Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup
Now you can make everyone’s favorite broccoli cheese soup right at home – so thick and creamy. It’s unbelievably good!
This is my all-time favorite kind of comfort food.
A cheese soup that you don’t have to feel entirely guilty about – because apparently broccoli and carrots are quite good for you.
And this is just what I needed after my very first live TV segment experience today on KTLA morning news.
I was so nervous, I couldn’t eat any of the appetizers on the table. I know, rookie mistake.
But it’s okay. I made up for it by eating the entire pot of broccoli cheese soup here.
Done.
Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, cubed
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups milk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 16 ounces broccoli florets
- 1 carrot, julienned
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic, onion and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
- Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in vegetable broth, milk and heavy cream, and cook, whisking constantly, until incorporated, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in broccoli and carrot.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until broccoli is tender, about 6-8 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender until desired consistency is reached.
- Stir in cheese, a handful at a time, until smooth, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
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I used your recipe to get me started. I did not use celery or carrot. I used chicken bouillon, 1 cup evaporated milk and 1 cup nonfat milk and Velveeta cheese, I know I changed the recipe, but it still came out tasting pretty damn good. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
I make this regularly just as written, except I only bring to a slight simmer and just cook a tad longer so as not to curdle the dairy element. Also, I double the recipe and freeze. You have to thaw completely and reheat slowly to get back the creamy consistency, but it does indeed get there.
Finally a broccoli cheese recipe that we both love! I only did a couple of things differently. I used chicken stock rather than vegetable, and I dunked the broccoli in some boiling water a couple of minutes instead of cooking it in the soup, then finely chopped most of it before adding it. I was concerned I might overcook the milk and cream and cause separating, because that’s my #1 complaint with most cheese soups, plus they get gloppy and don’t reheat well. I always grate the cheese myself, and use whole raw milk and cream. This one came out perfect!
This was absolutely delicious. My husband loved that it had such a fresh broccoli flavor. I very much look forward to making it again!
I HAVE MADE A FEW RECIPES OF THIS SOUP
AND I HAVE TO SAY THIS WAS THE BEST EVER.
ALL YOUR RECIPES LOOK GREAT. THANK YOU
PAT.
Absolutely delicious, simple to make, and very comforting. I think it makes a lot more than 4 servings, more like 6, which would push the calorie an fat counts lower. Thanks for a great recipe!
So good! Tastes just like Panera. It was also very easy to make.
Great recipe! I added a bit of cheddar jack to put my own spin on it. Can you tell me how well this freezes? I love it, but I don’t want to eat it four days in a row, lol.
did u freeze? good?
This turned out great! Very good.
I don’t usually leave reviews about anything but I had to commend you on this recipe! This was absolutely delicious and tastes very much like the Panera bread recipe. I actually used mild cheddar instead but I’m sure sharp would have tasted just as good. Thank you! I’ll be keeping this in my recipe book!
I made this recipe on Sunday night. It was delicious!!! My daughters only complaint was that there was to much broccoli…… and she loves broccoli. I made a second batch on Monday night with 2 cups of broccoli and she loved it. I have a feeling that I will be making it again before the end of the week.
Thanks for sharing!
I made the soup and it was gobbled up by my very happy coworkers. I’ll be making more this week.
Made this over the weekend with pesto chicken sandwiches. Soup was a huge hit. No changes to recipe needed. And no leftovers, either. LOL!
My family loves broccoli cheese soup so I have used this recipe to make it for them several times! It always turns out perfect!
I just made this and am scarfing it down as quickly as possible — I’ve made a lot of broccoli/cheddar soup recipes, and this turned out the best by a long shot! Excellent recipe. There’s nothing like soup this time of year.
Do you happen to know how much this makes? It says 4 servings, but I know that that varies. I’m making this for my family and I’m wondering if I need to cut the recipe in half. Thank you!! 😀
This should yield roughly 4 cups. I hope that answers your questions.
Do you happen to know if cashew or almond milk would work in place of the milk?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications. Sorry, Leanne!
Almond milk can substitute for most milk, I do however use the unsweetened Almond Milk.
Would it be okay to use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth?
Yes, of course.
I love the Panera cheese and broccoli soup, and your recipe looks even better than theirs, because you have more broccoli in it. I use frozen broccoli and other veggies in soup, etc., all the time. I let the frozen vegetable defrost completely, then blot it and add it to my recipe. I have observed no change in the results of quality doing this, and it is so much more convenient. I buy one of those really big have of broccoli florets, and use from there as needed. The bigger the bag, the more the savings.
If you purée the soup with the broccoli no way will it look anything like the cheddary yellow soup in your photo. It will also taste quite different. So even if you say that the broccoli/carrot pieces are used “simply as a garnish for photographic purposes” you may as well be talking about two different recipes.
Well mine was yellow. But who cares, as long as it tastes good.
Do you think this recipe would work well in a crock pot? I’d like to make it at camp where we have no stove.
