This easy and delicious Broccoli Cheese Soup is made with real cheddar cheese and tons of fresh vegetables. The flavor is soo incredible it belongs in a restaurant!
The day I make Broccoli Cheese Soup and serve it inside one of my homemade bread bowls is the day I feel like a champion chef! Those two paired together are the best meal EVER! Some of my other favorite “comfort food” soup recipes include Creamy Tomato and Spinach Tortellini, Classic Homemade Chili, and this amazing Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup.
Broccoli Cheese Soup
This is the kind of broccoli soup I can really get behind! It has so many added veggies, and the flavor is fantastic! Full credit for this delicious recipe goes to my Mom. She’s been making broccoli cheese soup this way for as long as I can remember–with real ingredients (no processed cheese here!) and extra veggies–and it’s AMAZING!
The last time she came to town to visit I had her make it and actually write down the recipe to document it to share with you all! I’m confidant you’ll love it just as much as me!
What You’ll Need:
- Vegetable broth: Using vegetable broth keeps the soup vegetarian, but you could use chicken broth. I love better than bouillon vegetable base, which is also a great way to add flavor at the end of cooking the soup, if you feel it needs it. You can find it at your local grocery store or Walmart.
- Carrots, celery, Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes, broccoli, yellow onion: this soup is chock full of vegetables to give it an awesome texture and taste!
- Butter
- All-purpose flour
- Half and half: regular or fat-free
- Whole milk
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Shredded cheddar cheese: I use sharp cheddar cheese, and it makes a huge difference to use a good quality aged cheddar cheese, for optimal flavor, and smooth melting. Also, freshly shredded cheese is a ESSENTIAL! The pre-shredded kind will not melt very well, or taste as good.
Broccoli Cheese Soup in a few simple steps:
- Prep vegetables. Grate and chop all vegetables.
- Cook vegetables (carrot, celery, potatoes) in broth in a large pot. (Saute the onion separately and then add). Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer until tender, 3-5 minutes. Add broccoli and simmer one additional minute and remove from heat. Sauté onion. In a separate skillet with one tablespoon butter until tender and lightly brown. Add to the pot with vegetables.
- Make the roux. Melt butter, stir in flour. Add half and half and milk one cup at a time as roux thickens. Cook, stirring continually with whisk until smooth and bubbly.
- Combine roux and vegetables. Slowly add roux to the pot of cooked vegetables, stirring carefully to combine.
- Add cheese and stir until cheese has melted. Enjoy!
Tips for Healthier Broccoli Cheese Soup:
The simplest thing you could do to make this a healthier version of broccoli cheese soup is to use a leaner milk and half and half. I have used fat-free half and half with great results and low fat milk works well, the broth is just not as creamy.
Storing and Freezing:
This broccoli cheese soup will keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Because this soup is made with cream, it doesn’t freeze well. If you freeze it, the milk and cream will separate upon reheating and the soup will develop a slightly grainy texture.
I HAVE SO MANY GREAT SOUP RECIPES! HERE ARE A FEW FAVORITES:
You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST for more great recipes!
Broccoli Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 3 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1 cup grated carrot , about 1-2 carrots
- 1 cup finely diced celery , about 2 ribs celery
- 2 small/medium potatoes , grated (Yukon Gold or Russet)
- 4 1/2 cups chopped broccoli , about 3 small heads of broccoli
- 1 medium yellow onion , finely chopped, (about 1 cup)
- 5 Tablespoons butter , divided
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups half and half (fat free works well!)
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- Salt and Pepper , to taste
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Prepare vegetables by grating or chopping. Shred cheese and set aside to allow it to come to room temperature.
- Add vegetable broth to a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery and potatoes, cover pot, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 3-5 minutes.
- Add chopped broccoli and simmer for another minutes or two, depending on how chunky or fine you chopped it. Remove from heat.
- In a separate skillet over medium heat, sauté onion in 1 tablespoon butter until tender and lightly browned.
- Add onion to pot with vegetables. Add remaining 4 tablespoons of butter to the skillet, over medium heat. Once melted, whisk in ¼ c. flour and stir well to make a roux.
- Add the half and half and milk, one cup at a time, stirring constantly. Cook roux, stirring continually with whisk until thickened, smooth and bubbly. Season well with salt and pepper.
- Slowly add rue to the pot of cooked vegetables, stirring carefully to combine. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add grated cheese, stirring until melted. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper or vegetable bouillon base, to taste, if needed.
Notes
Nutrition
HAVE YOU TRIED THIS RECIPE?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
2pots2cook says
Oh yes ! Definitely one of our favourites ! Thank you and enjoy your weekend 🙂
Colleen Bailey says
Made this today, it was delicious!
Lauren Allen says
I’m so glad you liked it, thank you!
Katie says
My husband generally does not like soup, but he loved this one!! It’s delicious 🙂
Lauren Allen says
That makes me so happy! Thanks for sharing!