The Best Broccoli Cheese Soup — 🥦🧀🤤 Make the best soup of your life at home in 1 hour! It’s creamy, CHEESY, and loaded with tender pieces of broccoli! Beyond words amazing and WAY better than Panera!
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This is the best broccoli cheese soup. Not only that, it’s some of the best soup I’ve ever tasted, period.
If you like Panera’s broccoli cheddar soup, this blows the pants off it.
It’s an easy soup to make and is ready in 1 hour. It’s absolutely perfect comfort food and I couldn’t stop eating it. I ate it for lunch and dinner for a couple straight days until it was gone. I loved this soup beyond words.
I kept the soup vegetarian by using low-sodium vegetable stock rather than chicken stock, and lightened it up by using fat-free half-and-half. But you’d think that it was made with heavy cream based on how thick, rich, and truly decadent it tastes.
Broccoli Cheese Soup Ingredients
For this better-than-Panera copycat cheesy broccoli soup recipe, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- All-purpose flour
- Vegetable broth or stock
- Half and half
- Broccoli florets
- Carrots
- Spices
- Extra sharp cheddar cheese
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Broccoli Cheese Soup
This is a very easy cheese and broccoli soup recipe, but there are a few fast-moving stages. Read the recipe before you start making the soup so you know what’s coming up next.
- In a small saucepan, add a little butter, the diced onion, and sauté until the onion is translucent and barely browned. Add the garlic, cook, then remove from heat.
- In a large heavy-bottom pot, add the remaining butter, flour, and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until flour is thickened.
- Slowly add the vegetable stock, whisking constantly, then the half and half. Let simmer over low heat until it has reduced and thickened some.
- Add the broccoli, carrots, spices, and the onion and garlic you previously set aside.
- Allow soup to simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes.
- While soup simmers, grate the cheese. After simmering about 20 to 25 minutes, add most of the cheese, reserving a small amount for garnishing bowls.
Tip for Softening the Vegetables
If you prefer very soft broccoli and carrots, you can either steam them before you add them to the pot and/or make sure the broccoli florets are quite small and the carrots are cut into very thin pieces.
I’ve never found pre-steaming necessary because the soup continues to simmer for 20-25 minutes after adding the broccoli and carrots, which is ample time for me personally for them to soften to my liking. However, in case you prefer very soft vegetables, steaming and/or paying closer attention to their size is an option.
Soup FAQs
Use a high-quality cheddar cheese that you grate yourself. Don’t use the cheapest cheese you can find because the flavor just isn’t there. I prefer extra-sharp, although sharp may be used. Pre-grated cheese in ziptop bags is resistant to melting and won’t incorporate well.
You could try, but it will be mushy. I hate mushy vegetables so I personally never would use frozen broccoli in this soup being that the broccoli is the star of the show.
I love broccoli and used plenty because I prefer big chunks of broccoli in every bite but you can use less. I also used some stalks to make use of the entire head and not waste any, but you can use florets only if preferred. Even people who ‘don’t like broccoli’ should love broccoli when it’s bathed in a creamy, cheesy broth.
There are a few optional spices like smoked paprika, mustard powder, and cayenne pepper. They’re not mandatory if you don’t keep them on hand, but they do add extra depth of flavor, albeit subtle. The cayenne doesn’t make the soup hot in the least, it makes it not taste boring.
Storage and Reheating
To store: Soup will keep in an airtight container for 5 to 7 days in the fridge. I don’t recommend freezing the soup because I feel like the cheese and half-and-half will not do well upon thawing and soup could break, but I haven’t actually tried freezing it.
To reheat: Reheat gently in the microwave for 30-second intervals. I find the soup is less likely to ‘break’ or separate when reheated in the microwave rather than on the stovetop, but do what you think is best.
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The Best Broccoli Cheese Soup (Better-Than-Panera Copycat)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon + 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 small or medium sweet yellow onion, diced small
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced finely
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable stock, chicken stock may be substituted
- 2 cups half-and-half, *
- 2 to 3 cups broccoli florets, diced into bite-size pieces
- 1 cup broccoli stems, diced into bite-size pieces (optional)**
- 2 large carrots, trimmed, peeled, and sliced into very thin rounds, about 1/16th-inch
- ¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika , (or regular paprika) optional and to taste
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard powder, optional and to taste
- pinch cayenne pepper, optional and to taste (doesn’t make soup spicy and serves to enhance flavor)
- 8 ounces grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese, with a small amount reserved for garnishing***
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, add 1 tablespoon butter, the diced onion, and sauté over medium heat until the onion is translucent and barely browned, about 4 minutes. Stir intermittently.
- Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds, stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn. Remove from heat and set pan aside.
- In a large heavy-bottom pot (I use this Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast-Iron 6-3/4-Quart Oval French (Dutch) Oven) add 4 tablespoons butter, flour, and cook over medium heat for about 3 to 5 minutes, whisking constantly, until flour is thickened. You are making a roux and it’s very important the mixture is thick or soup will never thicken properly later.
- Slowly add the vegetable stock, whisking constantly.
- Slowly add the half-and-half, whisking constantly.
- Allow mixture to simmer over low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until it has reduced and thickened some. Whisk intermittently to re-incorporate the ‘skin’ that inevitably forms, this is normal.