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
This was amazing! My SO mentioned he really wanted some cheesy broccoli soup and I had seen this recipe on Facebook. I’m glad we gave it a try, our whole family enjoyed it except the toddler, because he doesn’t enjoy anything that isn’t toast or bananas basically. I didn’t have an immersion blender so I used our Ninja blender, which got the job done but I think I may now have to invest in an immersion blender just for this soup. I think we will be making it again many times!
I made this last night with my daughter. This is her favorite soup. I was going to just pick some up from Panera for dinner, but thought I’d check to see if there was an easy recipe, and I found yours! Thank you so much! This was the BEST
broccoli cheese soup either of us have ever had! I made it exactly, except the pureeing with an immersion blender. We ate it un-blended and it was fabulous! We will be making this often!
Hello. I am new to this website but holy do I love it! 2 quick questions….for the broccoli cheese soup, any tips on making it in a slowcooker? Or is this possible for this soup even?
Also, is there a way to save my favorite recipes or “star” them or something for one’s I wanna try?
Thanks so much
Hi Ashley. Please see responses below:
1. It is very difficult to give exact conversion information to translate a traditional stovetop recipe to be used in a slow cooker without further recipe testing. However, here is an article worth checking out on a possible conversion guide.
2. Unfortunately, there is no function to “star” individual recipes. However, you can print, email or pin the recipes that you would like to try.
Hope that helps!
Is there a way to make this gluten free? I would love to make this recipe for my gluten-free family members. Thanks!
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Is it 600 calories for one serving or 600 calories for four servings? Thanks. 🙂
The nutritional information is for each serving.
Can chicken broth be used?
Yes.
If I don’t own an immersion blender, is there another way that I could make this soup? Thank you so much.
You can use a blender instead.
I only have a small blender. Would a hand mixer work?
I have never actually tried a hand mixer in a soup before!
This was very good. Because I like chunks of veggies in my soup I only puréed half the mixture. I served it with homemade biscuits. Delish!
Yum! Can we use frozen broccoli or do you recommend fresh only?
TIA
I recommend using fresh.
Hi Courtney! I’m just a home cook, but YES, frozen broccoli would be fine here. You have the convenience of a prepared product without additives, and since you are pureeing the soup, you don’t have to worry about the crispness of the vegetable.
This looks great; gonna make it right now!
Oh no no no…. This soup is something I can’t resist! :))
T his was really good. I blended until smooth. Comfort!
I’ve made this version so many times I have it memorized. I recently got an Instant Pot and wondering if you’ve experimented with this recipe and an IP any time recently. Your recipes are my absolute go to as often as possible!
45 gms of fat! WHOA!! I’m going to have to pass on this one, even without the cream.
You looked amazing on the KTLA news! Congrats on that as well as your Book! Great job!!!
45 grams of fat…ugh, sorry this one cannot be tried…too rich, any suggestions to lighten up, just a little?
You can substitute milk for the heavy cream.
I’ve used the fat free half and half with wonderful results.
Beautiful soup, fantastic for winter! (:
Would frozen broccoli be okay if used in this soup?
I find that this is best when fresh broccoli is used but as always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
I am just a home cook, but the answer to your question is YES. I wouldn’t think twice about it.
Why does the picture show whole pieces of broccoli and carrots when yore recipe says to purée ? And there is the obvious parsley when no parsley is mentioned ??? Growing a little too fast? ❤️
The images show parsley and broccoli/carrots because they are used simply as a garnish for photographic purposes. They are not included in the recipe because they are not required items, and will not make a difference in taste.
Hello how can I get your book ? And how much ?
You can purchase my cookbook on Amazon.com.
https://www.amazon.com/Damn-Delicious-Super-Easy-Recipes/dp/084874585X/
Hi. Wondering if the leftovers for this recipe can be frozen and reheated?
Thanks.
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
Can I use chicken broth instead?
Yes, of course!
Your book arrived and I love it! Good job!
You didn’t look nervous at all during your live KTLA segment. I’ve been following you for years and love your recipes. Congrats on the new book. Can’t wait to cook out of it!
Yum! I love me some panera soup! Need to make this asap!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Congratulations on the live segment! I came upon your blog several months ago (your Mongolian Beef recipe was so good and so easy, I knew your recipes would all be winners). My coworkers and my mom all love your recipes as well. It is very cool to see how popular you are with the photo shoot, the new book, and the media appearances! So, again, a huge congrats to you and this soup looks sooo delicious! 🙂
YUM!!!! I can’t wait to make this.
I never tape news to watch later but I did for your segment. I loved watching you. You did not look nervous. I think both of the reporters were being very friendly as well. ** your makeup was done excellent!
I love your book. I wish it had more desserts. But I am going to start using it straight away! So so happy for you.
I am looking forward to making this. YUM!
Hi Chungah,
Huge congrats and all the best to your cookbook!
Seems like you had fun with the hosts at the live show. You did great! 🙂
Amy
Dear Chungah,
Congratulations for KTLA live ! You look great ! It is great to see that you and your blog has come that far !
While hoping many more excellent post to come,
God bless!