Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup

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!

Ingredients needed for Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup:

• Butter – I use unsalted butter and add salt to taste later.
• Veggies – Leeks (or substitute an onion), celery, carrots, garlic, and 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.
• Broth – I prefer to use a lower-sodium chicken broth in my soups.
• Milk – The milk will create a thickened, creamy texture to the soup as part of the roux.
• Cheese – Freshly grating your own cheese will guarantee that it melts nicely. I highly recommend using a box grater to grate your own cheese for recipes.

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 creamy soup recipe:

1. Sauté veggies. Melt butter over medium-high heat. Add leek, celery, and carrots, and sauté until softened, approximately 5-6 minutes.
2. Add seasonings and garlic. Then add the onion powder, salt, pepper, and garlic. Stir for about a minute.
3. Create a roux. Sprinkle flour over the veggies, and stir for a couple of minutes to fully absorb the flour. The mixture will be thick. Then add the liquids, stir well, and turn heat up slightly to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for about 10-15 minutes to thicken the soup.
4. Add broccoli. Add the broccoli florets to soup (along with a bit more salt and pepper) and continue cooking until softened, about 10 minutes.
5. Stir in cheese. Remove the pot from the heat and add the cheddar cheese. Stir well until fully melted.
6. Serve. Serve broccoli cheddar soup with some extra freshly ground black pepper and some crusty bread.

Other soups for you to enjoy:

• 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. 🙂

1. Dip
2. Scoop
3. Shovel

Kitchen Tools used for this recipe: (Affiliate Links)

• Dutch Oven
• Global 7-inch Knife
• Box Grater

Make this soup recipe next: Creamy Wild Rice Soup with Mushrooms

Please let know if you try this recipe. Be sure to comment and leave a review on the blog so I can see what you think. You can also like my Facebook Page, follow me on Pinterest, and catch me on Instagram.

xoxo ~Sue