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!
Featured Comment
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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Absolutely scrumptious! Cant wait to make it again. Whole family thought it was delicious. Did add a little extra cheese and water, but not much.
When do you add some shredded carrots?
That’s cheese, not carrot.
I added shredded carrot when the potatoes were almost done. Lovedit.
My husband raved about this soup. He liked it so much that I borrowed ingredients from my neighbors to make a second pot after our family polished off the first.
Next time I’m going to try doubling it from the beginning, it barely makes 4 servings and we like leftovers.
Oh my!!! First time making it and it was so delicious and creamy. Family loved it! Thank you for a great recipe.
Fantastic. Doubled the recipe, definitely saving this one.
This recipe was simply fabulous and so yummy
Amazing! Probably the best broccoli cheddar soup I’ve ever tasted. We made it with vegetable broth instead of chicken.
OMG,Your recipes look so delicious ,can’t wait to try them. Your reviews are winners as well. I SUBSCRIBED.
Omg! This soup is Damn Delicious! Your recipes have always been winners!
Loved it! Added some mustard powder for extra cheese flavor and ended up needing a bit more liquid towards the end than recipe called for. I love how simple and easy to modify this recipe is.
Looks delicious
Can you use cauliflower instead of potatoes to reduce calories?
I was wondering if you have a InstaPot version to this soup. I’m a little disabled and that makes things easier.
OMG This Was So Delicious We Will Be Having This Again And This One Goes In The Recipe Book THANK YOU
Had to purée with my immersion blender due to a current dental issue but this was exactly what I was looking for….delicious and filling! Can’t wait to make it again when I can leave some chunky texture!
I really like it. It’s light. Broccoli didn’t have that strong smell or taste. Maybe cause broth had sauteed garlic and onion. And maybe the heavy cream did the trick. Nice balance of flavor.
I did add 2 cups of cheddar to it instead of 1. Actually my daughter in law did. So I let her go to it.
Nice recipe
Fire
This was absolutely delicious, I added some leaks and carrots to mine with some parm cheese. I also used someone’s advice and used the hand held immersion blender to make the soup blend more, after I added a few big chunks of broccoli just to get some texture and it was creamy thick and perfect!! Fantastic recipe
This definitely is the best broccoli cheddar soup ever!
I’m making it today for the second time.
The flavors are wonderful.
Delicious and easy. Reduced the onion slightly, adding two carrots and four celery ribs. Then blended before adding broccoli.