Creamy Broccoli and Pear Soup (+Instant Pot)

This easy Broccoli and pear soup is thick and creamy and is sweetened with conference pears for a fancy twist. Healthy green soup is packed with a whole head of broccoli, fresh pears and topped with cranberries,walnuts and fresh thyme.

A combination of delicious and vibrant ingredients, a bowl of this Instant Pot Broccoli and Pear Soup is perfect for warming up during chilly winters and is also lavish enough as a starter on your Christmas party menu. Serve with warm Tiger Bread for a filling lunch.

Quick and easy Broccoli Soup

I love soup recipes. They also require so little thought process and, mostly importantly, prep!

There's no need to weigh out ingredients, just roughly chop, add to your cooker and you're good to go.

We've made an instant pot broccoli soup which cuts down cooking time and also preserves some of the nutrients from the broccoli.

This healthy broccoli soup can easily be prepared in 15 minutes from prep to table.

I can guarantee that this soup is

• Delicious and Nourishing
• Easy and Quick
• On the table under 30 minutes
• Filling and satisfying
• Can be made in advance
• A great meal-prep recipe

During Autumn and winter months, soups are ALWAYS on the menu, whether it's a Sweet Potato, Mushroom and Goji Berry Soup or a Butternut Squash and Cannellini Beans Soup.

I also love Indian style soups and this Tamatar Ka Shorba or spiced tomato soup is actually addictive!

Creamy Broccoli Soup (with no added cream)

This soup is earthy, creamy and rich in taste, yet hearty and comforting with each spoonful warming your insides.

It is low in calories, suitable for vegetarians and gluten-free.

Many broccoli soups achieve their creaminess either by making a roux or by adding cheese before blending but this one is neither!

Why add Pear to broccoli soup?

The addition of juicy pears provides a natural sweetness to this soup.

The beauty of adding pear to broccoli soup is that it mellows out the flavour of broccoli. If you have children who resist green soups, this one might just convert them!

Ingredients for the healthy broccoli soup with pear

• Broccoli - use fresh broccoli where possible for delicious flavour but frozen will work too.

Love broccoli? Try our Superfood Broccoli Stir-fry

• Pear - buy fresh. We have used conference pears, but this soup will work well with other pear varieties as well!
• White Onion - adds bulk to the soup and also provides a mild sweetness
• Oil - we have used olive oil. You could also use a flavourless oil such as sunflower or vegetable oil
• Vegetable stock or a vegetable stock cube dissolved in hot water. Use low sodium or salt stock cubes if you are watching your salt intake.

Herbs and Spices

This soup doesn't require many spices as you want to enjoy the original taste of the fresh ingredients.

Once, I had some fresh thyme left over from making Vegan Thyme Oatcakes, so I thought of adding some to the soup. The flavours blended so beautifully with the broccoli and pear.

For spices, you will only need freshly ground black pepper.

Toppings

To garnish this soup, you will need:

• Vegetarian blue cheese which has a rich aroma and a melt-in-mouth texture that lends a creamy and buttery taste to this soup. I would also try using crumbled goats cheese, wensleydale or grated cheddar. You could also add a spoon of mascarpone or ricotta. If you want to lower the fat content of each serving, leave out the cheese. The soup itself is plenty creamy so you won't be missing out.
• Dried Cranberries are a perfect ingredient to use for a Christmas themed meal. A little tart and sweet, they pair so well with this soup.
• Walnuts adds a bit of crunch to this creamy soup and adds good fat.

How to make Instant Pot Broccoli Soup

The step by step images are for Instant Pot soup but you can find stovetop and other pressure cooker options below in the recipe card.

1. Select saute button on the Instant pot penal.
2. Add oil and roughly chopped onion, saute for 2-3 minutes or until translucent.
3. Now add chopped broccoli, pear, thyme, salt and black pepper.
4. Mix and add vegetable stock.

1. Close the lid and select High pressure for 1 minutes.
2. Release the steam manually.
3. Blend using a blender.

Serving suggestions for Broccoli and Pear Soup

As we all know, most vegetable soups are eaten with rustic crusty bread or rolls. I know that I use soup as an excuse to indulge in bread!!

My air fryer bread and Instant Pot Bread are pretty good with soups.

For a low carb diet, top this soup with cooked qunioq, some roasted chickpeas, or mixed nuts and seeds.

Eat alongside some roasted vegetables, air fryer avocado fries or why not try some rye crackers?

FAQS

As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!

Don’t forget to follow me on social media using the buttons below – I can't wait to see you all there!

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• YouTube

Note - This post has been updated from our recipe archives with new content, but the recipe remains the same. First time published in Dec 2018.