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.
Recipe Video Tutorial
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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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Made the soup as directed, except for a long grate on the carrots and used chicken broth and an extra sharp cheddar of excellent quality! THIS IS THE ONE TO KEEP! Easy and super delicious! Thanks for sharing your recipe goodness!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this is a keeper for you!
Just made it & had some! Absolutely delicious! Had everything but the mustard.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it was delicious!
Love the spices. My toddler loves this soup.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad your toddler loves it!
When I melted the butter with the flour, it got very lumpy, and not liquidy at all like the video. Did I do something wrong?
Iโm thinking that if it doesnโt look like the video, that yes you did do something wrong along the way.
Made a double batch tonight for my family and for the first time and served in rye bread bowls with plenty of chunks for dipping…so delicious and definitely a keeper!!! Thank you for the grated cheese tip too!
Thanks for the 5 star review and Iโm glad this is a keeper for you!
So yummy! I used almond flour because of a gluten allergy but the soup turned out great and was so delicious. The smoked paprika and pinch of cayenne really was an amazing addition. I am making this for thanksgiving.
Thanks for the 5 star review and Iโm glad that almond flour worked well for you!
Mmmm, mmmm GOOD!!! I read all the reviews before making it and did a few “tweaks” to the recipe and I am blissfully happy with the results. Keeper recipe!
Can I use almond flour instead of regular flour ?
No I do not recommend it because the recipe will not work out.
I used almond flour because of a gluten allergy and it wasnโt delicious!
Amazing soup recipe OMG the very best I’ve done. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for letting me know it’s the best one you’ve ever made!
This was so good and i usually never comment. The smoked paprika just put it over the top. Thank you for sharing. I will definitely make it again this winter!
Thanks for the five star review and Iโm glad you loved the smoked paprika!
I make this all the time and absolutely love it! I have adapted it to be made in my PC Quick Cooker (Pressure cooker) and it is amazing!
Iโm glad that you love this and that you been able to adapt it for your pressure cooker!
Please share the pressure cooker changes.
Awesome. My only prob with this recipe is that origin should at least be doubled. No doubt my fave Broc Cheese Soup๐
Thanks for the five star review and Iโm glad you love the soup!
I made this soup last night and it was a huge hit in our family. I made the recipe as is but added one more cup of old cheddar so 2 instead of one because we’re all big cheese lovers. It’s delicious ! The only negative comment I have is that the recipe wasn’t big enough for our family of 4 – my 2 teenagers would have easily eaten more….. so next time I make it (yes, it’s a keeper in our kitchen now), I will double the recipe. Hopefully we’ll get left overs too. Thanks for sharing Averie, I can’t wait to try more of your recipes !
Thanks for the five star review and Iโm glad youโll make this again and make more of an in more quantity!
Thanks for a great recipe! Worked out perfectly as directed. Will definitely be a repeat offender here :)
Thanks for the five star review and Iโm glad this worked out perfectly for you!
Do I need to put cheddar cheese? Or will other cheeses work okay?
Iโm sure other cheeses will work, but there are some that would not. It really really depends on the type of cheese. If youโre not familiar with what Jesus would work well in a soup then I wouldโve followed the recipe exactly and use cheddar.
๐คฃ-check for typo ๐ I also wonder what Jesus would work well in soup !
Thank you for the delicious recipe
best i have ever made or tasted…thanks a heap for this recipe
Glad it’s the best cake you’ve ever made or tasted!