Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup is total comfort food. A vegetable base with a creamy roux and plenty of cheese, makes this soup a stretchy-waistband, Netflix-and-chill kind of cozy day meal!
Soup Season at our home looks like a constant rotations of flavors and textures. We love a spicy Curry Fish Stew, a creamy Autumn Squash Soup, or a hearty Beef Barley Vegetable Soup on any given night of the week!
Soup Season
I’m pretty sure I could live on soups and salads. Soup in the cooler months, salads in the warmer months (aka six months of Texas summer). Maybe throw in a cookie and a scone, and a cocktail (or two).
If you’ve noticed, I’ve been on a soup kick lately, and revamping a few recipes as well. I use my blog as a personal cookbook, so I occasionally see things that need tweaking. What kind of soup have you been enjoying lately? Do tell!
Why This Recipe Works:
- Simple Ingredients – All of the ingredients are simple to find in most grocery stores and the best part is that most of them are regularly stocked in my pantry.
- Best Texture – We love this creamy soup with an abundance of broccoli for good measure! Smooth with little chunks of broccoli and the BEST flavor.
- Perfect Comfort Food – The best way to endure your cold winter months!
Ingredients needed for Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup:
- Butter – I use unsalted butter and add salt to taste later.
- Veggies – Onion (or you can use a leek), celery, carrots, garlic, and fresh broccoli – added in that order.
- Seasonings – Onion powder, and kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper – to taste.
- Flour – All-purpose flour is used to thicken this soup, instead of adding canned cream of whatever soup.
- Chicken Broth – I prefer to use a lower-sodium chicken broth in my soups.
- Whole Milk – The milk will create a thickened, creamy texture to the soup as part of the roux.
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese – Freshly grating your own cheese will guarantee that it melts nicely. I highly recommend using a box grater to grate your own block of cheese for recipes. This will guarantee best results and that cheesy flavor we crave.
How to make a roux.
Making a roux is the key to creaminess in soups and other dishes. Skip the canned “cream of whatever” and make it with real ingredients.
- start with fats (like butter and oils) and heat until melted
- add flour and whisk to absorb and smoothen
- then add liquids, and simmer until thickened
The longer you whisk the fats and flour, the thinner the thickening agent becomes, and the darker it gets. For this soup, I whisked for just a couple of minutes.
How to make this broccoli cheddar soup recipe:
Step 1
Sauté veggies. In a large pot (or large dutch oven), melt butter over medium-high heat on your stove top. Add onion, celery, and carrots, and sauté until softened, approximately 5-6 minutes. Add garlic and stir for about one minute.
Step 2
Add seasonings and flour. Then add the onion powder, salt, pepper, and garlic. Sprinkle flour over the veggies, and stir for a couple of minutes to fully absorb the flour. The mixture will be thick.
Step 3
Add liquids. Then add the milk and chicken broth, stir well, and turn heat up slightly to a boil. Once boiling, turn down the heat and simmer for about 10-15 minutes to thicken the soup.
Step 4
Add broccoli. Add the broccoli florets to soup (along with a bit more salt and pepper) and continue cooking over medium-low heat until softened, about 10 minutes. This won’t take long and you don’t want the broccoli to be mushy.
Step 5
Stir in cheese. Turn the heat down and add the cheddar cheese. Stir well until fully melted and simmer for just another minute or so.
Step 6
Serve. Serve the best broccoli cheese soup with some extra freshly ground black pepper and some crusty bread of your choice.
STORE LEFTOVERS in an airtight container for up to four days in your refrigerator. We also like to meal prep this soup and store in smaller individual serving containers.
FREEZE LEFTOVERS in an airtight container for 2-3 months. Thaw in your refrigerator and then heat to serve.
Recipe Tips/Variations:
- Trim the broccoli florets into small pieces. I don’t use the broccoli stalks in this recipe but you could save them for other uses.
- If you prefer a lower-fat soup, you could use regular milk in this although I never recommend skim.
- If desired, you could use an immersion blender or food processor to blend a portion of this soup. It will become even creamier.
- Instead of butter, use olive oil to sauté the veggies.
- NEVER use pre-shredded cheese (unless it’s top quality cheese, like Tillamook).
- Serve this creamy broccoli soup in a crusty bread bowl.
For more delicious broccoli recipes, try our Broccoli Rice Casserole or Broccoli Salad with Bacon and Cheese!
Other delicious soup recipes for you to enjoy:
These truly are a few of my favorite things!
- Corn Chowder with Bacon – Using fresh corn is key to this soup!
- Sweet Potato Curry Soup – Two of our fav flavors in one – sweet potatoes and curry!
- Chicken Tortilla Soup – One of my all-time favorite soup recipes using homemade enchilada sauce.
A couple fat slices of my mom’s Chewy French Bread are almost a required accompaniment to this creamy soup. Don’t have any clean spoons? Perfect, use bread. 🙂
- Dip
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- Shovel
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Make this soup recipe next: Creamy Wild Rice Soup with Mushrooms
xoxo ~Sue
Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion – or use one leek
- 3 stalks celery – chopped
- 4 medium carrots – chopped
- 3 cloves garlic – minced
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 6 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 3 cups whole milk
- 10-11 cups broccoli florets (small bite-sized pieces) – or about 1 1/2 pounds
- 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese – plus extra for serving
Instructions
- Heat a stock pan over medium heat. Add butter and when melted, add leek, celery, and carrots. Sauté until soft, approximately 5-6 minutes. Add garlic and stir for about one minute.
- Add salt and pepper, onion powder, and garlic. Stir for 30 seconds.
- Sprinkle flour over the veggies, and stir for a couple of minutes to fully absorb the flour. The mixture will be thick.
- Add chicken broth and milk. Stir well, and bring to a rolling simmer. This will thicken the soup. Continue to let simmer, and stir, for approximately 10 – 15 minutes, or until thickened.
- Add broccoli florets into soup, add a little more salt and pepper, and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until broccoli is softened. (Don't over-cook!)
- Turn the heat down and add the cheddar cheese. Stir well until fully melted and simmer for just another minute or so.
- Serve with some nice crusty bread and an extra sprinkle of cheese.
Notes
- start with fats (like butter and oils) and heat until melted
- add flour and whisk to absorb and smoothen
- then add liquids, and simmer until thickened
I made this for dinner this today. Delicious. I pulverized the veggies instead of chopping…easier for me to eat. Also, I may add ham to the soup the next time. Chicken might be good too but ham, for sure. Since there is only two of us, I put 4 cups of left over soup in baggies (measuring 4 cups for each baggie) to freeze and it is perfect for two people every time I want a quick dinner.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup, Cheryl! Thanks for your feedback!
We made this last night & it was delicious!! The perfect comfort soup!
Yay! Thanks Tiff!
I made this soup today – it is delicious! Everyone loved it! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Hi Lori! I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup! Thanks for letting me know that you tried it. 🙂
I made this last night and it was delicious. My youngest child ate 3 bowls of it. Easy to make and very tasty.
Yay!! So glad ya’ll enjoyed it, Robbie! 🙂
This soup is a winner!