- While mixture is simmering, chop the broccoli and carrots. After simmering 15 to 20 minutes, add the broccoli, carrots, and the onion and garlic you previously set aside.
- Add the salt, pepper, optional paprika, optional dry mustard powder, and optional cayenne. If you don’t have these seasonings on hand, it’s okay, but they do add subtle depth of flavor. Stir to combine.
- Allow soup to simmer over low heat for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until it has reduced and thickened some. Whisk intermittently to re-incorporate the ‘skin’ that inevitably forms, this is normal.
- While soup simmers, grate the cheese. After simmering about 20 to 25 minutes, add most of the cheese, reserving a small amount for garnishing bowls. Stir in the cheese until melted and incorporated fully, less than 1 minute.
- Transfer soup to bowls, garnish with reserved cheese, and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Best soup ever !!! Its my ALL time favourite!!! I make it everytime broccoli is cheap … very budget friendly meal !!!
I am glad you love the soup – best soup ever no doubt – and compared to a meat-based dish, yes this one is definitely budget friendly!
I came across this accidentally, and I’m so glad I did. It is absolutely the tastiest soup I have ever made. As I live in Winnipeg MB, Canada, I have not tasted Panera soup, but I can’t imagine it would be better than this. I did pulse it with the blender a couple of times to make it a wee bit smoother.
Thanks for LMK that you loved the soup! Glad that it’s the tastiest soup you’ve ever made! Stay warm!
I’m going to try it with some beer in it. Beer and cheddar is a nice mix in soup. I’m guessing it’d go here too.
I’ll let you know – thanks for a starting point!
Sounds excellent! I want to make it next :) LMK what you try and how it goes!
We made this tonight. It’s beyond delicious. I had heavy cream, so I used half cream and half nonfat milk. The consistency was gorgeous. I used half the cheese, expecting to add more and did and didn’t feel it was needed, but I mistakenly doubled salt and pepper and that worked perfectly. Now I’m off to look at your other recipes. Because this was so well done. Thank you.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I am so glad you love it! LMK what else you try!
This soup is delicious! I have made it several times now using Cabot, Vermont Seriously Sharp White Cheddar. Thanks for the recipe! I can’t wait to try some of your other soup recipes.
Glad you love this soup and make it often! LMK what else you end up trying! https://www.averiecooks.com/tag/soup
What is a good quality of brand please.
Brand of what?
This sounds phenomenal – I’m hoping to try it for a brunch this month. Any thoughts on how I could avoid flour in the recipe for a gluten-free friend of mine?
I am not sure what to say since I have only made it as written. I don’t know how well making a roux works using a GF flour. I am sure there are Google results and a way to make it work, I just personally haven’t experimented.
GF flour works great in a roux, use it all the time, Bob’s 1 to 1 . Better Batter and Jules GF are the primary ones I use and have never had a problem when I make a basic white sauce.
Thanks for the info – glad it works great for you!
I’m making this soup now and can’t wait for it to be done! Smells so good. Going to serve it for lunch with garlic cheese toast. Yum.
Sounds perfect, enjoy!
I love broccoli, I love cheese, and I love soup. Your broccoli cheese soup is the best I’ve had! Thank you!!
Thanks for LMK you love it and that it’s the best you’ve ever had!
I quadrupled this recipe for a soup swap party over the weekend. I followed the recipe however I used frozen broccoli and match stick carrots and then ended up pulsing it a few times in the food processor so it wasn’t as chunky. It was SOOOOOO good and really easy to make! I ended up winning the best soup prize at the party! Everyone loved it! Thanks
Thanks for the great feedback and glad that you were the soup prize winner!
has anyone tried to substitute flour with almond flour?
I do not recall anyone writing in doing that…not sure how it will work.
I love this soup! I make it several times a month and my picky 2 year old eats it up.
Glad you make it a few times a month and that your 2 yr old enjoys it too!
I have made this 4 or 5 times now. My go to soup. Better than Panera is a super understatement. One of the best soups I have ever had.
Thanks for saying that better than Panera is a super understatement! I am glad it’s your go-to and one of the best soups you’ve ever had!
Excited to try this! I was wondering, can this be frozen? Looks like a good recipe for new mommys. Thanks!
Of all the dozens of soup recipes I have on my site, this is one that I would caution against freezing. The dairy in it could potentially separate upon thawing. I would pick another soup to freeze and this one is probably best eaten fresh.
Delicious soup! I did add the spices, more like 3/4 tsp. of each plus a pinch more salt. I also had some sweet white corn on the cob already cooked, which I cut off the cob and added just a minute before the cheese. I was a little short on the cheddar, so I grated in some good parmesan to make up the difference… Last, I cut up some baked chicken breast and folded it in at the end. What a hearty meal!!
Sounds delish and hearty! White corn on the cob for me would take this to the next level. I need to try that!
Just made this, double batch, 1/3 cauliflower & 2/3 broccoli. Rendered a couple pieces of bacon and used the grease and butter, cooked carrots with the onions and a spring of fresh thyme and just a bit of fresh rosemary. Had a half cup of buttermilk, threw it in too. 2 cups of cubed ham. All other ingredients as directed.
Like this much better than anything else ive tried. Kind of just needed a guideline for veg/liquid ratio but your spices are yum. Thanks for this!
Sounds delish and glad my recipe was a great jumping off point for you!