Broccoli Cheddar Soup
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THE BEST broccoli cheese soup there ever was! So creamy, so cheesy. Perfect for those busy weeknights + picky eaters!
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Creamy, velvety, broccoli cheese soup with sneaked in veggies? Yes, absolutely. I am all in. And it is truly the most perfect creamy consistency (with the help of the potatoes) without weighing you down like you’ve just eaten a bowl of queso.
If you want to keep this completely vegetarian, vegetable stock is a great sub for the chicken stock. And if you want an even heartier version, half and half can also be subbed for the heavy cream.
But the most important thing here is to use good quality cheese that has been freshly shredded. It will make all the difference. And be sure to add them a handful at a time to avoid clumps. We do not like clumps here.
When ready to serve, top with additional cheese (if desired) and some crusty bread for dipping purposes.
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR SUCCESS
- Use frozen broccoli, potatoes or cheese on hand. This is a great way to repurpose and use up some of those pantry staples in your freezer.
- Freshly grated cheese goes a long way. Add your cheese, a handful at a time, to avoid clumping.
- Make it vegetarian. For our vegetarian friends, vegetable stock is a great swap for the chicken stock.
- Dip the bread. Serve with crusty bread for all the dipping!
WHAT TO SERVE WITH BROCCOLI CHEDDAR SOUP
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Broccoli Cheddar Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
You can substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock.
Yes! This is a great soup recipe to use up all your frozen broccoli without even needing to defrost.
Heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream) has one of the highest fat contents with about 36-40% fat. Half and half or whole milk are suitable substitutes, but will yield a lighter result.
We do not recommend freezing this soup as cream soups tend to separate when frozen.
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 ½ cups chicken stock
- 2 cups diced russet potatoes
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 5 cups finely chopped broccoli florets
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 8 ounces shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese, about 2 cups
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in garlic and thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Stir in chicken stock, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Stir in potatoes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
- Using a wooden spoon, mash potatoes until slightly thickened, if desired; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Stir in broccoli and heavy cream. Cook, covered, until broccoli is tender, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool 2 minutes.
- Stir in cheese, a handful at a time, until smooth, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
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By far the best soup ever. Followed the recipe and everyone loved it.
Not sure how you do it but your recipes are amazing.
Thanks
Can frozen broccoli be used instead of fresh if enough water is strained off?
I made this with frozen broccoli last night and it was great! I chopped the broccoli when it was just thawed enough to chop. I didn’t have any water to drain off.
I just made this and it is awesome! I’ve tried numerous broccoli cheese soup recipes and this, by far, is the best! My 4-year-old and my husband loved it! Thank you! So creamy and a great consistency!
Quick and Easy to prepare, the family loves this recipe.
Only thing I do different is mix the cheddar cheeses (do half old cheddar and half white cheddar).
It’s delicious!
Very tasty!
I had a lot of frozen broccoli stalks (don’t you hate when the bag is just stalks and maybe 2 florets?) so I cooked them after the potato was soft and then blended all together. At last added the (frozen and thawed) florets and the cream.
It tasted delicious and we avoided wasting food.
My conclusion is that it can be done with frozen broccoli
This is an amazing soup!!
It turned amazing , and was really easy to make ❤️
Does this store well? I was hoping I could make this the day before I needed it and then add it to the crock pot a few hours before meal time for it to warm up. Would that be okay or could that alter the texture in any way?
This is ABSOLUTELY incredible!!! We can’t get enough!! Making extras yo freeze!!!
Absolute Delicious Soup…
This shit was delicious. I did alter the recipe a little bit just to add a few Florence of cauliflower.
I doubled the recipe and it came out great. I used whole milk instead. I did cook it a bit too long, which made the potatoes mostly dissolve but it was still great. That’s my bad, not the recipe’s fault but just to say it is a hard recipe to mess up. I had a very sore throat and while I was probably getting better anyways, I am feeling much better today after eating this soup last night. Miracle soup? All things are possible.
How many cups is “6 servings”? Thanks.
Absolutely delicious and the second time I made it I doubled the recipe
Honestly I don’t know what I did wrong, I know it’s supposed to be sick, I’ve made cheddar broccoli soup before, but after adding the broccoli, it was so sick, it’s not soupy at all. I just added another 1/2 cup of broth and it helped though. Still tasted great
Made this tonight, used Ripple plant based milk instead of cream. Turned out great!
By far, the BEST Broccoli Cheese Soup we’ve ever had…simply, OUTSTANDING!
I had broccoli I needed to use and after looking up recipes I found this one. Easy to make and it turned out great!
My 78 year old Mom is a broccoli cheddar soup connoisseur. Very picky. I made this recipe for her tonight and she loved it. It was very easy to make and I sent her home with a lot of leftovers. Next time I will make a double batch.
Was delicious. Made for a camping trip added bacon really kicked it up notch.
Delicious way to use CSA broccoli, potatoes, onion and garlic in the fall. Easy to make.