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    Home > Blog > Dinner > Easy Broccoli Cheddar Soup

    Easy Broccoli Cheddar Soup

    by Jenny Park · Published: Oct 20, 2024 · Modified: Oct 20, 2024

    Jump to Recipe
    A deliciously cozy recipe for Easy Broccoli Cheddar Soup. We love serving it in a sourdough bread bowl or with a side of crusty bread for dipping. This soup is the ultimate comfort food!
    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

    Ingredients for Broccoli Cheddar Soup laid out in bowls.
    1. Place large pot over medium heat and melt butter. Add onion and sweat, about 5 minutes.
    2. 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.
    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    1. Stir together and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Let simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
    2. 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.
    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    Broccoli cheddar soup in a stock pot.

    Tools You Will Need

    • cutting board
    • knife
    • liquid measuring cup
    • dry measuring cups
    • cheese grater
    • pot
    • wooden spoon

    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.

    Broccoli cheddar soup in a bowl up close with shredded cheddar cheese on top.

    More Delicious Soup Recipes You Will Love

    • Tomato soup recipe in two bowls with garlic bread on the side.
      Tomato Soup Recipe
    • Clam chowder in two bread bowls.
      Clam Chowder Recipe
    • Zuppa toscana in two bowls with bread on the side.
      Zuppa Toscana
    • Bowls of loaded baked potato soup with spoons.
      Loaded Baked Potato Soup

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    A close up of a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup with a spoon.

    Easy Broccoli Cheddar Soup

    4.96 from 123 votes
    PRINT RECIPE Pin Recipe
    A deliciously cozy recipe for Easy Broccoli Cheddar Soup. We love serving it in a sourdough bread bowl or with a side of crusty bread for dipping. This soup is the ultimate comfort food!
    RECIPE BY Teri & Jenny
    Prep Time: 5 minutes mins
    Cook Time: 25 minutes mins
    Total Time: 30 minutes mins
    Servings: 6 people

      INGREDIENTS  

    soup

    • 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

    garnish

    • 1 cup shredded cheddar

      INSTRUCTIONS  

    • Place large pot over medium heat and melt butter. Add onion and sweat, about 5 minutes.
    • Whisk in flour and cook for about 2 minutes.
    • Stir in chicken stock and season generously with salt and pepper.
    • Stir in celery and broccoli and bring to a boil, then 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. (soup should still have a 'soupy' texture)
    • Remove pot from heat and stir in cheddar in small handfuls, waiting until cheese melts to add more cheese.
    • Season with salt and pepper and top with more cheddar. Serve.

      NOTES  

    Makes: ~1 1/2 quarts
    Tips and Tricks for Broccoli Cheddar Soup Success
    This Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe is really simple but there are a couple important factors in making it successfully.
    • 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.
    Make Ahead Instructions for Our Broccoli Cheddar Soup
    Our soup can be made up to 3 days ahead of time, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
    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.
    Calories: 445kcal Carbohydrates: 17g Protein: 21g Fat: 33g Saturated Fat: 20g Cholesterol: 97mg Sodium: 524mg Potassium: 414mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 8g Vitamin A: 1263IU Vitamin C: 35mg Calcium: 547mg Iron: 1mg
    CUISINE: American
    KEYWORD: broccoli cheddar, soup
    COURSE: dinner, lunch, Soup

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    October 20, 2024 / 66 Comments

    About Jenny Park

    Jenny Park is half of Spoon Fork Bacon. She is also a food stylist and recipe developer. One of her favorite foods is donuts. #sfbJENNY

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    Reader Interactions

    October 20, 2024 / 66 Comments

    Comments

      4.96 from 123 votes (76 ratings without comment)

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    1. Donna

      April 13, 2025 at 5:34 pm

      Definitely use good quality cheese. I used Balderson Old Cheddar. Delicious!

      Reply
    2. Donna

      April 13, 2025 at 5:29 pm

      5 stars
      Delicious 😋 I picked up a big bag of broccoli off the clearance rack at Walmart so I had a lot of broccoli. I doubled the stock and the broccoli, and also ran it through the food processor. My family all went back for seconds!

      Reply
    3. Danielle

      March 07, 2025 at 12:05 pm

      5 stars
      I am currently making this for the third time in 3 weeks. I can’t even keep it in house. My son & daughter in law, friends, my mom all have taken a container of it. I am secretly making it today so I can have it for lunches because it never lasts 24 hours here. I end up winging the measurements towards the end because I make ALOT! How this recipe is for 6 servings, IDK lol. I change the servings to 24 but think some of the ingredients would be too much. Like over a cup of flour….It always turns out excellent! I contribute some of that to my using McCall’s or Kerrygold cheddar cheese. It’s all about the cheese folks! Better cheddar, better flavor. Thank you! This is def a keeper!

      Reply
    4. Toni

      March 02, 2025 at 7:52 am

      5 stars
      I make this in batches and it freezes nicely.. Just reheat slowly. Perfect! Easy meal for the family on a busy week night

      Reply
    5. Bethany

      February 25, 2025 at 4:45 pm

      5 stars
      2nd time making your recipe in just.under a week and my husband has requested that any time I chose to make a broccoli cheddar soup flto save this recipe and make it just like this every time. 😋Two thumbs up!!👍👍

      Reply
    6. Ruth

      February 20, 2025 at 8:50 pm

      5 stars
      This was a very easy! It was very tasty and ate well with some leftover focaccia we had.

      Reply
    7. Candice

      February 20, 2025 at 10:00 am

      can you make this in the slow cooker?

      Reply
    8. Karissa

      February 05, 2025 at 3:31 pm

      5 stars
      Delish!

      Reply
    « Older Comments

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