A healthy broccoli cheddar soup recipe that comes together in thirty minutes. It's so fast and easy and made with all real food ingredients. No canned soups or artificial ingredients, but totally delicious! A great recipe for a cozy cold night.
Originally published on October 17, 2016. Updated October 15, 2021.
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A Quest for a Healthier Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Raise your hand if you are a sucker for Panera's ever delicious broccoli cheddar soup. I know I am! Creamy, cheesy, and delicious. You can't go wrong. When you eat a bowl full of broccoli you think you are eating something healthy no matter where you get it, but to my dismay, the ingredients of this yummy soup were anything but real. Big thumbs down in my book.
Broccoli cheddar (water, milk[milk, vitamin d3], broccoli, pasteurized process cheddar cheese [cheddar cheese {pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes}, water, sodium phosphate, milkfat, salt, apocarotenal {color}], cream [cream, milk] carrots, modified corn starch, onions, chicken base [chicken meat in chicken broth {chicken meat, chicken broth, chicken fat, modified corn starch and/or rice flour, salt}, salt, hydrolyzed corn and soy protein, sugar, natural flavorings, potato flour, autolyzed yeast extract, carrot powder, turmeric], wheat flour [bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine, mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], butter [cream, salt], seasoning [salt, spices, extractives of paprika], soybean oil, dijon mustard [water, vinegar, mustard seed, salt, white wine, fruit pectin, citric acid, tartaric acid, sugar, spice], pepper sauce [vinegar, red pepper, salt])
But it's so delicious! Waaah! I set out on a quest to remake this yummy broccoli cheddar soup using only real food ingredients to make a healthier version, and I did it. I think this soup tastes pretty close to the restaurant original without the processed ingredients.
Even my vegetable hating toddler ate this soup. I convinced him to dip a cracker in it to taste. He replies, "Hey, I do yike broccy!" Woo hoo! A win for mom.
It's a very quick soup too. My six year old helped me put it all together, which means it's also very easy. I recommend making this soup after you make a whole chicken for multiple meals, and use the bones to make broth. This is a great meatless way to stretch that chicken to get a lot of bang for your buck.
Ingredients needed
Simple ingredients are needed for this creamy soup. Nothing fancy required.
- butter: This is what starts the flavor base of the recipe so make it good butter. I enjoy a salted Irish butter like Kerrygold or the Aldi equivalent. Butter can be part of a healthy diet and contains vitamins A, D, E, and K.
- onion: Again we are building more flavor here with the onions. They get nice and soft and almost melt away.
- all purpose flour: This is our thickening agent. I use an organic unbleached all purpose flour that I buy in bulk from Azure Standard.
- chicken stock: I make my own stock by cooking a whole chicken and using the meat for several meals. Then I also save the bones and make more bone broth. See the link above for instructions. Vegetable broth may be substituted if you are vegetarian.
- milk: I have only tested this with regular cow's milk so I can't say if any dairy free substitutes will work. I imagine they would though. I prefer to use a whole milk in this recipe to give it a rich creamy base without having to use heavy cream.
- carrot: You only need one large carrot for this recipe. If you want a short cut, you could buy pre-shredded carrots and use about a cup.
- frozen broccoli: Fresh broccoli can be used (about 3-4 cups) if you prefer only fresh veggies, but I find frozen broccoli florets to be so much simpler. Just open the bag and dump.
- salt, black pepper, bay leaf: These are your only seasonings needed for this soup, so don't skimp here, especially on the salt.
- shredded cheese: Any cheddar cheese can be used, but I think sharp cheddar gives this a nice bite. If you aren't a fan of sharp cheese, a mild or medium works great too. We're using lots of cheese here though, so make it one that you really like to give it that yummy cheesy flavor.
What to eat with broccoli cheddar soup?
I find just the soup filling enough on its own, but if you really want something extra to go with it, here are some suggestions.
- hot crusty bread
- crackers
- grilled deli meat sandwiches (think hot ham or turkey and cheese)
- side salad
- simple cut up fruit such as apples
More delicious soup recipes to try
Nothing beats a bowl of hot soup on a cold night. If you are craving more soup recipes, here are a few of my favorite soups to try:
Chicken noodle soup from scratch
I think you will love this healthy broccoli cheese soup! Keep your freezer stocked with frozen broccoli and broth so you are never far away from a bowl of this delicious hearty soup.
Let me know in the comments if you try it and don't forget to leave a rating.
Broccoli cheddar soup
Ingredients
- 4 T. butter
- ¾ small onion diced
- ¼ cup flour All purpose Gluten free flour may be substituted.
- 2 c. whole milk
- 3 c. chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 carrot shredded
- 12 oz frozen broccoli florets
- 2 ½ cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 ½ tsp salt Start with less if your broth is salted and work your way up.
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt butter in a pot over medium heat.
- Add onions and cook for about five minutes until soft.
- Stir in flour and cook for a minute.
- Whisk in milk, chicken broth, and ½ tsp salt.
- Add bay leaf.
- Slowly bring to a low bubble, and stir until beginning to thicken.
- Add broccoli and shredded carrots and simmer about 8 minutes or until broccoli is tender.
- Soup should be thickening more by now and able to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and slowly whisk in cheese.
- At this point you can puree it with an immersion blender or leave it chunky. I prefer to leave mine as is with chunks of broccoli.
- Remove bay leaf and season with the remainder of the salt and pepper to taste.
Kristin
My family LOVED this recipe. My husband said it was the best soup he has ever had. Thank you!
Tara Buss
Wonderful, Kristin! I'm so glad it was a hit with your family. That just makes my day!