soup is ready.
Once cooked, this Instant Pot broccoli soup will freeze for up to 3 months and will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge.
MORE LIGHT INSTANT POT SOUPS
- Italian Vegetable Soup (Vegan, Detox, Light)
- Instant Pot Sweet Potato & Corn Soup
- Carrot Cilantro & Lemongrass Soup
- Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
- Low-Calorie Lentil Soup
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Instant Pot Broccoli Soup With Gremolata
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion peeled and finely diced
- 1 large celery stick diced
- 1 lb. broccoli cut into quarters and the stems diced roughly (450-500 g)
- 2 medium white potatoes peeled and diced into small cubes (350 g / 0.7 lb.)
- 2 large cloves of garlic diced
- 1 liter water or vegetable stock cube
- 2½ teaspoons salt use less if using vegetable stock
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup coconut cream the thickened part of the coconut milk in a can – optional!
- Juice of ½ lemon to finish
For gremolata
- 1 lemon zest only
- Large handful of fresh parsley finely chopped
- 1 small garlic clove finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot on and press the Sauté function key. Add the olive oil, onions and celery. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring a couple of times.
- Add the rest of the ingredients (except for the lemon and parsley) and stir through. Press Cancel/Keep Warm to stop the sauté process. Place and lock the lid, then press Manual, High pressure for 3 minutes. After 3 beeps, the Instant Pot will start to build up the pressure. Once the cooking is done and the timer goes off, allow 2-3 minutes for natural pressure release and then use the quick release method to let out the rest of the pressure/steam.
- In the meantime, grate the peel of the lemon and chop the parsley. You can also use a peeler to cut the rind off and chop it very finely. Combine the lemon zest and parsley together with the garlic (if using) in a bowl and set aside.
- Add the juice of ½ lemon to the soup mixture. Transfer the soup, in batches, to a food processor or a blender (be careful with the hot soup in plastic blenders!) and process into puree. Return to the pot and stir in the coconut cream or crème fraîche/sour cream (if okay with dairy) or go without. Add more salt and pepper if you wish.
- Serve the soup in bowls topped with a teaspoon or two of the gremolata.
Notes
Nutrition
SAVE THIS INSTANT POT BROCCOLI SOUP TO PINTEREST
Mary
Do you think making it without potatoes would be good? Or a suggestion for a substitution as we can't have potatoes. Sounds delish!
Instant Pot Eats
Can you have winter squash or sweet potatoes? Or rutabaga/swedes or parsnips? Any starchy veggie would work well in place of white potatoes. You can also increase the amount of broccoli used or add some cauliflower to bulk it up.
chukkagirl
This soup was frankly AWESOME! Really easy, I actually cut back the oil to 2 teaspoons, used 4 cups of chicken broth, and no coconut oil and it rocked! I used an immersion blender to blend it up in under a minute. The gremolata added such a fresh note. Thank you for this recipe!
instantpoteats
Thanks so much and glad you enjoyed it. Yes, you can absolutely use less or more oil depending on your needs.
Robin Lewis
What's the nutritional info (e.g. carbs) etc.)for this? Thanks.
instantpoteats
Hey Robin, we don't have the exact info but it's easy to copy and paste the ingredients into something like MyFitnessPal calculator to get the data.
Ash
Looks like it's going to turn out amazing! I'm a little worried because in the instructions it says add the rest of the ingredients so I added the coconut cream with everything, instead of at the end... (this is why I should read before starting!) Think that'll change the flavor?
instantpoteats
Hi Ash, it won't change the flavour much but sometimes cooking coconut milk can reduce the creaminess because some of it is lost. Adding it at the end really makes it rich!