Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Broccoli cheddar soup is a rich and creamy soup that’s made with fresh broccoli that’s simmered with onions and carrots in a divine mixture of chicken stock, heavy cream and sharp cheddar cheese.  Topped with burnt broccoli, this is the soup you’ll crave over and over again!

We’ve likely all had broccoli cheddar soup at some point in our lives, whether it be from a can or a chain restaurant.

But there’s something different and special about broccoli cheddar soup that’s made at home.

Our recipe includes the wonderful addition of burnt broccoli as a topping, which by itself is pretty fantastic.

We love to serve broccoli cheddar soup in bread bowls when we can find them, or like most of our soups and stews, with garlic bread.

How to make it

Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.

1. Preheat your oven to 425f and set the rack to the second lowest level of the oven.  Roughly chop approximately 7 cups of broccoli dividing between 2 1/2 cups for the burnt broccoli, and 4 1/2 cups for the soup.  Dice 1 medium onion, and 2 medium carrots.  Mince 3 cloves of garlic and grate 8 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese.  Note: Broccoli florets work really well for this recipe.  If using whole broccoli heads, you will need 2 of them to get at least 7 cups of broccoli. 
2. Toss the 2 1/2 cups of broccoli with a 1/4 cup of olive and salt and pepper to taste and spread it on a baking sheet to roast for 20 minutes or until browned.  Turn the broccoli over halfway to ensure even cooking.  Once well browned, remove from the oven and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, heat a large Dutch oven to medium heat and saute the onions and carrots in 4 tablespoons of butter for about 5-7 minutes, or until soft. 
4. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).  Add a 1/2 cup of dry white wine and bring to a boil for 1 minute then reduce the heat to medium.
5. Add a 1/4 cup of flour and stir for about 1 minute or until all of the white flour has turned golden.
6. Add 3 1/2 cups of low sodium chicken stock and the 4 1/2 cups of broccoli and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the broccoli is very soft (about 20-25 minutes).

7. Once the broccoli is tender, use an immersion blender to partially puree the soup.  If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can add 1/3 of the soup to a regular blender and puree, then add it back to the soup.
8. Add 1 1/4 cups of heavy cream, the grated cheddar cheese, and a 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg.  Simmer and stir until well incorporated (about 3 minutes). Taste test the soup and adjust salt and pepper to taste.  If the soup is too thick, add water or chicken stock and thin to your liking.  Serve in bowls, or bread bowls, and top with the burnt broccoli.  Enjoy!

Top tips for perfect broccoli cheddar soup

• Broccoli. This recipe uses about 7 cups of broccoli between the burnt broccoli for the topping, and the broccoli for the soup.  This is roughly 1 1/2-2 heads of broccoli.  If you’re using a whole head instead of the crowns, you can include part of the stem in the soup. Simply trim the lower 1-2 inches of the stem off.  The remaining portion of the stem can be shaved with a peeler to remove the fibrous exterior, chopped, and cooked in the soup.  Alternatively, you can buy the bags of prechopped broccoli crowns from Costo, or other grocery stores and this will make the process a little easier.
• The cheese. We love sharp cheddar cheese and that’s what we’ve used here but if you prefer milder cheddar or white cheddar, you can do either of those.
• Wine. We added dry white wine to the soup as the flavor pairs really well with the cream and broccoli.  This is entirely optional though and if you’d prefer to omit it, you can do so.
• Thickness. This soup is meant to be pretty thick, but if you prefer it to be a little thinner, you can definitely add water or a bit of chicken stock to thin it out. 

More comforting soup recipes

Here are a few of our favorite soup recipes.  We hope you enjoy!

• Split pea soup – with garlic croutons and ham.
• Chicken orzo soup – with lemon and chicken thighs.
• Baked potato soup – creamy blend of potatoes, sour cream, and cheddar topped with crumbled bacon and chives.
• Lentil soup – with spinach, tomato, oregano, and Parmigiano Reggiano.

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