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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i really want to try this later!! can I use heavy cream instead of half and half? or a mix of heavy cream and 2% milk? Thank you!!
I would do a mixture of heavy cream and 2% because just heavy cream alone is going to make this seem overly thick in my opinion.
So good! Definitely as good as Panera or even better! Will make again!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you will make it again and it was as good or better than theirs!
I have made this soup several times and it’s a big hit! I live in the rural Colorado mountains so grabbing food is not an option, this is an easy go to!! Love it, no modifications! Thank you
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this soup is a big hit for you up in the rural mountains (I have some good friends that live in the rural CO mountains and they have described to me what they go through for food and really anything they need to buy – not easy!)
Must have been made for 1 person. I love soup, and this is for 1 person… I need to feed a family. But the point is made. Good soup.
Really rich and very delicious! Thanks!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was delicious!
WONDERFUL! Thank you, Averie, for sharing this recipe. I was craving Panera Bread’s broccoli cheddar soup, but this beats it out of the ballpark!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this beats theirs out of the ballpark for you!
This was a huge hit with my exhausted pandemic professor partner who needed comfort food at the end of the semester! I used whole milk and it was plenty creamy, and cut down to about 5-6 oz aged cheddar. Also mixed cauliflower and broccoli which was delicious and colorful.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was a huge hit for an exhausted guy! I love cauliflower so would be totally into that in this soup as well!
Made this soup on a whip as is a little chilly today. It was fantastic. My boyfriend ate three bowls. He said it was the best he ever had and he is a broccoli soup connoisseur. I had to make a few substitutions. I used a 12 oz bag of frozen broccoli cuts, 1/2 teaspoon of dijon mustard, and 2% milk, and vegetable stock. This will definitely go into my recipe notebook.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it was the best he’s ever had!
I have tried so many recipes for broccoli cheese soup I had pretty much given up but thought i would give it another try -Oh my am I glad. I followed directions and ingredients as noted in recipe with a very slight variation. I used regular half and half and real butter and used one large carrot rather than two as sometimes carrots can have a strong flavor.
Personal preference. Made two batches this week. Shared first batch. I used extra sharp cheddar for the first batch and colby cheese for the second batch and just added to the bowls of soup rather than putting in the pot of soup but that also is just personal preference. The second batch I decided to precook the carrots and broccoli while the milk and broth mixture were simmering to save some time and I also just went ahead and added the garlic and onion to the milk mixture . The first batch was so good, I just was in a hurry to try some more. It just was so delicious I had two bowls. Thank you for a long desired perfect broccoli cheese recipe.
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad you decided to give my recipe a try and love it!
Wow this soup is fabulous! I did find that I needed more liquid after adding the vegetables to the pot, so I used about a cup of coconut milk because I had it in the house. Heavenly!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it was fabulous with the coconut milk addition!
Dear Averie~ I’m so darn happy I found you!! I’ve been checking out your recipes for the last month or so and have to say you’re the bomb! Always look forward to trying out your many multitude of recipes. I’ll be making the cheese soup soon, then will rate it. My husband is patiently waiting for it. Usually buy it at Costco so we’ll have to compare the two…I’m sure it probably won’t compare at all!
Your faithful follower,
Trudy
Thanks for finding me as well. In my opinion, this blows away the Costco soup or any storebought soup. It’s apples and oranges, I am sure you will love this version!
Wow, wonderful! I used hot smoked paprika and also a 2yr old Baldersons cheddar.
Even so the original recipe would have been wonderful as well.
Good instructions. Nice to see spices as options as not all of my family & friends that I will repeat this recipe for have the same tastes.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it was wonderful!
I’ve been craving for this soup and finally found the strength to do it from scratch! This recipe is awesome! My whole family love the taste of it. I didn’t change any of the ingredients and it’s really mouth-watering. Thank you so much for this! Would definitely make this one again and again and again. I’m keeping this recipe. ❤️
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it turned out awesome and you’ll make it again and again!
I made the broccoli and cheese soup using 1 cup of heavy cream & 1 cup of 2% milk (because I didn’t have half and half) and it was fantastic. I’m torn that it didn’t make more, but relieved because I can’t stop eating it. Such a great recipe! Thank you so much!
Glad you loved it and can’t stop eating it :)
Had this recipe eyed out for awhile and finally got to create it today! I was worried on the flavor of vegetable broth vs chicken and was pleasantly surprised that it was wonderful! I’ll try it with chicken next time maybe but again, I am completely content with how it turned out. I had heavy whipping cream which got kind of thick so I added extra broth. I added nutmeg and some blue cheese crumbles for extra cheese flavor pop!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad that it came out great with the vegetable broth and that you didn’t need to worry about using chicken broth. I bet the blue cheese crumbles added awesome flavor!
Made as written but w 1 cup fat free milk and 1 cup 1/2&1/2. This recipe is fabulous! I think it is the spices that put it over the top! I almost didn’t even add the cheese it was THAT good!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad that it was so good you almost didn’t even need to add the cheese!