This Broccoli Cheese Soup recipe can be made in about 20 minutes!
Rich, creamy, and oh-so-cheesy, this broccoli soup is a quick meal that is perfect for lunch or an easy weeknight dinner.
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A Cozy 20 Minute Meal
Made without Velveeta, this soup is rich, creamy, and full of real cheddar flavor.
- Move over Panera; this broccoli soup is as easy as it is delicious.
- It needs few ingredients, this homemade soup is extra flavorful.
- And it is so versatile – add in extra veggies left in the fridge, from zucchini to cauliflower.
- This broccoli cheddar soup is ready in about 20 minutes, perfect for those busy weekday nights.
How to Make Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Soften onions/carrots (as per the recipe below). Add broccoli and simmer.
- Remove some of the veggies and blend the soup.
- Stir in cream mixed with flour, and simmer for a couple of minutes. Stir in cheese and reserved vegetables and serve.
Ingredient for Broccoli Soup
- Onion & Carrot – Onion and carrot add flavor to this soup.
- Broccoli – Fresh or frozen broccoli florets can be used, no need to thaw frozen broccoli first.
- Broth – A combination of half and half and broth are the perfect blend without being too heavy. I prefer the flavor of chicken broth however, you can replace it with vegetable stock if desired. Half and half can be replaced with heavy cream or evaporated milk if desired.
- Seasoning – I add a little bit of thyme, garlic powder, salt & pepper.
- Cheese – Sharp cheddar adds the best flavor to this recipe. Feel free to add in other shredded cheeses like gruyere.
Tips
- When adding broccoli, use the broccoli stems as well.
- If you have fresh garlic cloves, use 1 clove to replace the garlic powder.
- Use a regular blender (be sure not to have the lid on tightly or it can explode from the steam) but an immersion blender works well too.
- Just like when making cheese sauce, remove the add the cheese once the soup is removed from the heat. If cheese (or dairy) boils it can separate leaving a less than desirable texture. The soup should be plenty hot enough to melt the cheese to a perfect velvety consistency.
Leftovers?
Diary doesn’t tend to freeze well and it can sometimes become grainy or the texture can change slightly. This soup will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat it can be microwaved stirring occasionally or heated on the stove over medium-low.
More Cozy Soups
Did you love this Broccoli Cheese Soup? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 cup diced carrot
- 3 cups broccoli florets
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups half and half or light cream
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ⅓ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large saucepan or pot, cook butter, onion, and carrots over medium heat until onion softens (about 3 minutes). Add the broccoli, chicken broth, thyme, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Simmer until broccoli is tender, about 8 minutes.
- Remove 1 cup of vegetables, coarsely chop and set aside. Using an immersion blender, blend remaining vegetables and broth.
- Place flour in a small bowl. Add in cream a little at a time stirring until smooth. Bring blended vegetable mixture to a boil and whisk in cream mixture. Continue whisking until thick and bubbly, about 3-4 minutes.
- Remove from heat, stir in cheeses & reserved chopped vegetables and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Lunch, Side Dish, Soup
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OMGoodness! The flavor of this is phenomenal! PHENOMENAL! Just what we wanted on a dreary day. I think I need to take more time with the immersion blender – it wasn’t “creamy”…a little “gritty.” At the very end, I threw in some leftover roasted potatoes I had from supper the night before. Sooo good.
Great addition Jeannie! You can definitely blend it a little longer for a creamier texture. But so happy this brightened your day!
It would be nice if milk and cheese were listed in the ingredients so we knew how much of each to add toward the end of the instructions. Otherwise….it sounds delicious.Thank you, Holly
Cheese is listed in the ingredients and the recipe doesn’t call for milk. It calls for light cream. Hope that helps Jack, enjoy!
Omg me and my daughter made this tonight! Best broccoli and cheese soup weve ever made! Ty so much!! Can’t wait to try rest of your soups!! But will double next time, no left overs for lunch tomorrow!
So happy you both loved it Maria! Definitely, need to make a double batch of this one in my house too! It’s a family favorite for sure!
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I just finished making this..AMAZING! I will definitely double the recipe next time, it’s that good! Thank you!
That’s a great idea Brittani! You can never go wrong with having more broccoli cheese soup! It’s one of my favorites!
