Name: Easy Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 5 tbsp unsalted butter; ½ onion (chopped); ⅓ cups all purpose flour; 2 cups chicken stock; 1 celery stalk (finely diced); 2½ cup broccoli (chopped into bite sized pieces); 2 cups whole milk; 2 cups shredded cheddar; salt and pepper to taste; 1 cup shredded cheddar

Two bowls of cheddar broccoli soup topped with some more shredded cheese.

I love Broccoli Cheddar Soup (and soup season in general). It’s such a classic soup and it reminds me of childhood. I remember when I was in junior high going to Panera Bread for a quick dinner after tennis practice and the broccoli cheddar soup (in a bread bowl) always hit the spot!

Our broccoli cheddar soup recipe is simple and can be made in just 30 minutes. It’s super flavorful and has the perfect balance of a salty, cheesy soup base with loads of perfectly cooked broccoli goodness!

How to Make Our Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Ingredients

Place large pot over medium heat and melt butter. Add onion and sweat, about 5 minutes.
Add flour to butter and onion mixture.Stir together and cook for about 2 minutes. This will remove the raw flour flavor.

Onions and butter melted in a stock pot.

Combined melted butter and flour in a stock pot to make broccoli cheddar soup.

Stir in chicken stock and season generously with salt and pepper. You want to make sure that no flour lumps are left after adding the stock.
Add celery and broccoli.

The beginning to making broccoli cheddar soup.

Broccoli and celery combined with a stock to make the start of broccoli cheddar soup.

Stir together and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Let simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
Stir in milk and continue to simmer until soup is thick enough to just coat the back of a wooden spoon, 2 to 3 minutes. The soup should still have a thinner, ‘soupy’ texture.

Broccoli cheddar soup with celery soup made in a stock pot.

Milk added into a stock pot with broccoli cheddar soup.

Remove pot from heat and stir in cheddar in small handfuls, waiting until cheese melts to add more cheese. Adding the cheese slowly will help to create a smooth soup in the end.
Continue to add more cheese to the soup until the soup has thickened and has a smooth velvety texture. Season with salt and pepper and top with more cheddar. Serve.

Hand fulls of cheese added into a stock pot to make broccoli cheddar soup.

Tools You Will Need

Tips to Make the BEST Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Our broccoli cheddar soup recipe is very easy to make but there are a couple important factors to make it successfully.

Make sure you’re grating your own cheese and not using pre-shredded cheese! Pre-shredded cheeses have anti-caking agents in them for preservation and causes the end product to be gritty!
It’s important to remember that low and slow for adding the cheese is key. Remove the pot from the heat and add the cheese in small handfuls. Removing the pot from the heat will ensure your soup doesn’t separate, while still maintaining enough heat to melt the cheese.
Also make sure the added shredded cheese fully incorporates and melts into the soup before adding more. This will guarantee the soup stays creamy and smooth. If the cheese is added too quickly you run the risk of your soup becoming gritty.

Does this Taste Just Like the Version at Panera Bread?

Yes and no! Our version is VERY similar to the one they serve at Panera, but we omitted the carrots. Why? Because we really wanted the focus to be on the broccoli and the cheddar…that’s why it’s called broccoli cheddar soup! It’s such a delicious and classic combination of flavors we didn’t want anything “fighting” the flavors if that makes sense.

If you want carrots in your soup, no problem! Just add 1 peeled and diced carrot to the onion and celery (making a mirepoix) OR peel and cut 1 carrot into julienne strips and add them to your soup when you add the broccoli!

Make Ahead Instructions for Our Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Make Ahead

Our soup can be made up to 3 days ahead of time, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Reheating Leftovers

To reheat, pour soup into a pot and place over medium-low to low heat. Stir soup occasionally to ensure it heats back up evenly. It’s important that the soup comes back up to temperature slowly so that it stays thick, creamy and smooth. Reheating the soup too quickly can make the soup gritty and lose its body.

If you find that your soup still gets too thin after its been heated scoop 1/2 cup of the warm soup into a small bowl and whisk together with 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch until smooth. Pour mixture back into the pot, stir together and simmer until soup slightly thickens.

Can I Freeze This Soup?

We really don’t recommend freezing this recipe because the consistency will be very thin and the texture will be off (gritty) once it’s thawed and heated back up. The cornstarch slurry trick also doesn’t work nearly as well for when the soup has been frozen.

Best Way to Serve Our Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Our favorite way to serve this soup is to ladle it into a crusty, sourdough bread bowl! The last bits of the soup absorb into the inner crust of the bowl and it’s so satisfying to tear away pieces of the soup soaked bread bowl and scarf them down as you finish up the soup.