The creaminess of this soup is in the texture – not the ingredients! I use one of my favorite thickening tricks (skin-on potatoes) to make this soup light yet satisfying. A dash of mustard at the end brightens the broccoli flavor without dominating the soup.
This is an easy slice-as-you-go recipe that uses the whole broccoli including the trimmings and stems. But, stems are tough as nails and florets delicate flowers – needing different cooking times. Don’t worry, my recipe keeps this in mind and takes advantage of two pressure cooker heat zones by stacking the ingredients in a specific sequence to ensure all the tough parts of the broccoli boil on the bottom with the potatoes while the florets delicately steam at the top of the heap.
If you can only get ahold of florets, pile those on the top last – ditto for frozen broccoli.
The substitutions are easy, the milk is a snap to swap with favorite nut or grain milk to make this soup vegan.
Vegetarians on up can make this soup even more hearty – but less skinny – by mixing in handfuls of grated cheddar cheese to taste before serving (two handfuls should do).
| Pressure Cooker | Accessories | Pr. Cook Time | Pr. Level | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 L or larger | none | 5 min. | High(2) | Normal |
(per serving)
- Serves: 6 servings
- Serving size: ⅙th
- Calories: 163.6
- TOTAL Fat: 4g
- TOTAL Carbs: 27.7g
- Sugar Carbs: 6g
- Sodium: 221.9mg
- Fiber Carbs: 4.9g
- Protein: 6.7g
- Cholesterol: 4.1mg
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 white onion, roughly chopped
- 1 pound (500g) broccoli florets and stems, divided and roughly chopped
- 3 medium potatoes, roughly chopped
- 4 cups (1L) vegetable stock
- 2 teaspoons salt (withhold if the stock is already salted)
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 cup (250ml) whole milk (or any nut milk of your choice)
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- Pre-heat the pressure cooker by pressing the "Brown" or "Saute'" program.
- Add the olive oil and onion - let the onion pieces lightly brown on at least one side.
- Add the broccoli trimmings and stems (if any), potatoes and salt (if using).
- Mix well and add the stock.
- Sprinkle the top of the veggie heap with broccoli florets - do not mix.
- Close the lid and set the valve to pressure cooking position.
- Electric pressure cookers and stove top pressure cookers: Cook for 5 minutes at high pressure.
- When time is up, open the pressure cooker with the Normal release - release pressure through the valve.
- Mix in the garlic, pour in the milk and add a splat of mustard.
- Puree the contents of the pressure cooker with an immersion blender and serve!
Great recipe Laura, thanks! Very fast and easy and I love the texture. I threw in a couple hand fulls of fresh spinach and let it wilt before blending. It gave it a deep green color but still made the broccoli the star.
Very nice addition, Greg! I’m so glad to read you enjoyed it and made this recipe your own. Thanks for sharing your addition with us – love the idea of making this soup brighter green.
Ciao,
L
I assume you’re adding stock in step 3.
Sounds tasty.
Thanks for catching that, I have updated the recipe. Yes – it’s delicious and my daughter, who is for some reason obsessed with eating broccoli (she doesn’t like them, she loves them) was in paradise for eating this soup so often!!
Ciao,
L
I am going to make this tonight and will post my results. However, I just had to ask this question. In every video I watch, the knife you use to cut up potatoes, etc. looks like such a good one. Would you mind sharing what kind of knives you use? Thank you.
Hi Ann, it’s a “cheap” no-name ceramic kinfe. It has Swiss branding (red package with white cross) but is actually made in China. I literally got them at my supermarket– BUT I love them! Ceramic knives are delicate (I already broke the tip off of one) but are soooo sharp. I haven’t seen anymore make a case for less-delicate ceramic knives so I would consider them something to replace regularly and I would get a set with protective sheaths that will help them survive in a drawer. BTW, the blades are not “ceramic coated” they ARE ceramic.
Let me see if I can find something similar on Amazon….
These look like fun – plus the blades are black ceramic (I have to bleach mine back to white if I cut something that stains)
http://amzn.to/2yp84QD
These handles look comfy…
http://amzn.to/2xH1APX
Have fun shopping, and be careful – they ARE sharp!!
Ciao
L
OOOHHH, thank you. I just ordered the ones with the black blades. I have some very expensive Henckles knives, but they need to be sharpened quite often. I love knives! And, fountain pens, LOL!
The Japanese ceramic knives are said to be the very best (and made in Japan) e.g. Kyocera. I guess they would be expensive, but also extremely sharp!
