Broccoli cheese soup is a classic comfort food that is perfect for chilly autumn and winter days. But if you’re tired of the same old recipe, here’s an amazing twist on it that will make your taste buds sing! This recipe takes just one hour to make and is WAY better than what you get at Panera. So grab your ingredients and let’s get cooking!
Broccoli cheese soup is one of the most comforting and delicious soups out there. It’s rich and creamy, with sharp cheddar cheese and fresh broccoli. And it’s so easy to make! This is my go-to recipe for the best broccoli cheese soup.
This soup is everything you want in a broccoli cheese soup. It’s thick and creamy, with plenty of sharp cheddar cheese and fresh broccoli. The key to this soup is using good quality cheddar cheese. I like to use an aged white cheddar for its strong flavor.
To make this soup, simply sauté some chopped onion and garlic in a bit of butter until softened. Then add in the broccoli and cook for a few minutes more. Next, whisk in some flour to thicken, then slowly add in milk until you have a thick and creamy soup base. Finally, stir in the grated cheddar cheese until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then serve hot with some crusty bread on the side.
This soup is so easy to make and so incredibly comforting. It’s perfect for a cold winter day or any day when you need a little pick-me-up. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
There are few things more comforting than a big bowl of steaming hot soup on a cold winter’s day. This broccoli cheese soup recipe is the perfect blend of rich, creamy, and cheesy goodness. It’s also super easy to make – just throw everything in a pot and let it simmer!
This soup is packed with healthy ingredients like broccoli, carrots, and onion. But the real star of the show is the sharp cheddar cheese. It gives the soup its signature flavor and creaminess. Trust us, this is one soup you’ll want to make again and again!
Tips:
This broccoli cheese soup recipe is packed with flavor and easy to make. Here are a few pro tips to make sure your soup turns out perfectly:
1. Use fresh broccoli for the best flavor. Frozen broccoli will work in a pinch, but the soup won’t be quite as flavorful.
2. Be sure to use sharp cheddar cheese for the best flavor. If you don’t have sharp cheddar on hand, you can use regular cheddar, but the soup won’t be quite as cheesy.
3. Don’t overcook the broccoli! You want it to be tender but not mushy.
4. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. You may also want to add a little hot sauce or Worcestershire sauce for extra flavor.
5. This soup is best served hot, but leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.
Notes:
This broccoli cheese soup recipe is one of our favorites! It’s packed with flavor and takes less than 30 minutes to make. We love to top ours with a little bit of shredded cheese and some croutons, but feel free to top yours however you’d like!
Conclusion & Recipe:
This soup is the perfect comfort food for a cold winter night. It is hearty and filling, but still light enough that you won’t feel too full afterwards. The best part is that it is so easy to make! You can have this soup on the table in less than an hour, and it will be sure to please everyone at the table.
The Best Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon + 4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 1 small or medium sweet yellow onion diced small
- 1 clove garlic peeled and minced finely
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock chicken stock may be substituted
- 2 cups half-and-half*
- 2 to 3 cups broccoli florets diced into bite-size pieces + 1 cups stems, optional (I used 3 cups florets and 1 cup stems
- 2 large carrots trimmed, peeled, and sliced into very thin rounds, about 1/16th-inch
- 3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika or regular paprika optional and to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder optional and to taste
- pinch cayenne pepper optional and to taste (doesn’t make soup spicy and serves to enhance flavor)
- 8 ounces grated high quality extra-sharp cheddar cheese with a small amount reserved for garnishing
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, add 1 tablespoon butter, the diced onion, and sauté over medium heat until the onion is translucent and barely browned, about 4 minutes. Stir intermittently.
- Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds, stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn. Remove from heat and set pan aside.
- In a large heavy-bottom pot (I use this Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast-Iron 6-3/4-Quart Oval French (Dutch) Oven) add 4 tablespoons butter, flour, and cook over medium heat for about 3 to 5 minutes, whisking constantly, until flour is thickened. You are making a roux and it’s very important the mixture is thick or soup will never thicken properly later.
- Slowly add the vegetable stock, whisking constantly.
- Slowly add the half-and-half, whisking constantly.
- Allow mixture to simmer over low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until it has reduced and thickened some. Whisk intermittently to re-incorporate the ‘skin’ that inevitably forms, this is normal.
- While mixture is simmering, chop the broccoli and carrots. After simmering 15 to 20 minutes, add the broccoli, carrots, and the onion and garlic you previously set aside.
- Add the salt, pepper, optional paprika, optional dry mustard powder, and optional cayenne. If you don’t have these seasonings on hand, it’s okay, but they do add subtle depth of flavor. Stir to combine.
- Allow soup to simmer over low heat for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until it has reduced and thickened some. Whisk intermittently to re-incorporate the ‘skin’ that inevitably forms, this is normal.
- While soup simmers, grate the cheese. It’s important to use a high-quality cheese (not the cheapest thing you can find) because the flavor of the soup depends on it. Do not use pre-grated cheese in ziptop bags because that cheese is resistant to melting and won’t incorporate well. After simmering about 20 to 25 minutes, add most of the cheese, reserving a small amount for garnishing bowls. Stir in the cheese until melted and incorporated fully, less than 1 minute.
- Transfer soup to bowls, garnish with reserved cheese, and serve immediately. Soup will keep airtight for 5 to 7 days in the fridge. Reheat gently in the microwave. I find the soup is less likely to ‘break’ or separate when reheated in the micro rather than on the stovetop, but do what you think is best. I don’t recommend freezing the soup because I feel like the cheese and half-and-half will not do well upon thawing and soup could break, but I haven’t actually tried freezing it.
