Broccoli Cheese Soup in about 20 minutes. Rich, creamy, and oh-so-cheesy, this is a favorite quick meal any time of year!
Perfect for lunch, or an easy weeknight dinner with salad and loaf of french bread.
20 Minute Meal
Fresh vegetables make the best soups from cabbage to homemade tomato soup. Broccoli Cheese soup is a very quick soup to make from scratch and it has lots of flavor! If you’ve ever been to Panera, you likely know that the Panera broccoli cheddar soup is so hard to resist, this version is rich and delicious in flavor but lighter on the pocketbook (and waistline).
- Few Ingredients: I love knowing that I can make a recipe from scratch using fresh ingredients
- Quick to Make: Ready in about 20 minutes (even faster with pre-cut broccoli); perfect for a weeknight dinner
- Versatile: Add in the veggies left in your fridge from zucchini to cauliflower
We serve it with a side salad and bread for a complete meal! This soup is also amazing served in a bread bowl (and it reheats beautifully for lunches).
Prep Tip
To make this soup extra fast, prepare ingredients for the next step while the current step is cooking.
Chop the onions and carrots, while they soften in the pot, prep the broccoli. While the broccoli simmers, shred the cheese, and whisk the milk/flour. This makes the recipe flow well while ensuring it’s on the table fast!
How to Make Broccoli Cheese Soup
This broccoli cheese soup is made without Velveeta and instead is loaded with lots of real cheddar making it rich, velvety and satisfying!
- Soften onions/carrots per recipe below. Add broccoli and simmer.
- Blend the broccoli (set a little aside to add texture to the soup at the end).
- Stir in cream mixed with flour, simmer a couple of minutes. Stir in cheeses and serve.
Ingredient Tips
CHEESE
- Using a sharp cheddar adds extra cheese flavor to this recipe. You can use any kind of cheese you like, Gruyere is great too.
- Just like in a cheese sauce, 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.
BROCCOLI
- Fresh or frozen broccoli can be used (I prefer fresh).
- You can use a regular blender (be sure not to have the lid on tightly or it can explode from the steam) but I find an inexpensive immersion blender or hand blender works perfectly (plus a hand blender means less dishes)!
To Lighten This Recipe
To make a skinnier version of broccoli cheese soup, you can substitute the cream with evaporated milk and use a light cheddar (sharp is still best for flavor). We top it with a sprinkle of pepper and sometimes a little dollop of sour cream.
We most often eat this broccoli cheese soup for lunch or a quick easy weeknight meal. I like to add a side of 30 Minute Dinner Rolls to dip into the soup and sop up any dribbles left in the bottom of my bowl! It’s great served with a fresh garden salad on the side.
Leftovers?
Diary doesn’t tend to freeze well and it can sometimes become grainy or the texture can change slightly. I would suggest keeping this broccoli cheese soup 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 Broccoli Favorites
- Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower
- Chicken Broccoli Casserole
- Beef and Broccoli – Easy takeout at home!
- Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Cheesy Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole – No condensed soup needed!
- Broccoli Cheese Casserole with Ham
- Lemon Oven Roasted Parmesan Broccoli – Quick 10 minute side dish!
Did you love this Broccoli Cheese Soup? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
20 Minute Broccoli Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 cup carrots diced
- 3 cups fresh broccoli
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon each thyme and garlic powder
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 ½ cups light cream
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese fresh
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, cook butter, onion and carrots over medium heat until onion softens (about 3 minutes). Add broccoli, chicken broth, and seasonings. Simmer until broccoli is softened, 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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I made this last week and was amazing. Can I make this ahead and leave it in the slow cooker on warm setting.
Hi Maureen, we haven’t tried that but I am sure that would work, especially if only leaving on warm for a little while.
Wonderful taste and easy to make. Omitted the salt thinking the cheese would have enough in it. Did not have any parmesan so substituted honey-bourbon goat cheese. A nice change of pace from the usual chicken, vegetable, chili soups I tend to make during the winter.
I wonder if this recipe would work as a cold soup during the summer months?
Thank for this great recipe, Holly
20 Minute broccoli was fabulous.
Rich, yummy and easy!
My family LOVED this. Only one small change, due to low carb, I substituted 1/8 tsp of Xanthan Gum for the flour. I didn’t have carrots, so I used some celery (it was good) but I’m looking forward to adding a couple of carrots for both the flavour and the colour. Super easy directions, fast and really was so tasty! We pulled this together in less than 30 minutes. Even my husband, who is not really a fan of soup, scraped his bowl clean.
Easy & Delicious!! I always double garlic amounts & I used EXTRA-sharp cheddar. The thyme is stronger than I usually use but it really enhanced the flavor. Definitely will be making again.
This has become a staple at our house with fresh sourdough. Instead of the flour and milk, I sub in half a cup of sour cream. <3
I made the soup I have yet to try it but I’ll tell you right now it’s not ready in 20 minutes does not cook in 20 minutes not even close I’ve been working on it for an hour and a half maybe it’s because I use all fresh vegetables but I started it at 3:50 it is now 4:16
We have made this soup many times and it has cooked for us in the time listed. Perhaps you cut your vegetables bigger and they are taking longer to cook, or maybe your burner is a lower temperature than our burner. I sure hope you enjoy the soup Cori, it’s so delicious!
This was a great soup and quick too! I was out of carrots, but it was still good! My 2 older kids who were not thrilled with the idea of it, both loved it. I will make it again.
I loved this soup. Quick and easy. Used heavy cream. Turned out just fine. I will be making this again
This soup was excellent. I used heavy cream. It’s all I had. Turned out great. I will be making this again.
What is light cream?
Light cream is about 10-12% MF. Half and half would work in this recipe.
What is light cream? Is that half-and-half?
While they’re not quite the same, half and half will still work great, Lindsay!
Fantastic! This is a keeper for us. East and quick and very tasty.
The 1/2 tsp of thyme just seemed like too much so we used 1/4 tsp instead. This worked for us.
Thanks for such a great new (and permanent) recipe for us.
You’re welcome Pete! So glad you love this soup!
This soup tastes amazing and is easy to make! I love all the cheese in this soup! Delicious! 5-stars!
Delicouse and quick. It makes for a perfect dinner when you are in a hurry, great for winter weather or when you are in a soup mood.
Finally a recipe that doesn’t use processed cheese — thank you so much!
I’ve had a craving for broccoli soup for ages and needed something quick to whip up after work this evening. 20 mins, no joke! Made a few additions (added zucchini, mushrooms and, when done, lots of pepper), an omission (had heavy cream, didn’t use flour) and it turned out so so great! Thank you for this quick and wonderful recipe!
Hello! I am intending on making this for dinner but fudged up and forgot to grab the cream while I was at the store! I also do not have evaporated milk on hand. Any suggestions for a substitute? Thanks!
Any type of dairy should work (milk), it just may not be quite as creamy.
This is the best broccoli soup I have ever had. Amazing. Godly. Definitely going to make again. Where has this recipe been all my life.
I forgot to add flour. Was perfect