Thank you, Dave. I’ll check them out.
You’re welcome. Most of the Kyocera ceramic knives are made in Japan; a few are “assembled” in China.
I made this tonight and it was so good. My husband loved it and said “It’s a keeper.”
I made this again and it was even better than the first time. I didn’t have Dijon mustard the first time so I used regular mustard, but the Dijon really makes the difference. I think it would freeze well too, but we haven’t done that yet. We just eat it two nights in a row!
Made this and my wife enjoyed it more than me. It needs something more to enhance the flavor. BTW, I punched this recipe into MFP and it was 140 cals (when using 2% milk) at 6 servings. I think this recipe is more accurately 4 servings and comes to 211 calories. Still an excellent low-cal recipe. Thanks!
It makes six servings for me and my husband, but I guess it depends on how much each serving is. We have it with olive oil toasted rolls, so that may help extend the meal. We tried it with grated sharp cheddar cheese on top the first time. My husband liked that, but I thought it actually detracted from the delicate flavor of the soup.
My family would LOVE this! Yum!
No matter how many times I make this soup, it is always just perfect. I couldn’t find the whole broccoli stalk this time so I had to use broccoli crowns. That gave me more florets and less stalk, but it didn’t alter the flavor at all. We just love it!
It’s always great to hear how these recipes turn out for you, Ann!
Happy Holidays!!
L
I’m a little late, but Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo! I have a stupid question. How can I get an avatar/photo next to show up next to my name when I post comments?
Hi Ann,
To add a photo, either go to your profile page or gravatar.com directly – it’s a service that will post your photo on all websites that are using WordPress on the back-end.
To get to your profile page click on log-in from the menu, and then choose “your profile”. Or go directly there following this link:
http://www.hippressurecooking.com/your-profile/
See you soon! : )
Ciao e Buon Anno!
L
The soup was bland and the starch taste from the potatoes was overwhelming. I had to add cheddar to mask the taste.
I have this cooking now! Added two stalks of celery since I had it. I’m a little confused on the term “normal pressure release”. Is that the same as natural….I’m going to assume so and just let mine do it’s thing for awhile. 5 minutes cool time seems so very short.
No, it’s quick release. Laura uses normal to mean release the pressure through the valve
Thank you Ann! Also, Shawn, you can watch the video and it will show you the release – I know that 5 minutes sounds like such little time, but keep in mind that the potatoes have to come to a boil before pressure cooking can begin and the potatoes are already cooking during that time as well!
Ciao,
L
I seriously did not know brocolli could taste so good! I modified this a bit though to make it healthier. Halved the oil and salt, made it one potato instead of 3 and because I didnt have dijon on hand added a spoon of curry powder..:) it was amazing and so easy in my instapot! Thanks for this!
This is a basic question I know but I want to replace the potato with cauliflower. What is the exchange for amount and does it change cooking time? I’m new to InstantPot and this will be my first recipe to try. Looks so good!
You can sub potatoes with cauliflower, however, please note that some of the “creaminess” of the soup will be lost as this recipe uses the potato’s starch to give a creamy effect.
Ciao,
L
very nice Recipe, Looks sooooo good! Seems so interesting! Thank you for sharing.
Wow great recipe! I’m new to instant pot and found this recipe very helpful…thank you for the easy step by step instructions. I just made a few seasoning adjustments (I added turmeric and smoked paprika instead of mustard) and turned out great! Thanks
I make many kinds of soups, (brocoli, caufiflower, butternut etc) but many have coconut milk or milk
Can these be frozen as I do batches in Mason Jars. Love my Instant Duo Mini Thank you
You can freeze soups that contain milk, but keep in mind that the soup will expand – so I recommend using a flexible container and leaving a little empty space in it.
Ciao,
L
I put in for 3 quart recipes for my instant mini. This seems like a lot of food for a Lux mini pot. But it sounds great and I want to try it as soon as I can. Lot of great reviews.
Laura, I’ve just had my instant pot a couple of weeks….I don’t know what I’d have done without your posts, Thank you so much for being there for us..
This was so good and loved by my husband AND son! I did add sharp cheddar cheese and a handful of spinach served with sourdough toast.
The best!!
Oh my gosh, this soup is a keeper!
I used 2% milk, sautéed in some carrots and garlic with the onions in addition to the raw garlic at the end. Great with a little fresh Parmesan Reggiano sprinkle. Left out the potatoes because I didn’t have any but looking forward to trying this again with the starch. Its still very hearty and filling without them!