Der Koch erklärt, dass eine vegane Suppe auch mit Lauch und Blumenkohl sehr gut schmecken kann.

German word order changes in subordinate clauses.

• In the main clause: Der Koch erklärt ...
  • German uses the finite verb in second position rule, so erklärt comes second.
• After dass:
  • dass introduces a subordinate clause.
  • In a subordinate clause, the finite verb goes to the end.

So:

• Main clause: Der Koch erklärt
• Subordinate clause: dass eine vegane Suppe auch mit Lauch und Blumenkohl sehr gut schmecken kann

At the end of that subordinate clause, you see the verb cluster:

• schmecken kann

The finite verb is kann, so it comes last.

Because Suppe is:

• feminine: die Suppe
• in the nominative case, because it is the subject of the subordinate clause

So the forms are:

• eine = feminine nominative indefinite article
• vegane = adjective ending that matches the feminine nominative singular after eine
• Suppe = noun

So:

• eine Suppe = a soup
• eine vegane Suppe = a vegan soup

mit always takes the dative case.

So Lauch and Blumenkohl are in the dative here:

• mit Lauch
• mit Blumenkohl

In this sentence, the nouns happen to look the same as in the nominative because:

• der Lauch → dative: dem Lauch if an article is used
• der Blumenkohl → dative: dem Blumenkohl if an article is used

But since there is no article, the noun form itself does not visibly change here.

German often leaves out articles when talking about ingredients or substances in a general way.

So:

• mit Lauch und Blumenkohl = with leek and cauliflower

This sounds natural when listing ingredients. It is similar to English, where you might also say:

• with leek and cauliflower
• with onions and potatoes

You could also say mit dem Lauch und dem Blumenkohl, but that would usually sound more specific, as if referring to particular leek and cauliflower already known in the context.

Because this is a subordinate clause introduced by dass.

In subordinate clauses, the verb elements move to the end. When there is a modal verb like können, the usual pattern is:

• main verb in the infinitive + modal verb last

So:

• ... sehr gut schmecken kann

Compare:

• Main clause: Eine vegane Suppe kann sehr gut schmecken.
• Subordinate clause: ..., dass eine vegane Suppe sehr gut schmecken kann.

schmecken means to taste.

In this sentence, sehr gut schmecken means:

• to taste very good
• more natural English: to taste very good / to be very tasty

This is different from:

• mögen = to like
• sein = to be

Examples:

• Die Suppe schmeckt gut. = The soup tastes good.
• Ich mag die Suppe. = I like the soup.
• Die Suppe ist gut. = The soup is good.

So schmecken focuses specifically on taste/flavor.

auch usually goes near the part of the sentence it is emphasizing.

Here:

• auch mit Lauch und Blumenkohl

This suggests something like:

• even with leek and cauliflower
• also when made with leek and cauliflower

So auch highlights that this combination still works.

Its exact placement can shift depending on what the speaker wants to emphasize, but this position is very natural.

sehr gut modifies schmecken.

• gut schmecken = to taste good
• sehr gut schmecken = to taste very good

So:

• sehr = very
• gut = well / good

Together they function adverbially here, describing how the soup can taste.

In German, subordinate clauses are normally separated from the main clause by a comma.

Since dass introduces a subordinate clause, you need a comma:

• Der Koch erklärt, dass ...

This comma is required in standard German spelling.

Not with the same meaning and structure.

After erklärt in this sentence, the speaker is introducing a content clause: what the cook explains. For that, German normally uses dass:

• Der Koch erklärt, dass ...

Without dass, the sentence would need a different structure and would usually not sound right in standard usage here.

So the normal version is:

• Der Koch erklärt, dass eine vegane Suppe ... schmecken kann.

Here kann expresses possibility, not ability in the usual personal sense.

So:

• ... schmecken kann = can taste good / can be tasty

It means that a vegan soup is capable of turning out tasty, or that it is possible for it to taste very good.

This is a common use of können in German:

• not just be able to
• but also can / may / it is possible that

Not exactly.

In German:

• vegan is usually pronounced roughly like veh-GAHN
• vegane adds an ending, so it becomes roughly veh-GAH-neh

The stress is usually on the second syllable: ve-GAN.

So vegane Suppe is not pronounced like English VEE-gun soup.

Yes. It is a prepositional phrase that gives extra information about the soup and its ingredients.

It tells you with what the soup is made or served in this context:

• eine vegane Suppe
• auch mit Lauch und Blumenkohl

So you can understand it as:

• a vegan soup, even with leek and cauliflower, can taste very good

It is not the grammatical subject, but it adds important descriptive information about the soup.