There’s a popular chain restaurant that serves a variety of soups and my favorite among them is the ever delicious broccoli cheddar soup. 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 and I think I came pretty close. While not *quite* as creamy as the restaurant version, the taste is pretty spot on and it’s much creamier than other broccoli cheddar soups that I have made in the past.
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, 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.
Even my vegetable hating little boy 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.
- 4 T. butter
- 1 small onion, diced, about 3/4 cup
- 1/4 cup flour (Rice flour could possibly be used to make gluten free)
- 2 c. whole milk
- 3 c. chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1-2 carrots, shredded
- 3 cups fresh broccoli, cut into small pieces
- 2 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 1/2 tsp salt (start with less if your broth is salted)
- pepper to taste
- Melt butter in a pot over medium heat.
- Add onions and cook for several minutes until soft.
- Stir in flour and cook for a minute.
- Whisk in milk and chicken broth.
- Add bay leaf.
- Slowly bring to a low bubble, and stir until beginning to thicken.
- Add broccoli and shredded carrots and simmer until broccoli is tender.
- Soup should be thickening more by now. Remove from heat and whisk in cheese.
- At this point you can puree it with an immersion blender or leave it chunky. I prefer mine chunky.
- Remove bay leaf and season with salt and pepper to taste.
My family LOVED this recipe. My husband said it was the best soup he has ever had. Thank you!
Wonderful, Kristin! I’m so glad it was a hit with your family. That just makes my day!