Julie Clark
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Broccoli Cheddar Soup
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Broccoli Cheddar Soup is a hearty, comforting soup, perfect for cold days. Milk, heavy cream and cheddar cheese make it extra creamy.
Growing up, I was not a fan of broccoli. We would often have for dinner served steamed with melted cheese on top, but I don’t remember often eating it.
In my young married years, I started liking the taste of fresh broccoli, dipped in ranch of course. But in the past 5 years, I’ve learned to love steam broccoli, which opens the door to so many good recipes.
I’ve eaten the broccoli cheddar soup at Panera Bread many times and finally tackled my own version. I love it just as much, if not more than Panera’s broccoli cheddar soup. Here’s how to make it.
About this Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe:
- Flavor: If you like cheese, you’ll love this comforting soup. Cheddar cheese is the main flavor, with hints of broccoli throughout.
- Texture: The base of the soup is creamy and the vegetables are tender. If you like chunky vegetables, leave the pieces large. If you like a smoother soup, use an immersion blender to blend about one third to half of the soup to be smooth.
- Method: This soup cooks on the stovetop in a large soup pot or dutch oven.
How to Make Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- In a dutch oven or large soup pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion and garlic in the butter for 2-3 minutes. Add the flour and quickly whisk.
- Pour in one cup of the chicken stock, and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Add the remaining 2 cups of chicken stock and whisk again.
- Add in the milk, heavy cream, dijon mustard, pepper and hot sauce. Whisk constantly over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes until the mixture starts to steam and almost comes to a boil. Then turn the stovetop medium-low heat.
- Add in the broccoli and shredded carrots. Cook, stirring often, for about 15-20 minutes until the broccoli is tender. The exact timing will depend on the size of the broccoli florets. If you’d like a smoother soup, use an immersion blender to purée about one third to half of the soup. Or you can leave the soup with the larger vegetable pieces.
- Once the broccoli is tender, turn the heat to low and add in the shredded cheddar cheese, about ¼ cup at a time, stirring so that the cheese melts between each addition.
Serve this soup in a bread bowl. You’ll love our Asiago Cheese Bread Bowl.
Why is my soup grainy?
Cheese and creamy soups can get grainy if the cheese “breaks” or “curdles”. This happens when the temperature of the soup gets too high.
To help prevent this from happening add the cheese at the very end, throwing in a little bit of cheese at a time. Stir and allow the cheese to melt between each addition.
It also helps if you use freshly shredded cheddar cheese rather than pre-shredded cheese.
Lighten it up.
This broccoli cheese soup is high in flavor, but not low calorie, but there are a couple things you can do if you’d like to lower the calories:
- Use skim milk instead of 2% milk.
- Rather than using heavy cream, you can try half and half or whole milk. Please note that if you lower the fat content of the milk, the soup will be thinner and not so creamy.
- Use one cup less shredded cheddar cheese.
Storage Instructions
This soup is best served immediately, but store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
You can also store any leftovers in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Broccoli Cheddar Soup is a hearty, comforting soup, perfect for cold days. Milk, heavy cream and cheddar cheese make it extra creamy.
Servings 8
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Ingredients
- ¼ cup salted butter
- ½ cup diced onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup 2% milk warmed
- 1 cup heavy cream warmed
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- dash hot pepper sauce
- 3 cups broccoli florets
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 3 cups freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- In a dutch oven or large soup pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat.
- Saute the onion and garlic in the butter for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the flour and quickly whisk.
- Pour in one cup of the chicken stock, and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
- Add the remaining 2 cups of chicken stock and whisk again.
- Add in the milk, heavy cream, dijon mustard, pepper and hot sauce. Whisk constantly over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes until the mixture starts to steam and almost comes to a boil. Then turn the stovetop medium-low heat.
- Add in the broccoli and shredded carrots. Cook, stirring often, for about 15-20 minutes until the broccoli is tender. The exact timing will depend on the size of the broccoli florets.
- If you'd like a smoother soup, use an immersion blender to purée about one third to half of the soup. Or you can leave the soup with the larger vegetable pieces.
- Once the broccoli is tender, turn the heat to low and add in the shredded cheddar cheese, about ¼ cup at a time, stirring so that the cheese melts between each addition.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
The soup will continue to thicken as it sits. If it gets too thick, add a little more milk to thin.
Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
The calories shown are based on the recipe making 8 servings, with 1 serving being ⅛ of the soup. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**
Nutrition
Calories: 410kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 96mg | Sodium: 794mg | Potassium: 379mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 3958IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 385mg | Iron: 1mg
