If ever there was a meal-worthy soup, it would be this easy Broccoli Cheddar Soup! This bowl full of colorful, chunky vegetables and a super thick cheesy “broth” is sure to leave you warm, happy, and satisfied. Unlike others I’ve tried, my broccoli cheddar soup recipe doesn’t use heavy cream and is slightly lighter on the cheese, so you still get all that creamy, cheesy goodness without feeling totally weighed down. But you can always add more cheese if you’d like. #norules. This homemade soup is so dang easy I’m sure it’s going to go into my regular rotation!
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe for broccoli cheddar soup:
- Yellow Onion: Adds a little sweetness and depth of flavor to the creamy soup.
- Broccoli: Either fresh or frozen broccoli is fine to use. Yes, frozen broccoli works well in this recipe. I suggest letting them thaw completely before adding them to the soup, and you’ll probably still want to chop them into much smaller pieces (think bite-sized, fits-on-a-spoon small). I think I’ll dice my broccoli even smaller than I’ve shown in the process photos next time!
- Carrots: For a little color and sweetness. I dice my carrots fairly chunky, but you can dice them really small or slice them into matchsticks (like the Panera Bread broccoli cheddar soup) if you’d like.
- Butter & All-Purpose Flour: For making the roux, which helps thicken the soup.
- Chicken Broth: Adds flavor and is the base for our soup. Use low-sodium broth if you’re watching your salt intake. Both store-bought and homemade chicken broth will work here.
- Whole Milk: Does the job of making the soup really creamy without using heavy cream.
- Seasonings: Smoked paprika, garlic powder, freshly cracked black pepper, and cayenne pepper are all pantry staples that add a ton of flavor.
- Sharp Cheddar: Use freshly grated sharp cheddar for the best flavor and texture. Pre-shredded cheese contains additives that can affect the texture of your soup.
Make it Vegetarian
I used chicken broth as the base for my soup because it tends to be a little more on the mild side, and the light color doesn’t overshadow the orange color of the cheese. However, you can use vegetable broth instead to make this a vegetarian broccoli cheddar soup. Just be aware that it tends to have a stronger flavor, and the darker color may darken your soup.
What Goes with Broccoli Cheddar Soup?
This homemade soup, with its super thick and cheesy “broth,” is just begging for some crackers or my thick, crusty no knead bread for scooping up every last drop. I love saltine crackers with mine, but ranch oyster crackers would be awesome, as would my focaccia rolls. But who says the soup has to be a solo event? A side sandwich would also be great, like these ham and cheese sliders or even a simple veggie sandwich. Even these muffaletta roll ups would be amazing with this soup.
How to Store Leftovers
Most of my soup recipes are big batch, so you can freeze the leftovers and stock your freezer with all that goodness, but this soup is the exception. Cheese sauces (and, in this case, broths) thickened with butter and flour roux don’t hold up to freezing and thawing. But don’t worry, I made this a small batch cheese soup recipe, so you don’t have to deal with too many leftovers. This recipe makes four generous servings.
That said, this creamy cheddar broccoli soup will stay good in your fridge for 4-5 days. And boy, are the leftovers DELICIOUS! They reheat beautifully in the microwave, or can be reheated on the stove top over medium-low heat, stirring often.
The Best Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Servings 4 servings (2 cups each)Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.52)
- 1 lb. broccoli ($1.49)
- 2 carrots ($0.23)
- 4 Tbsp butter ($0.52)
- 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.04)
- 2 cups chicken broth ($0.24)
- 2 cups whole milk ($0.75)
- ½ tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- ¼ tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- 6 oz. sharp cheddar, shredded ($1.27)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and chop the broccoli into very small pieces. Peel and slice the carrots.
- Add the butter and onion to a large soup pot and sauté over medium until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the flour and sauté for 2 minutes more, or until the flour is coating the bottom of the pot and is a light golden brown color.
- Pour in chicken broth and whisk to dissolve the flour. Turn the heat up to medium-high and, while stirring often, bring the broth to a simmer. When it reaches a simmer it will thicken to a gravy consistency.
- Turn the heat down to medium and whisk in the whole milk, smoked paprika, garlic powder, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Allow the broth to come back to a simmer.
- Add the chopped broccoli and carrots and continue to simmer the vegetables, stirring often, for 15 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
- Test a piece of carrot or broccoli to make sure it's to your desired tenderness. If not, simmer a bit longer.
- Turn the heat to medium-low and stir the shredded cheese into the soup, one handful at a time, until it is fully melted.
- Taste the soup and add salt if needed (this will depend on the salt content of your broth—I did not add any).
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Equipment
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Broccoli Cheddar Soup – Step by Step Photos
Dice 1 yellow onion and chop 1 lb of broccoli into very small pieces. Peel and slice 2 carrots.
