We have a slightly different Broccoli Cheddar Soup in one of our cook books, but it dawned on me recently that we don’t have one in our index here on Our Best Bites and it’s one of the soups I make the most often at home! My kids who whine about broccoli in any other form will inhale it in this soup, so I’m calling it a parenting win. Broccoli Cheddar soup can be insanely rich and caloric and I feel like this recipe is the perfect happy medium. It has just enough richness to make it creamy and hearty, without being overly heavy. This is my absolute favorite Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe and we make it all the time at our house!
How to Make Broccoli Cheddar Soup
To start this soup, you’ll saute onions, garlic, and carrot until they’re soft and fragrant and then add both chicken broth and low-fat milk. When I make this soup for my family, we use 2%, that’s my go-to. I rarely do non-fat. If I’m making it for a potluck, or company or anything where I want it to be extra good, I’ll use whole milk.
I’ve made this soup with and without carrot, depending on if I have one or not, and I do like the flavor and sweetness the carrot adds. I grate mine with a cheese grater so there’s not big chunks of carrot, but rather it melts right into the soup and looks like flecks of cheese.
I like to chop my broccoli fairly small and I use mostly the florets, and less of the stems because I feel like my kids do a better job of eating it that way.
When it comes to cheese, I‘ve found the magic combo is sharp cheddar, plus some parmesan. Even if you don’t like eating plain sharp cheddar, it lends SO much more flavor to recipes so I recommend you use it, here. And the little bit of Parmesan adds such depth to the flavor profile here.
This soup is so warm and comforting.
It’s also hearty without being too heavy.
My family loves this one with chunks of crusty bread to dip (have you tried this one yet?? People are going CRAZY over it!) or with a big turkey sandwich on the side. It’s the perfect warm and cozy accompaniment to just about anything!
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Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Description
Creamy and delicious, but not overly caloric- this Broccoli Cheddar Soup will become a family favorite!
Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
1 medium white or yellow onion, diced
3–4 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
1 medium carrot, grated
4 tablespoons flour (see note)
4 cups chicken broth (that’s one 32oz carton), can sub vegetable broth
2 cups low-fat milk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3–4 cups chopped broccoli
2–3 cups sharp cheddar
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Melt butter in a large soup pot. Add onion, garlic, and carrot and saute until softened and fragrant, 3-4 minutes. Add flour and stir constantly for a minute or two.
Slowly pour in broth while stirring/whisking (this prevents the flour from clumping) and then add milk, dijon, salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a simmer and let cook for 3-4 minutes, gently stirring, to thicken. Add broccoli and continue simmering until broccoli is soft and cooked through, 5-10 minutes or to your liking. Turn heat to low and add cheese, stirring until melted and smooth. Make sure to taste at this point and add more salt to taste before serving. If desired (I usually do this) lightly run an immersion blender through the soup. Don’t completely puree, but just blend about half way. You can also take about 1/3 of the soup and pulse it in the blender and then add it back in.
Remove from heat, serve in bowls and top with additional cheese if desired. Makes about 8 cups of soup.
Notes
Flour: If you’d like to omit flour for dietary restrictions (gluten, low-carb, etc) you may simply leave it out. Soup will not be quite as thick, but still taste delicious.
Questions & Reviews
My kids all loved this. And they don’t even like soup!
I took Sara’s word that it was family friendly and she was exactly right! My family loves this soup.
Thanks Sara
So grateful for Sara and her tests on her own family!
My family too loved this soup, I was so happy!
Thanks again Sara
Yay! I’ve been looking for a great broccoli cheese soup recipe! Thank you in advance because I know all of your recipes are wonderful! Having said that, we are not mustard fans here. I have Dijon mustard to use in recipes when necessary. Can you taste the mustard in this recipe at all? If so, can I half it or omit it? I’ll trust you if you say that it’s needed.
You don’t taste the mustard at all. In recipes like this it simply helps with a balanced flavor profile and a little acidity. You won’t even know it’s in there. That being said, totally not a big deal to just leave it out if you prefer!
Just made this last night and LOVED it! I even threw in some celery and bell pepper I had left over. I found this post just as I was wondering what to do for dinner and noticing my broccoli needed to be used. I will definitely make this again! Thanks so much!
Definitely one of the best broccoli cheese soups I’ve ever had!
Looks so good—I am about to go make this for dinner right now! I just wanted to drop a request that the color of the font on the printed format be set to black instead of the lighter color that it comes out as… Not sure if I’m the only one, but it is too light to read comfortably. I have a bajillion of your recipes printed out (I like to print in color for the pictures) and the newer ones are all like that. Just a thought. Thanks for all your amazing recipes!
I’m going to look into this- thanks for letting us know!https://ourbestbites.com/wp-admin/edit-comments.php#comments-form
I’ve been following you for years now and have made several recipes from Our Best Bites. I know this soup will be another great hit in my house! Thank you for sharing!
Perfect timing – I’ve been looking for a recipe just like this! It looks great!
I’m new to making cream-type soups – how would it freeze and reheat?
You know, I’ve actually never frozen this one! Soups with dairy (and thickeners) are hit and miss. Sometimes they separate or change texture once frozen. I’ll have to try it and report back!