Sometimes you just need a big bowl of creamy cheesy soup and this Broccoli Cheese Soup hits the spot! It’s full of vegetables, tender fresh broccoli, rich broth, and sharp cheddar cheese. This is the kind of soup you want on a cold rainy winter day or when you’re snowed in. This is similar to a popular restaurant soup but I’ve cut back on the butter and increased the broccoli for a heartier and healthier soup.
I have another broccoli soup my family loves. It’s a more basic soup that I blend before serving. We had this countless times for lunch when we were homeschooling. My Broccoli Cheese Soup is more indulgent, the one I make for dinner and serve with fresh Basic Sourdough Bread or Soft Sourdough Rolls.
Broccoli Cheese Soup Recipe
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 medium carrot, diced
- 1 medium stalk celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled or scrubbed and diced
- 2 quarts water
- 2 Tablespoons chicken or vegetable bouillon powder
- 2 heads broccoli, tender stems and florets cut into bite-size pieces
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, fresh grated is best
- salt and pepper to taste
Sauteing the vegetable base
I’m going to give the instructions in the way I cook. If you were in my kitchen learning how to make this soup, this is exactly what I would show you. In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat while you dice the onion. Add the onions and give them a good stir to coat with melted butter. Saute the onions while you chop the carrot. Add the carrots and let them saute along with the onion while you chop the celery.
I like to split the trimmed celery in half top to bottom and then cut into small pieces. When you get that diced up, add it to the pot and stir them into the butter and vegetables. Mince up the garlic and add that to the pot. Turn the heat to low and cook, stirring often. You don’t want to brown the vegetables, just cook them slowly in the butter.
Adding diced potatoes and broth
While the vegetable base is cooking, peel or scrub the potatoes and dice into 1/2 inch pieces. If I’m using russet potatoes, I usually peel them since it can be hard to get them perfectly clean. With Yukon Golds like I’m using here, I just wash them well and dice ’em on up. This saves time and add fiber to the dish.
Once you’ve got your potatoes in, add the water and chicken or vegetable bouillon powder. If you have chicken broth available you can certainly use that but if not the water and bouillon makes a good substitute. That’s an important part of everyday cooking, use what you have on hand. There is a perfectly fine substitute for nearly every ingredient.
After you pour in the water and bouillon powder, give it a good stir and taste for salt and pepper. Add a bit if needed but keep in mind that the cheese will add some salt. What you want is to season at each stage of your dish. Cooking the potatoes in well seasoned water or broth will make them that much more delicious in the end. Bring it to a boil and simmer on low for 10 minutes while you chop up the broccoli.
Broccoli for Broccoli Cheese Soup
Trim up the stem of your broccoli to remove the tough end and chop the stem into bite-size pieces. Cut of the florets and chop them into same size pieces. This will help them cook in the same amount of time. Go ahead and add them to your pot. Push them down in the broth and cover the pot to cook the broccoli. Simmer for 5 minutes and check to see if the stem pieces are tender. Cook a few minutes more if needed.
Finishing the Broccoli Cheese Soup
While that’s cooking, whisk the flour and evaporated milk together in a glass measuring cup or small bowl until smooth. Once the broccoli is tender, pour the flour and milk mixture into the soup and stir to mix it in. Simmer on low until the soup is thick and creamy. This should happen pretty fast since the soup is already boiling.
Now it’s time to add the cheese. I like to use extra-sharp cheddar cheese for maximum cheese flavor. In the recipe I mention that fresh grated cheese is the best. Not only is it cheaper to buy blocks of cheese but it melts much better when it’s freshly grated.
Turn off the heat and add your cheese. Give it a quick stir and put the lid back on for a few minutes. This gives the cheese time to melt without the soup boiling. After the cheese is melted, stir again to blend everything and taste for seasoning. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Once it’s just to your liking, serve it hot with fresh bread and butter. You can even sprinkle more cheese on top for an extra special touch!
Broccoli Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 medium carrot diced
- 1 medium stalk celery diced
- 4 medium potatoes peeled or scrubbed and diced
- 2 quarts water
- 2 tbsp chicken or vegetable bouillon
- 2 heads broccoli stems and florets cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
- 2 cup sharp cheddar cheese fresh grated is best
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add the onion and saute while dicing the carrot.
- Add the diced carrot to the pot and saute while dicing the celery. Add the celery and let that cook while mincing the garlic. Add the garlic and stir to mix into the vegetables and butter.
- Saute over low heat while you prep the potatoes. When they are all diced, add them to the pot.
- Pour in the water and add the bouillon powder. Stir and bring to a boil over low heat. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Chop the broccoli and add to the soup. Cover and simmer 5-10 minutes or until the broccoli is tender.
- In a glass measuring cup or small bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour and evaporated milk until smooth. Pour into the soup and stir until it's thick and creamy.
- Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the grated cheese. Stir to mix then let the soup sit for a few minutes to melt the cheese.
- Serve hot with fresh bread.