Add 4 Tbsp butter and onion to a large soup pot and sauté over medium until the onions are soft and translucent. Add 4 Tbsp flour and sauté for 2 minutes more, or until the flour is coating the bottom of the pot and is a light golden brown color.
Pour in 2 cups chicken broth and whisk to dissolve the flour. Turn the heat up to medium-high and, while stirring often, bring the broth to a simmer. When it reaches a simmer it will thicken to a gravy consistency.
Turn the heat down to medium and whisk in 2 cups whole milk, ½ tsp smoked paprika, ¼ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp black pepper, and ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper. Allow the broth to come back to a simmer.
Add the chopped broccoli and carrots and continue to simmer the vegetables, stirring often, for 15 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
Test a piece of carrot or broccoli to make sure it’s to your desired tenderness. If not, simmer a bit longer.
Turn the heat to medium-low and stir 6 oz shredded cheese into the soup, one handful at a time, until it is fully melted.
Taste the soup and add salt if needed (this will depend on the salt content of your broth—I did not add any).
Soooo thick and cheesy!! 😍
This soup is fabulous! And so easy. The toughest part is chopping the broccoli! Made recipe as is except we have fat free milk so mixed half heavy cream with it.
Much better than Panera’s broccoli soup.
This is great, I didn’t change a thing,, will definitely being making again. Really appreciate downsizing the recipe too, not overwhelmed with leftovers which I am looking forward to. Thank!
Made this tonight and it’s SO GOOD. I used some fresh broccoli, some sad leftover carrots, and then about half a bag of frozen winter blend (broccoli + cauliflower) to improve the brassica to sad carrots ratio, lol. My flour didn’t coat the pan during the roux (it just absorbed a lot of the butter from the onions and hung out) but everything still thickened up nicely. I doubled the spices and used 2c Better Than Bouillon, about 1.5c of whole milk bc I ran out, and another ~1.5c whey total, both to use it up and to have enough liquid to cover all the veg. Not as orange as Beth’s since I used a white cheddar, but delicious!! If I get more broccoli from my farm share this week I will definitely make it again to freeze, with some dijon and the last of some white wine I have, per another commenter’s suggestion.
Oh my goodness, this soup is amazing! My husband, who does not usually enjoy soup, went back for seconds and suggested we make it again soon. Thank you for the fabulous recipe!
Made it last night. Everyone loved it!
This ended up being more of a stew than a soup, where did I go wrong?
It should be a very thick soup. If it’s a tad too thick for you, you can add a little extra milk or chicken broth to thin it out a bit. :)
Question, is it a pound of broccoli before or after you’ve removed the stalk? I have a bag of prechopped that I want to use but am thinking a pound of that may be too much. Thanks!
Before, but it’s flexible so if you have a pound of florets that would also work fine.
Whoops! I did do a pound of just fresh florets. Ended up adding two more cups of broth, but it still turned out ok!
This is a great, easy recipe that was enjoyed by my family. Thank you so much
This recipe looks absolutely delicious and easy to make. Would it be ok to use 2% milk? We never use whole milk in our household. Or could I combine 2% milk and 5% or 10% cream to make it richer?
Yes, you could sub 2% milk in here, but I wouldn’t go any lower fat than that. :) It will be a little less creamy, but not starkly so.
Wokd any non dairy substitutes for whole milk work in this recipe. ?
I haven’t tried any, unfortunately.
Easy to make and very tasty :)
This was easy as can be, and really tasty. I loved how accessible the ingredients are and how easily it all came together.
10/10 recommend! followed recipe exactly
I have made this soup about 6 times. The first time was absolutely amazing! I tried to repeat my results the next 5 times and EVERY SINGLE TIME, the cheese curdles and doesn’t melt in. I’ve shredded my own cheese too, so it’s not the pulp covering the pre-shredded cheese. I’ve tried all different store brands, even major brands of cheese. I’m at a complete loss of what to do to get it perfect like the first time 😭
It’s hard to say for sure without being there to see it, but I think it could be one of two things: The heat might be too high. Cheese sauces can break down and separate if they are boiled too hard. Or, if the soup isn’t fully thickened before you add in the cheese you won’t get that nice emulsion action and the cheese will just kind of melt and clump up. But the way you said it is curdled makes it sound like it might be the heat. Try removing the soup from the heat after it simmers and wait for it to stop simmering before adding the cheese. Hopefully that will work for you! :)
Just made this for the first time, and much like your other recipes, this turned out fantastic. I’m definitely adding this one to my regular soup repertoire.
I just made it again, adding some extra broth and then inspiration struck. I put in two frozen caramelized onion flavor bombs and a healthy pour of sherry and O.M.G. You guys. I can’t even.