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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Delicious! Easy to prepare. I’m a celery lover and added a half a cup of celery with the other veggies. As well bit of chopped parsley added with the cheeses.
That sounds delicious, Susan! Thanks for sharing your additions.
Delicious. Really did take ~ 20 minutes. My picky adult daughter liked it also. She doesn’t like much of anything I cook.
We are so happy to hear that, April! Glad she enjoyed this recipe too.
This was delicious! I used many broccoli stalks diced small, as well as florets, and made a total pig of myself.
Marking this as I’ll make it again.
Really good! Especially on such a cold day. Just the right amount of spice. I used more broccoli than called for and I used one cup of cream and 1/2 cup of 1% milk since it was what I had. It’s a nice, filling soup with the cheese. It will be my new go to recipe. Thank you!
Another hit! Plus it’s raining outside. Thanks Holly for another recipe that works for me
This soup is amazing, I tried every soup and yous is the bestes, my husband loved it.
This is amazing. I tried with a hand blender and it really did nothing, so put it in my heat safe Oster blender for a few worked just fine. Thank you!
I didn’t have any cream or condensed milk so used creamy unsweetened cashew milk in its place, grated my own sharp cheddar cheese. The soup was delicious, even without the Parmesan. I will be making this quick and easy soup again for sure!
This soup is fabulous and tastes like you spent hours on it . I used frozen broccoli and some frozen cauliflower. I do not have an immersion blender . When the broccoli ,cauliflower, diced onion and carrot were soft, I easily and quickly mashed with a potato masher.
I always use pre shredded parm and cheddar. Where I live there is nothing added to the shredded cheeses so I never have issues with melting. Thanks for a great and easy recipe.
This is a random question but so I want to make cheesy broccoli. But I also want to make this soup. If I made the soup, would it still taste sorta like a cheesy broccoli. Just have the soup like stuff around it? lol
First, Some Random Girl that Likes Soup – I love it ♥️ It feels like the perfect description for myself too! I think it would be fine to use the cheesy broccoli, since you use an immersion blender it should blend all the ingredients together anyways and make it taste delicious still.
Very easy to make, delicious and filling. I must have done something wrong because the texture was a little odd. I did shred my own carrots, I am sure this made a difference in the texture. I will try again with store shredded carrots and real parmesan. 10/10!
Tried this recipe today. Absolutely delicious! Didn’t have any fresh Parmesan, so I sprinkled a little of the”jarred” variety on my serving. My husband didn’t add any”parm”, said it was fantastic without it.
Tried this creamy broccoli soup it was absolutely wonderful. I will share with my friends and will make it again and again. Thank you.
Very cheesy, very good! I just had hiatal hernia surgery and on a restricted diet. I can’t eat anything that must be chewed, I saw this and thought that’s better than all pudding, ice cream and jello. Those are good, but need something that’s good for you too!
Very filling! Very easy to make.I made this and I’m only the 4th day after surgery.
Thanks
Wow Tamara, that makes my day! So happy you love this soup! You could also try
Creamy Celery Soup
Zucchini Soup
Creamy Turnip Soup
Butternut Squash Soup
Potato broccoli soup
Egg Drop Soup
Creamy Asparagus Soup
Sweet Potato Soup
And for something totally different, Beer Cheese Soup!
Just made this soup for dinner and it was so good! Easy to make and very filling. I also made some croutons and the different textures made it just so tasty. Thank you so much for sharing this great recipe.
You’re welcome Cimi, that sounds great!
your broccoli soup is delicious. everyone in my family loves it. Its the best one i have made.
I must say it’s the best I’ve tasted, didn’t have any light cream so I diluted 35% cream with 2% milk and threw in a few fresh crispy bacon bits from this morning. Awesome recipe!
I had high hopes with this recipe. But it turned out gritty. I was hoping it’d be smoother, like a cream of asparagus. Mine tasted like a bowl of tin tips of raw broccoli mixed in with cream and thickened. Not a whole lot of flavor. Too me anyway. Hubby thought it was good but he loves broccoli. (And I put lots of bacon in his bowl. Which he loves!)
I’ve never made this soup so don’t know if it’s suppose to have a gritty texture. Is this soup supposed to be gritty?
I followed the recipe(and video) exactly. But I used a standing blender to puree it. Then added the light cream and white sharp cheddar and parmesan cheese.
We have not found this recipe to be gritty. It could possibly be that you didn’t fully emulsify the vegetables and broth, or the type of cheese you used (especially if it was a pre-shredded cheese). Hope that helps!
Ok. I’d like to revise my review above. I just added some butter and lots more chicken broth. Also a little bit more half and half. Nuked a taste test and sprinkled with parmesan. It’s definitely better. Yummy. It’s now more of a soup.
Glad it worked for you after all Jan!
Just made this broccoli soup. Very easy and delicious. I made the lighter version with evaporated milk. Will make again!
Just made this soup it turned out amazing. So filling. I added carrots and celery and fresh garlic.