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 made this recipe exactly as written. Both my adult son and my boyfriend loved it! It has far more flavor than any of the other Panera broccoli cheese soup copy cat recipes and tastes better than Panera’s itself. I’m making it again now – the third time in a week!
Thanks for the five star review and glad this trumped the Panera version for you and that you’ve made it 3 times in a week! That’s awesome!
delicious! I have made this multiple times and it is so good :D
Thanks for the five star review and glad this has been a winner for you!
This soup is amazing! I doubled the recipe and my family loved it! I definitely recommend. Thank you!!
Thanks for the five star review and I am glad that your family loved it!
I LOVED this recipe! I increased some of the amounts to make more but it came out great!
Thanks for the five star review glad it came out great for you!
My two year old loves this soup. Yesterday she asked for it for breakfast so I had to promise her I’d make it for supper.
Thanks for the five star review and glad this is a favorite of your two year old, requested at breakfast for dinner even! Wow love hearing this!
Just made this tonight for dinner. Everyone was obsessed. Even my kids ate it.
Thanks for the five star review and glad even the kids were obsessed with it!
I would like to make this for my small group, but would need to make it ahead and keep it warm in a slow cooker, have you tried that?
No but others have and it seems to work well for them, but I haven’t personally done it.
Most delicious soup ever! Thank you for this recipe, I’ll be making it again. In fact, I thought of my dad who’s passed while making; this was a favorite soup of his and I would have loved to make it for him! ❤️
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you will make this again!
Made this tonight to use up from frozen broccoli. My carrots were questionable so I left those out and I used a combo of cheddar, parmesan, and gruyere cheeses (mainly because I didn’t have enough cheddar). My husband said it was “better than Panera” and I said well good because that is what the recipe claimed! Thank you for a great recipe!
Thank you for the 5 star review and glad that your husband said it was better than Panera (that’s my goal)! Your cheese mixture sounds great, too!
I really love this, and have made it several times. I use regular half n half, I figure if I’m going for creamy cheesy soup, I’m going all for it. This last time, I made a double batch and included some cauliflower along with the broccoli and carrots. It was a big hit!
Thank you for the 5 star review and glad that this is a big hit and yes, go big or go home, right with the half and half :)
I made this tonight .OMG i was very impressed it is really very good . It may be August and HOT in Texas ..but was easy to prpare. I will be keeping this on the monthly or bi monthly menu..
So glad to hear this was a winner, even in the summertime! Glad it will be in your menu rotation!
Made this last night and I wish I had doubled it! So delicious! I like soup slightly thinner so I added an extra cup of veggie broth and it turned out amazing! Wish I could say there were lots of leftovers.
-Steph
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you loved this and that there weren’t leftovers – a sign of success!
It was delicious. I added a little more garlic to it, but it was exceptional!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it was exceptional!
Yummy and something I can eat on the Keto diet.
My daughter really loves broccoli cheddar soup. Last time we had it we used a dry mix and it wasn’t good. I’m not generally a huge fan of cheddar broccoli soup, but this tasted MUCH better than the dry mix.
This may have been mentioned, but I made it gluten-free by substituting the flour for cornstarch. Instead of making the roux, I mixed the cornstarch and the stock, let that thicken, then added the half-and-half. Did everything else the same (minus the carrots). It turned out pretty well.
Glad this worked well for you as a GF recipe with cornstarch rather than flour.
I made this as an experiment, as broccoli cheese soup is something I have always loved, but my husband has never been a fan of. It’s been years since I had it and longer still since my husband tried it, so I made ‘half batch’ of this just in case I wound up being the only one eating it. I didn’t have half-and-half, but I did have whole milk and whipping cream, so I started with the milk and added the cream near the end. I used chicken stock, yes to the cayenne and smoked paprika, no to the mustard powder (me and mustard do *not* get along, so I’m leery of mustard powder), and it was absolutely amazing. I think husband was expecting a pureed type of soup, which is something he despises, but I kept it all chunky as that’s what I like. We BOTH loved the soup. This is going to be a recipe I use again and again. Thank you so much!
Thanks for the 5 star review and you loved this as well as your husband which sounds like that was a major feat itself! Glad you’ll be using the recipe again and again!
Tried this recipe last night and absolutely loved it! And so did my family. I had way too much broccoli in my fridge (from last 2 weeks of CSA veggies boxes ) and needed to try something new. So glad I found this recipe. There was not even a drop leftover! Only thing I didn’t have was the dry mustard- but added a pinch of turmeric. Thank you so much for sharing it!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad you absolutely loved it as well as your family! And that it also helped you use up some of your extra broccoli!