Easy low-waste, plant-based broccoli stem soup for Earth month

Start the week off with a delicious dinner that's both easy to make and environmentally conscious.

Carleigh Bodrug, "Plant You" cookbook author and food blogger, offered up a plant-based recipe that's balanced, full of fiber, healthy fats and vitamins.

"It's filling but not heavy, delicious but not overpowering," Bodrug said of the recipe. "It reduces your household food waste and saves you some money along the way. Why waste perfectly great broccoli stems when you could just eat them?"

This soup starts with a sheet pan and requires minimal hands-on effort and can be made in a big batch to enjoy throughout the week.

Green Goddess Soup

Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 40 mins
Servings 6

Ingredients
2 broccoli stems chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 zucchini chopped
1 red onion chopped
1 broccoli head, broken into florets
1 head garlic
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
4 cups salted vegetable broth
3 handfuls spinach
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

On a parchment-lined baking sheet or cast iron pan, add the broccoli stems, bell pepper, zucchini, onion and head of broccoli. Drizzle with olive oil and add the nutritional yeast and some freshly cracked sea salt and black pepper. Slice the top off your head of garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Cover in foil. Bake both for 35 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked through.

Transfer all ingredients listed to a pot or high-speed blender, squeezing out the garlic into the pot or blender and discarding the skin. Either using an immersion blender or your countertop blender, combine the ingredients until a smooth soup is formed. Taste and adjust salt as needed.

Hacks

You can enjoy a smaller serving of this soup as an appetizer, or eat it as the main meal with a hearty slice of bread.

If you're not a fan of coconut, you can replace coconut milk with a handful of soaked cashews to provide the soup with that creamy texture.

The ingredients of this green goddess soup can be customized to help you use leftover veggies from the fridge. Feel free to add any wilting herbs or extra spinach!

If you prefer chunky soups, you can still take advantage of this recipe. Blend half of the veggies with the liquid ingredients, and mix the rest in as they are.

Recipe reprinted with permission courtesy of Plant You.