I work in a nursing facility. How could you adapt this recipe to 200 people
Hi Henry,
You would want to multiply the ingredients by 30, that would be enough to feed a large crowd! I hope it is well received by the patients!
It was so delicious!!!
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe Nay!
like panera, without the cost! easy to follow receipe, truly a 20 minute soup. i got to buy an immersion blender, what fun! if you like a chunkier soup i don’t think you need to blend veggies. maybe cut broccoli smaller, and chop pre-bagged carrot sticks. this receipe is very easy to understand, it will make any beginner look like a pro in the kitchen. yum!
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! And I agree, immersion blenders are such a fun tool for the kitchen!
Holly, great recipe! I absolutely loved it. Very simple to make and delicious. I did sub the chicken broth for vegetable broth plus one chicken buillon cube and I sub’d the light cream for heavy cream! All in all perfect! Will be saving this one.
This recipe is pretty versatile so your substitutions sound perfect! So glad you enjoyed it Ashley!
I know cheese doesn’t freeze well, but if I leave the cheese out until I thaw and reheat the soup will that work?
Hi Lee, Dairy doesn’t always freeze well, so I wouldn’t recommend freezing this recipe.
I doubled the recipe to have more and it’s delicious!!!! The ONLY change I made was I used a 3.25oz (the whole bag) of instant mashed potatoes instead of flour. It thickened it the same way no more no less. I didn’t use carrots. Everything else was identical and doubled. Doubling the recipe made a big pot(we wanted leftovers). Garnished with some bacon once it was in our bowls. Thanks for such an EASY and DELISH recipe!!! I will definitely be making this again!!
Great idea Jamie! So glad you enjoyed the soup.
We loved this soup. Even my mother in law commented on the amount of vegetables in the soup. A hit at my house, and quick to make. Thank you for sharing with me.
I am so glad you loved it Brenda, it’s definitely a fast and easy soup!
My husband and I are always looking for good soup recipes to make and I found this one for the Broccoli Cheese Soup and we decided to make it for dinner tonight. It was absolutely wonderful. We loved it! We will definitely be making this again. Thank you for this recipe!
So glad you loved it Pam, it’s a super delicious soup!
Very easy to prepare with items you already have on hand. Family loved it. I used can milk and thickened with instant potatoes instead of flour. Served with homemade garlic bread.
So glad your family loved it, great idea to thicken with Instant Potatoes!
Made this for my family last night and it was fabulous! I had to improvise as I only had heavy cream and was out of milk, of coarse! So I used 1Cup of the heavy cream and added an extra ½ Cup of the chicken broth (at the time broth was called for, not with cream). The substitutions worked out fine :) Will definitely be making this again for the family.
Thank you for sharing Sue! So glad your family loved the soup!
There is absolutely nothing better than Creamy Cheesy Broccoli Soup. and yours looks fabulous. I’m needing some comfort food right now and this is going hit the spot!!! thanks for the post.
Thank you Panoom, I hope you love it!
I have a neighborhood soup night on Mondays and I think they would love this. Does this thicken? I made Ina’s corn chowder last week and for me it was too thin. If I’m going to make a cream soup, I like it to be of creamy consistency. Any remarks would be appreciated.
This one does thicken as a result of blending the vegetables. You can see the consistency in the video just above the ingredients list.
Can you leave out flour and still have it turn out? I make recipes exactly as noted, measure everything, too! Not very adventurous and not willing to try and waste things! Glad I found your site!!!
Thanks for the kind words Becky! I have only tried this recipe as written, without flour it may turn out a little runny. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
I did it without the flour, and I used a bit more vegetable broth and whisked in evaporated milk instead of cream (calories…) and it was freakin’ awesome! I will be adding this to my weekly rotation – at least in the winter when I am craving soup. It was as good as Panera, but way less expensive. I will be trying more of the recipes on this page – LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!
So glad it worked out great for you Stephanie, thanks for letting us know! So happy you found me!
I can’t have flour but love cream soups. I found using arrow root is a great substitute for flour as a thickening agent.
The recipe says 6 servings, but it says 4 servings in one of the comments below. How many servings are there, & what is the serving size?
Each serving is approximately 1 cup. The recipe makes 6 servings. Enjoy Jackie!
This soup was excellent. IT had both a great flavor and the ease of preparation made it a recipe I will use again.
Happy to hear that you love the soup Joyce!